Sympathy for the Devil

[phil@pmtc]

Thanks for that I can see in the Liquidators statement that £26K was allowed for HMRC in the solvency declaration but HMRC have asked for £33M yes million - it is being disputed......

Eeesh! 26k-33m That's some difference of opinion! Hope all works out as well as possible.

[Clairol]

I would say almost none.

HMRC is offering an extra statutory position and any attempt to move away from that usually results in a "take it or leave it" scenario.

Phil's note above is fine so far as tax goes but you also have to deal with the loan, DR charge, possible trust distributions etc. I'm sure he can do all of that but you would be sensible to get a fee quote for all the work required to make as clean an exit as you can.

I am confused. I thought that the whole point of BIG GROUP was to negotiate a settlement and that having more participants was part of having weight to achieve that? Please explain.

[webberg]

I am confused. I thought that the whole point of BIG GROUP was to negotiate a settlement and that having more participants was part of having weight to achieve that? Please explain.

What's to explain?

Big Group is aimed at settlement and numbers matter.

The above discussion is about CLSO 2.

[phil@pmtc]

My update on all of the settlement position is that I now believe settlement to be final and I hold no concerns about HMRC attempting later charges. Clearly other advisors may think different and I'm not wishing to turn it into an argument at all (and I'm sure neither do they) but I'm highly confident the legislation covers it well.
I appreciate that basically stating "I believe hmrc" is as a general rule a bit crazy given the past few years but its based onmy interpretation of the legislation and the conversations ive held with them the past few days.

[BrownOwl]

My update on all of the settlement position is that I now believe settlement to be final and I hold no concerns about HMRC attempting later charges. Clearly other advisors may think different and I'm not wishing to turn it into an argument at all (and I'm sure neither do they) but I'm highly confident the legislation covers it well.
I appreciate that basically stating "I believe hmrc" is as a general rule a bit crazy given the past few years but its based onmy interpretation of the legislation and the conversations ive held with them the past few days.

Hi Phil,

Thanks for the information.

Was there anything in the discussions about a full refund of the settlement if a scheme wins in court or the 2019 legislation is defeated in some way?

[phileds]

Don’t wish to get up hopes but actually this may be ok dependent on details. I’m out at min recovering from 5 a side. Pm me your number and can have a chat in morning (all advice on this matter free of charge as only a call)

Hi Phil - I PM'd you.

[starstruck]

My update on all of the settlement position is that I now believe settlement to be final and I hold no concerns about HMRC attempting later charges. Clearly other advisors may think different and I'm not wishing to turn it into an argument at all (and I'm sure neither do they) but I'm highly confident the legislation covers it well.
I appreciate that basically stating "I believe hmrc" is as a general rule a bit crazy given the past few years but its based onmy interpretation of the legislation and the conversations ive held with them the past few days.

Thanks Phil. I assume this is connected to the recent talk of new offer letters. Will they now explicitly say the loan charge doesn’t apply?

[Loan Ranger]

Hi Phil - I PM'd you.

I heard of one person, who took corrective action 9 months ago, recently getting the NICs back.

It's definitely worth writing and demanding it back.

[Invisiblehand]

What's to explain?

Big Group is aimed at settlement and numbers matter.

The above discussion is about CLSO 2.

I thought the same. With more people comes a better chance at negotiating better settlement figure?

No doubt I've missed something!

[starstruck]

I thought the same. With more people comes a better chance at negotiating better settlement figure?

No doubt I've missed something!

You seem to be thinking that BG is about a large number of people approaching HMRC together and trying to negotiate a group deal that is better than you could get as an individual. Which I think a lot of people have assumed also. But as people have stated above (including webberg who runs BG) HMRC won't do that. You won't fully understand what BG is about until you pay to join, as they won't explain it to you until you do (because BG members have paid for the advice behind the plan and why should that be given out for free and publicly). It's sort of a secret that you have to pay to find out, you may or may not like what you find out and as webberg says you are then free to walk away. I hope the above is clear and fair to all involved.