Trusts

ALLISON PLAGER scans the 19th, 20th and 21st sittings of the Standing Committee.

TRUSTS, TRUSTS AND more trusts: who would have thought that a couple of Budget press releases, containing information that Gordon Brown considered not worth mentioning in his Budget speech, could cause so much trouble? But they certainly have. A healthy part of the 19th sitting was covered in Richard Curtis's article 'Too much, too young', Taxation,  21 September, but some discussion on insurance policies remained.

CAROLYN STEPPLER takes a practical look at inheritance tax charges on an accumulation and maintenance trust under the new rules.

WIDE RANGING CHANGES to the inheritance tax regime for trusts were introduced by Finance Act 2006. While existing interest in possession trusts may be grandfathered, this is not the case automatically for accumulation and maintenance trusts. Any A&M trust in existence which does not provide that beneficiaries become entitled to income and capital at 18 will fall within the new rules from 6 April 2008.

Extracts from HMRC's eighty-third Tax Bulletin.

Franchised businesses

As the Special Commissioner's conclusions were based on findings of fact, HMRC do not consider that the ruling in Balloon Promotions Ltd and Others (SpC 524, see Taxation, 20 April 2006, page 62 for a report of the case) is of general application to other cases involving the sale of franchised businesses. HMRC do not intend to lodge an appeal.