Transfers are taxable

A company set up a funded unapproved retirement benefits scheme for the taxpayer who was the firm’s controlling shareholder.

The business transferred two properties into the scheme in March 2005 and describing the action in its accounts as “director’s pension contributions” – which the taxpayer did not declare these in self assessment return.

HMRC discovered the omission and issued a discovery assessment on the basis the contributions had been made to provide a benefit to the taxpayer and were therefore taxable benefits.

The taxpayer appealed.

The First-tier Tribunal said the taxpayer was the sole beneficiary of the scheme. There was no documentation to support the taxpayer’s assertion that the contributions were not made with a view to his benefit.

The tribunal judge noted that the taxpayer’s memory of events was “poor and he appeared to attach and at the time of the events in question...