Francesca Lagerberg

Loans from offshore trusts

In Cooper v Billingham [2001] STC 1177 it was held that, where non-resident trustees made interest-free loans repayable on demand to a beneficiary, this was the provision of a benefit from the trust within section 97(4), Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992. Accordingly the value of the benefit was a capital payment for the purposes of the capital gains provisions relating to offshore trusts.

In America, there is a saying that a business is like a car: it will not run by itself except downhill. Nurturing a fledging enterprise is a delicate balance and tax advisers tend to see first hand from their clients and their own practices how complicated it can be to get everything right. In addition to the actual business, there is a raft of other challenges to consider, such as the perils and pitfalls of VAT registration and administration and the apparent inexorable rise of regulation and red tape.