This month, we comment on a couple of taxpayer victories concerning the income tax treatment of dividends: in Gould, the FTT held that an interim dividend was taxable when actually paid, rather than declared; in Jays, a similar finding held that part of a dividend declared but not actually paid did not trigger tax. Hopes v Burton continues the trend of taxpayers being able to rely on the doctrine of mistake to remedy transactions where unforeseen tax consequences arise. Futcher acts as a timely reminder that difficult personal circumstances will not necessarily constitute a "reasonable excuse" or "special circumstances" to avoid penalties on the late filing of a personal tax return. 

Two further SDLT cases, Withers and Ridgway, continue the tribunals' exploration of what constitutes "mixed use". 

Finally, we note the continued plethora of HMRC nudge letter campaigns. 

Read the full article.