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Moran v HMRC

This is a case about the transfer of assets abroad regime. Essentially the judge decided that provision of rent-free accommodation was funded out of income derived from offshore assets provided by the taxpayer’s late husband and hence was subject to income tax. Two things strike me about the case. The first is that the husband died as long ago as 2002 but the assessments on his wife were for years up to 2019/20 ― thus showing that liability under these provisions can have a very long tail. Secondly, it appears that the husband had taken steps to ensure that no one adviser knew the totality of his business and financial interests. This made it nearly impossible for the tribunal to establish precisely what had happened and when. In turn this caused great difficulty to the taxpayer, who had the burden of proof, in her efforts to show that there was a motive defence.

It is difficult (though perhaps unfair) to avoid the conclusion here that the husband had been too clever