People who previously invested in film finance schemes have received letters from HMRC’s counter-avoidance unit offering them an opportunity to settle what has been a long-running tax dispute over the validity of the tax schemes.
In their letter HMRC state that they are offering investors the opportunity to avoid further investigation and what could be substantial costs of going to court. Over recent years HMRC has secured several court victories against film schemes claiming they are a route for tax avoidance.
If investors in the film schemes take up the offer to settle it’s likely that HMRC could potentially receive “tens if not hundreds of millions of pounds” accordingly to leading tax experts.
HMRC’s letter states investors should “take the opportunity that is currently being offered”, not only because future conditions may be stricter but also to give them “certainty over [their] tax affairs”.
Investors in film partnership schemes need to check whether they can individually settle dependent upon the scheme’s terms. In some instances promoters of film schemes are already negotiating collective settlements with HMRC.
The Bedrock team has considerable experience in helping people who have used tax planning arrangements such as film partnership schemes settle with HMRC, thereby avoiding protracted disputes and costly court cases.
