BIG GROUP

[regron]

Hi All

Please can you assist me in answering what may appear to be basic questions.

I was with AML for just over a year, irrespective of how I end up settling with HMRC:

1) Do I still have a loan that I need to PAY AML or anyone else back at any point?
2) When applying for a mortgage or other loans, do I need to stipulate that I have a loan with AML?

Thanks in advance

Whilst people (including myself) could answer your questions based on our own personal experience and opinions. I recommend you seek professional advice, as everyone's overall situation is different.

[starstruck]

I have a friend who was in an EBT scheme around 2002 and their foreign currency loans were written off over a decade ago due to currency depreciation. Would their loans be caught by the 2019 loan charge? They have recently been contacted by the scheme provider saying the loans would be caught, despite having no outstanding balance and that my friend needs to effectively join a new scheme to get around it.

[cojak]

I have a friend who was in an EBT scheme around 2002 and their foreign currency loans were written off over a decade ago due to currency depreciation. Would their loans be caught by the 2019 loan charge? They have recently been contacted by the scheme provider saying the loans would be caught, despite having no outstanding balance and that my friend needs to effectively join a new scheme to get around it.

See webberg's reply here:

[Replying to a poster asking a similar "Can you tell me...?" question] Not here I'm not.

Loans are a legal matter.

You need legal advice.

I am a tax specialist and could not give you that advice.

[starstruck]

Sorry, just to clarify, the loans were "waived". The letter reads along the lines "the loan has fallen to such an extent that the trustees no longer consider it economic to continue with the loan ... they have therefore resolved to waive your loans ...". So it's more a question of what is caught by the 2019 loan charge and specifically if waived loans are caught as the scheme provider is claiming?

[eek]

I have a friend who was in an EBT scheme around 2002 and their foreign currency loans were written off over a decade ago due to currency depreciation. Would their loans be caught by the 2019 loan charge? They have recently been contacted by the scheme provider saying the loans would be caught, despite having no outstanding balance and that my friend needs to effectively join a new scheme to get around it.

My advice to your friend would be to phone up a separate expert and find out what they say https://www.wttconsulting.co.uk/ who manage Big Group would be a starting point to start investigating whether there is an actual issue or whether its an attempt to extract more money.

and remember no-one knows what the 2019 changes will look like as its not law yet....

[Fred Bloggs]

My advice to your friend would be to phone up a separate expert and find out what they say https://www.wttconsulting.co.uk/ who manage Big Group would be a starting point to start investigating whether there is an actual issue or whether its an attempt to extract more money.

and remember no-one knows what the 2019 changes will look like as its not law yet....

There is the famous case where HMRC won in the currency loan schemes. Likely that HMRC will say the whole thing was a sham and you still owe the tax plus interest on that pay?

[webberg]

The 2019 charge as it originally appeared, said that the basis of the charge for any loan expressed in non sterling form, would be the original sterling value.

In other words the alleged depreciation/waiver/reduction would be ignored.

You should note that this is a definition used for TAX purposes.

I am not a lawyer and cannot say if a TAX law can be used to reverse a loan reduction or reinstate a loan previously advised as having been waived. For that you will need a lawyer.

[webberg]

The below was posted on another thread but as the post it responds to appears to have been repeated across many threads, I make no apology for repeating it here.

Re the above suggestions for a twitter campaign.

As a representative of WTT, can I make it clear that we are not organising or running this campaign via Twitter.

Whilst we are supportive of the motives behind the proposal, a public campaign such as this is not our preferred route to finding a resolution, on the basis that the inevitable uncoordinated nature of posts from many sources could lead to a loss of focus on the key messages that we consider are effective routes to that resolution.

We wish all those involved, (WTT clients, WTT Big Group members and others), the very best of luck in achieving their objectives, but this is an initiative that we cannot support at this time.

[BrilloPad]

I have a friend who was in an EBT scheme around 2002 and their foreign currency loans were written off over a decade ago due to currency depreciation. Would their loans be caught by the 2019 loan charge? They have recently been contacted by the scheme provider saying the loans would be caught, despite having no outstanding balance and that my friend needs to effectively join a new scheme to get around it.

If your friend has heard nothing for 6 years then the loan is dead. Personally I would spend nothing on it. They are chancing their arm.

[webberg]

If your friend has heard nothing for 6 years then the loan is dead. Personally I would spend nothing on it. They are chancing their arm.

As I said, I'm not a lawyer, but this point we have discussed with a barrister who I trust.

If you have a loan agreement, written or implied, and you are asked for repayment, refuse and the lender takes no action to perfect his claim within 6 years, then his claim can be denied at the end of that period.

If you have a loan agreement, written or implied, and you are NOT asked for repayment, then even if the repayment date passes, the lender retains able to demand repayment and the statute of limitations does not start.

As I said, I'm repeating advice given to us.