Macfarlanes

This Practice Note examines when acquisition group costs in a private equity backed buyout can be relieved against UK corporation tax. Deal costs are likely to be relieved under the loan relationship rules (where they relate to acquisition group debt) or as expenses of management (where they do not). It also examines the extent to which VAT incurred by the acquisition group may be recoverable.

This Practice Note provides an overview of defined benefit (DB) consolidation, including information on the definition of DB superfunds (also known as ‘DB consolidators’), consolidation models and proposals for their legal regulation.

This one minute guide, written in partnership with Lora Froud, partner, Andrew Henderson, partner, Louise Bralsford, solicitor, and Tiffany Cox, solicitor at Macfarlanes discusses the draft environmental social governance (ESG) measures to amend the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD), the Undertakings for Collective Investments in Transferable Securities (UCITS) Directive and the recast Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II), including impact on the industry, Brexit implications, new concepts and next steps.

This note explores key areas of qualified investor schemes, which complement UCITS and NURS regimes. The note comments on investment powers, possible investors, redemption considerations and promotion as well as possible tax points to consider. This note provides an introduction, which could be followed by detailed consideration of the relevant provisions of the FCA Handbook, as referenced in this note.

The purpose of this Practice Note is to summarise the key features of salary sacrifice arrangements (more recently known as optional remuneration arrangements), their key drivers, advantages, risks and considerations of their implementation, and the contexts in which they are used. This Practice Note has been produced in partnership with Lewin Higgins-Green of FTI Consulting and Philip Swinburn of MacFarlanes.

This Practice Note explains the key features of the employment income tax and National Insurance contribution (NICs) legislation that support salary sacrifice arrangements and the tax consequences of wider optional remuneration arrangements, whether on an individual basis or collective basis across a workforce, and which dictate the practical requirements for implementing a salary sacrifice scheme. This Practice Note is produced in partnership with Lewin Higgins-Green of FTI Consulting and Philip Swinburn of MacFarlanes.

This one minute guide, written in collaboration with Lora Froud, partner, and Tiffany Cox, solicitor, at Macfarlanes, discusses the scope, impact, new concepts and next steps of the EU Disclosure Regulation.

This Practice Note considers the application of the UK’s transfer pricing rules to financing arrangements involving connected party loans and/or connected party guarantees. It considers the impact of these rules on practical examples as well as the interaction with withholding tax obligations. Advance thin capitalisation agreements (ATCAs) are also briefly explained. Produced in partnership with Andrea Leho of Macfarlanes LLP.

This Practice Note provides details of the most common types of salary sacrifice arrangements, namely pension contributions, employer supported childcare and the cycle to work scheme. Other common arrangements are also summarised. This Practice Note also introduces the wider concept of optional remuneration arrangements (OpRAs) and their implications. This Practice Note has been produced in partnership with Lewin Higgins-Green of FTI Consulting and Philip Swinburn of MacFarlanes.

UCITS VI describes the European Commission's Consultation on Undertakings for Collective Investments in Transferable Securities (UCITS) issued in July 2012. The UCITS VI Consultation addresses product rules, liquidity management, depositary issues, money market funds and long term investments. This Practice Note provides an overview of the UCITS VI consultation and its key objectives including eligible assets and use of derivatives, money market funds; and EPM techniques.

In the UK, an unregulated CIS (UCIS) is any collective investment scheme (CIS) that is not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) as either an authorised fund or a recognised scheme. Although UCIS themselves are not regulated, from a UK regulatory perspective certain UK legislation and FCA regulation, including provisions implementing EU directives, will still apply. This note details the applicable provisions.

A salary sacrifice involves an employee giving up a right to receive part of their cash salary in exchange for a defined non-cash benefit. Once a salary sacrifice scheme (also sometimes known as an optional remuneration arrangement) is established, clearance can be obtained from HMRC as to its impact for tax and National Insurance contributions purposes. This is an example letter to be sent to HMRC in order to obtain such clearance. This Precedent is written in partnership with Lewin Higgins-Green of FTI Consulting and Philip Swinburn of MacFarlanes.

A salary sacrifice involves an employee giving up a right to receive part of their cash salary in exchange for a defined non-cash benefit. This is a precedent letter from the employer to the employee inviting the employee to enter into the salary sacrifice arrangements (also sometimes known as optional remuneration arrangements) and explaining the consequences of such an arrangement on the employee’s contract of employment and the next steps should the employee wish to participate. This Precedent is written in partnership with Lewin Higgins-Green of FTI Consulting and Philip Swinburn of MacFarlanes.