Clients want to keep more of their money, and they will look to you to tell them what is safe, what is risky, and what crosses the line into a criminal offence. Knowing where lawful planning ends and challengeable avoidance — or outright evasion — begins is one of the most practical skills a solicitor advising on tax can have. This lesson gives you a clear map of the rules HMRC and the courts use to attack arrangements that follow the letter of the law but defeat its purpose.
What this lesson covers:
- The Spectrum of Tax Conduct and Criminal Liability — how planning, avoidance and evasion differ, and where criminal liability arises.
- The General Anti-Abuse Rule (GAAR) — the main-purpose test, the taxes covered, and how HMRC counteracts abusive arrangements.
- The Ramsay Principle (Purposive Interpretation) — how courts look through pre-planned, artificial steps to the real end result.
- Off-Payroll Working Rules (IR35) — when a worker using a company is really an employee, and who must decide.
- Section 455 Charge on Close Company Loans — stopping participators from extracting funds tax-free as loans.
- Gift with Reservation of Benefit and Pre-Owned Assets — why keeping a benefit drags a gift back into the donor's estate.