An artificial tax-avoidance scheme that involved selling shares at massive ‘paper losses’, which would have led to 400 wealthy people saving an average of nearly £1/2 million each in tax, has been defeated by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).
The scheme involved buying shares at massively inflated values then selling them to create a loss. The end position was intended to be a tax saving for the scheme participant plus them owing the ‘purchase cost’ to an offshore trust of which they were the beneficiary.
HMRC point out that this is their third successive victory in cases brought to tackle tax avoidance.