Lords ruling a blow to foreign companies

Lords ruling a blow to foreign companies

Lord reach decision in Boake Allen case

Foreign companies with UK subsidiaries can kiss goodbye to any hopes of
taking advantage of favourable European Court of Justice tax rulings following a
victory for HM Revenue & Customs in the House of Lords last week.

In a decision on the Boake Allen case, which saw the subsidiaries of non-EU
parent companies attempt to use EU non-discrimination rules to claim back tax,
the Lords ruled unanimously in favour of HMRC.

The companies leading the action were based in Japan, the US and Switzerland.
The claim arose because their UK subsidiaries paid dividends, which in effect
meant they paid corporation tax earlier than if they had had UK parents.

The non-EU companies argued that because they had taxation treaties with the
UK, they should be eligible for the same benefits afforded to those with EU
parents.

But the Lords ruled that the tax treaties were far more limited in their
scope than the EU treaty, which businesses with EU parents had used to win a
similar claim.

‘This case is likely to make it very much harder for foreign multinationals
to make claims based on EU tax cases,’ said Bill Dodwell, head of tax policy at
Deloitte.

Share

Subscribe to get your daily business insights

Resources & Whitepapers

Why Professional Services Firms Should Ditch Folders and Embrace Metadata
Professional Services

Why Professional Services Firms Should Ditch Folders and Embrace Metadata

3y

Why Professional Services Firms Should Ditch Folde...

In the past decade, the professional services industry has transformed significantly. Digital disruptions, increased competition, and changing market ...

View resource
2 Vital keys to Remaining Competitive for Professional Services Firms

2 Vital keys to Remaining Competitive for Professional Services Firms

3y

2 Vital keys to Remaining Competitive for Professi...

In recent months, professional services firms are facing more pressure than ever to deliver value to clients. Often, clients look at the firms own inf...

View resource
Turn Accounts Payable into a value-engine
Accounting Firms

Turn Accounts Payable into a value-engine

3y

Turn Accounts Payable into a value-engine

In a world of instant results and automated workloads, the potential for AP to drive insights and transform results is enormous. But, if you’re still ...

View resource
Digital Links: A guide to MTD in 2021
Making Tax Digital

Digital Links: A guide to MTD in 2021

3y

Digital Links: A guide to MTD in 2021

The first phase of Making Tax Digital (MTD) saw the requirement for the digital submission of the VAT Return using compliant software. That’s now behi...

View resource