This Q&A does not consider the implications for the taxpayer of being deemed domiciled in the UK in respect to a particular tax. Failure to notify For information on the penalty regime for failure to notify HMRC of a liability to tax, see Practice Note: Penalties for failure to notify a liability to tax. A non-deliberate failure to notify HMRC that tax is chargeable will not attract a penalty if the taxpayer has a reasonable excuse for the failure. For information on what constitutes ‘reasonable excuse’ see Practice Note: Penalties for failure to notify a liability to tax—reasonable excuse. It is important to note that the scope of the defence will vary from taxpayer to taxpayer: what is a reasonable excuse for one individual may not be reasonable

It appears from this scenario that the interest of the business which X is purchasing has the benefit of a leasehold interest in commercial property, rather than owning the freehold (or a superior leasehold interest). It further appears that, as part of the transaction by

Easements are usually a positive right: a right to use one plot of land for the purposes of gaining access to another. The right which can be claimed in the present context is more negative in substance: a right not to have the support which is provided removed by a neighbour. There is a natural

This Q&A assumes that the reference to ‘Land Tribunal’ is to the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) (UT). The UT was established on 1 June 2009 as the successor to the Lands Tribunal for England and Wales. See sections 3(2), 30(1),(4), 31(1), 31(2), 31(7), 31(9), 38 and 145 of the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007 and Transfer of Tribunal Functions (Lands Tribunal and Miscellaneous Amendments) Order 2009, SI 2009/1307. This Q&A also assumes that the UT is involved on the basis of an appeal from a decision by the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) (FTT), under the FTT’s jurisdiction to deal with land registration cases (presumably the issue being whether a right of way should

By continuing to live in the property, X has reserved a benefit in the property. The Gift with Reservation of Benefit (GROB) rules therefore apply. See Practice Note: IHT—gifts with reservation of benefit. On this basis, the property will be included within X's estate on death for IHT purposes. See Practice Note: IHT—the charge on death. For the GROB rules to apply under section 102(1)(b) of the Finance Act 1986 (FA 1986), the property must be used 'virtually to the entire exclusion of the donor’. In practice, HMRC will normally allow by concession occupation by X of up 14 days

For the purposes of this Q&A, we have assumed that the judgment arises from an 'ordinary' unpaid debt and the defendant’s discharge was automatic on the expiry of one year from the bankruptcy under section 279 of the Insolvency Act 1986 (IA 1986). From a practical perspective, much depends on the nature of the court judgment obtained by the creditor. A freezing order is an equitable remedy granted against a person to stop them from dealing with their assets (usually identified within the order) to preserve them for enforcement. Depending on whether it is granted ex parte, the person having obtained the order

These are optional clauses in NEC3/NEC4 contracts (known as secondary Options) which deal with matters such as delay damages (X7), design liability (X15), retention (X16) and limitations of liability (X18). They are intended to be suitable for use regardless of the country in which the works are carried out or the governing law. See also W options, Y options and Z clauses.

Shares are relevant business property if they meet certain conditions, one of which is that the shares have been owned for at least two years (section 106 of the Inheritance Tax Act 1984 (IHTA 1984)). However, relevant business property is treated as satisfying the two-year ownership period if it ‘replaces’ (directly or indirectly) other property, provided (a) the ‘new’ property and the ‘old’ property were, between them, owned by the transferor for a total period of at least two years falling within the five years immediately preceding the transfer of value and (b) the ‘old’ property

The right of first refusal Part I of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987 (LTA 1987) gives qualifying tenants of flats a right of first refusal enabling them to purchase the interest of their landlord if and when the landlord proposes to dispose of it. The right is framed in negative terms, prohibiting the landlord from making a relevant disposal without first serving a notice under LTA 1987, s 5 (commonly referred to as a ‘section 5 notice’) on the qualifying tenants and requiring that the disposal is made in accordance with the statutory requirements. Those statutory requirements are designed to ensure that the landlord, having established that the tenants do not wish

Possible assignment in breach of lease Certain tenancies are incapable of assignment (for example a tenancy at will and certain secure tenancies). In most cases, however, a lease is capable of assignment but there are covenants against doing so unless certain conditions are met. An assignment in breach of a covenant is nevertheless an effective assignment (Old Grovebury Manor Farm v W Seymour Plant Sales & Hire). Therefore, if the lease was validly assigned by the company (observing any necessary formalities) before the disclaimer, then the assignment would be effective to pass the lease to the

This Q&A covers the rules on the changes to excluded property that were included in the Finance Bill 2017 (FB 2017) published on 5 December 2016 and focuses on the inheritance tax (IHT) implications of the draft rules in relation to UK residential property. Background The default position is that IHT is chargeable on all property which is not excluded property. Before the anticipated rule changes, property that was not 'UK property' and which was held by non-UK domiciled individuals was referred to as 'excluded property' and was not subject to UK inheritance tax. Offshore company shares were classed as 'excluded property', even though the underlying assets

Essentially, Landlord and Tenant Act 1987 (LTA 1987) gives the leasehold owners of certain properties a right of first refusal when the freehold owner seeks to dispose of an interest in them. The right applies to most long leaseholders of blocks where at least a half of the internal floor area is residential in nature (LTA 1987, s 1(3)). The starting point is that any disposal by the landlord of an interest in the block engages the right of first refusal, but there is a long list of exceptions to this which must be considered in any given case (LTA 1987, s 4(1)(2)). A landlord wishing to make a disposal must serve notice under LTA 1987, s 5 on the lessees giving them opportunity within a prescribed period to exercise their rights. In most cases, the relevant landlord is the immediate landlord of the qualifying