Companies need to tighten prevention procedures to avoid falling foul of ‘relevant person’ rules in the Criminal Finances Act, particularly when it comes to potential breaches of tax rules. Kevin Hindley, managing director of Alvarez & Marsal Taxand says it is important to establish a robust framework to de-risk from potential prosecution under these provisions

Government plans to push through a summer Finance Bill before the parliamentary summer recess will come up against problems as there are no select committees in place following the general election so there is likely to be little time for proper scrutiny 

The recent move to extend the double tax treaty passport scheme to all types of borrowers and lenders, not just for transactions between corporates changes withholding tax rules, say Neville Wright, partner, Kelly Lovegrove, senior associate and Karen Hird, associate at DLA Piper

The Charity Commission has used new powers to disqualify Mountstar, sole trustee of the Cup Trust, which was used in a £46m tax avoidance scheme, and is also considering regulatory action against the directors of the company which is registered in the British Virgin Islands

The Canadian tax authorities have revealed they are collaborating with the UK on an ongoing international investigation into an alleged so-called ‘carousel’ tax fraud scheme which put over $50m (£30m) of tax at risk

The Gibraltar Betting and Gaming Association (GBGA) has lost the final stage of a legal argument over whether Gibraltar and the UK can be treated as a single EU member for some aspect of EU law, with a ‘single entity’ ruling from the European Court of Justice (CJEU) which also throws doubt on the territory’s hopes of establishing a special status post-Brexit

In HMRC's ever growing arsenal of anti-avoidance measures, the targeted anti avoidance rule (TAAR) can only apply if the taxpayer is liquidating and not selling their business, explains Pete Miller, director of The Miller Partnership, but advisers and businesses need to make sure they understand the potential tax liability of capital distributions

The launch of a register of beneficial ownership of trusts from June 2017 will sweep up all UK trusts and non-UK trusts with UK tax liability, with only bare trusts excluded. Jason Collins, partner and head of tax investigation, and Paul Noble, tax director at Pinsent Masons examine how the system will work and provides tips on the extended HMRC notification process

Gibraltar's favourable tax status may be put at risk when Brexit talks as the territory is set to play a pivotal role in negotiations. Stuart Gray, senior editor at Wolters Kluwer Global Tax Weekly, examines what is at stake for this low-tax financial centre

A First Tier Tribunal (FTT) has dismissed an appeal against HMRC’s refusal of claims to a capital loss and to relief against income tax in respect of that loss, but allowed the appellant’s appeal against HMRC’s conclusion that a loan waiver, to wind up a scheme, was subject to income tax

Anne Scott has been appointed as the inaugural tax chamber president of the First Tier Tribunal (FTT) for Scotland, with effect from 24 April when control of devolved taxes transferred from the Tax Tribunals for Scotland to the newly-created Scottish Tribunals

The Criminal Finances Act 2017 raises concerns for tax advisers and accountants providing offshore tax advice, warn Jonathan Grimes, partner, and Jonathan Blunden, solicitor, criminal litigation practice, Kingsley Napley LLP. Here they consider the implications of the new rules affecting companies and partnerships