APPLICATIONS FOR LEAVE TO APPEAL GRANTED
37323
James Chadwick Rankin, carrying on business as Rankin’s Garage & Sales v. J.J. by his Litigation Guardian, J.A.J., J.A.J., A.J.
(Ont.)
Torts — Negligence — Duty of Care — Motor vehicles
Welcome to the February 2017 edition of our wealth and trusts quarterly digest. The digest provides up to date commentary and analysis on key sector developments. Our tax, wealth and trusts teams are able to provide a wide ranging service to assist you and your clients in responding to market trends and legal developments. We would welcome the opportunity to discuss any concerns you may have and always welcome feedback on the content of our publications. Feature When can trustees exercise their right of retention?
APPLICATIONS FOR LEAVE TO APPEAL DISMISSED
37268
Joseph Palazzo v. Standard Life Assurance Company of Canada
(Que.)
Civil Procedure – Appeal – Prescription
The Applicant was an employee of the Respondent from 1968 to 2009. In 1980, the Applicant began selling life insurance and investment products of the Respondent until his retirement on May 1, 2009. During his employment as a sales representative, the Applicant was paid on a commission basis only.
ADVISORY | DISPUTES | TRANSACTIONS Make insolvency great again February 2017 One of the great criticisms of the new President of the United States of America is that his companies filed for bankruptcy four times when he was a business mogul. In truth Donald Trump utilised various provisions of Chapter 11 of the US Bankruptcy Code to restructure his businesses. In an effort to encourage a similar level of entrepreneurial spirit, a mere 14 days after his election the EU Commission unveiled plans to adopt a pan-European regime which closely mirrors much of the US’s Chapter 11.
On 11 October 2016, the High Court10 held that statutory interest payable on an insolvency (under rule 2.88(7) IR 1986) is not “yearly interest” for UK tax purposes. Such statutory interest is therefore not subject to UK withholding tax (20%).
The facts of the case are somewhat unusual in that there was a substantial surplus in the administration and the statutory interest was estimated at £5bn. However the decision is a welcome clarification of the position. It also confirms HMRC’s previous guidance on the taxation of statutory interest (subsequently withdrawn).
On 29 November 2016, the First-tier Tribunal9 held that the issue of growth shares to certain key employees had inadvertently caused an existing class of ordinary shares to carry a preferential right to assets on a winding up. The effect of this was that both prior ordinary share issues, and future share issues, failed to meet the requirement of the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) rules.
In Lehman Brothers International (Europe) (in Administration) v Exxonmobil Financial Services BV(1) the High Court considered a range of issues arising from the application of the close-out provisions of the standard-form Global Master Repurchase Agreement (GMRA) 2000.
In Lomas and others v HMRC [2016] EWHC 2492 (Ch), the High Court has confirmed that statutory interest payable on insolvency is not 'yearly interest' for UK tax purposes. The administrators therefore had no obligation to account for income tax on the interest payments made. The Court was also critical of HMRC's contradictory guidance on this issue.
Background
Gowling WLG's finance litigation experts bring you the latest on the cases and issues affecting the lending industry.
Uncrystallised pension pot remains protected following bankruptcy
The Court of Appeal resolves some of the conflict between insolvency and pensions law in its decision on Horton v Henry.
The Court of Appeal has upheld the High Court decision of the Deputy Judge in Horton v Henry (2014) confirming that a trustee in bankruptcy cannot access uncrystallised funds in a bankrupt's pension arrangements (or force the bankrupt to access them himself).