Testamentary options A testamentary option arises when a person, by his will, directs that a beneficiary should have the option of purchasing property forming part of the estate. As explained in Talbot v Talbot [1968] Ch 1, upon exercise of that right the beneficiary enters into a contract with the executors. Williams on Wills Precedents notes at para 209.1 that: Testamentary options are a peculiarity. The gift of an option to acquire property at its market value is not really a gift at all and might be described as

An individual who is unable to work because of sickness may still be entitled during their sickness absence to be paid: • statutory sick pay (SSP) under the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992 (SSCBA 1992) and the Statutory Sick Pay (General) Regulations 1982, SI 1982/894, and/or • contractual (or ‘occupational’) sick pay For further information, generally, see Practice Note: Sick pay. SSP In order to be eligible for SSP an individual must: • be an employee as defined and not fall within one of the excluded categories • be too ill to undertake any work under their contract of employment on any day for which they claim SSP, or be deemed to be so • have at least four consecutive days' sick absence (including Sundays and Bank holidays) during which they are too ill to work; this is referred to as a 'period

Fact pattern In order to determine whether UK VAT is chargeable the full facts and details of the services in question must be established. For the purpose of this Q and A, the fact pattern is as follows: • the UK company is a taxable person • both companies 'belong' to their respective countries for VAT purposes (for more information, see Practice Note: VAT place of supply rules—where is a supply made?), and • the downloadable apps service is 'used and enjoyed' in the UK. Does UK VAT apply? A transaction must have five elements for UK VAT to be chargeable. It must: • be a supply of goods or services • be a taxable supply • take place in the UK • be made my a taxable person, and • be made in the course of furtherance of any business carried on by that person For more information on the five elements see: When does VAT apply? As

For a transaction to be chargeable to UK VAT, it must: • be a supply of goods or a supply of services • be a taxable supply • take place in the UK • be made by a taxable person, and • be made in the course or furtherance of any business carried on by that person We have assumed that in the scenario of this Q&A, the third, fourth and fifth of these conditions are met. Supply of goods or supply of services Under section 5(2) of the Value Added Tax Act 1994 (VATA 1994), a supply ‘includes all

UK value added tax (VAT) is chargeable on a transaction where a taxable person makes a UK taxable supply of goods or services in the course of furtherance of any business carried on by that person. This means that no UK VAT will be chargeable on a transaction where the seller is not a taxable person. A taxable person is a person who is, or is required to be, registered for VAT under Value Added Tax Act 1994. The rules for registration are complex but broadly a person is required to register for VAT if they make

VAT can be charged on agricultural land, at the option of the landowner. It is unusual for the option to tax to be made in respect of farmland, but it is not unknown.

We have assumed that the seller has not exercised the option to tax the property in question, and that it is clear that the garage is specifically designed for parking vehicles. The grant of facilities for parking a vehicle is standard-rated for VAT purposes. In HMRC’s view, for these purposes, a grant includes the assignment of a long lease. According to this view, the assignment of a long lease of a

Where a tenant pays the landlord to take back a lease, the payment is an exempt supply (subject to the option to tax—Value Added Tax Act

Where payment is being made by a tenant to the landlord for exercising a break option, the value added tax (VAT) treatment of such a payment is generally that it is exempt unless the landlord has opted to tax. This is because where a tenant pays the landlord in connection with the termination of a lease, this is generally consideration for a supply by the landlord. The legislation describes this supply as a reverse surrender

In the case of Valilas v Januzaj the Court of Appeal addressed (in a non-shipping context) the issue of what amounts to a repudiatory breach in the context of an innominate term to make regular payments. It

This Q&A has assumed that the Student is studying on an undergraduate course or higher. As set out in the Practice Note: Student: period and conditions of permission, it is a condition of Student permission, where the Student is following a full-time course at degree level or above and are sponsored by a higher education provider with a track record of compliance, that they are not allowed to undertake employment of more than 20 hours per week during term time. See: Immigration Rules, Appendix Student, para ST 26.1. The Practice Note: Direct contractual right to work checks—how to conduct the check looks at the steps that an employer must undertake prior to employing a person with Student permission. This confirms that an employer: ‘must obtain and retain details of academic term and vacation dates of the course, as part of a right to work check conducted

National security certificates prior to the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA 2018) were dealt with under Section 28 of the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA 1998), which states: ‘a certificate signed by a Minister of the Crown certifying that exemption from all or any of the provisions mentioned in subsection (1) is or at any time was required for the purpose there mentioned in respect of any personal data shall be conclusive evidence of that fact.’ This allowed for the Secretary of State to issue certificates whilst disregarding data protection principles ‘for the purpose of safeguarding national security’, as per the exemptions laid out in DPA 1998, s 28(1). DPA 1998, s 28 has now been repealed by DPA 2018, s 211(1)(a) and Sch 19, Pt 1, para 44. However, DPA 2018, Sch 20, Pt 5, para 17(2) provides that: ‘A certificate issued under section 28(2) of the 1998 Act continues