Inland Revenue v Earl of Buchan: HL 3 Dec 1908

The Succession Duty Act 1851, sec. 15, enacts-‘Where the title to any succession shall be accelerated by the surrender or extinction of any prior interests, then the duty thereon shall be payable at the same time and in the same manner as such duty would have been payable if no such acceleration had taken place.’
An heir of entail in possession of an entailed estate under an entail dated prior to 1848, in 1872 transferred his interest to his son, the next heir, born subsequent to 1848 and not yet twenty-five, for the purpose of certain family arrangements with a view to borrowing money. In 1875, on the son’s attaining twenty-five, the father and son applied for power to disentail, and disentailed. The son continued to possess the estate, and in 1905 the Crown claimed Succession Duty in respect of the succession on the father’s death, which had occurred in 1898.
Held that, under section 15 of the Succession Duty Act 1853, succession duty was exigible.

Judges:

Lord Chancellor (Loreburn), Lord Robertson, and Lord Collins

Citations:

[1908] UKHL 91, 46 SLR 91

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

Scotland

Inheritance Tax

Updated: 26 April 2022; Ref: scu.621530