Peter John St. Barbe Green, David Robert Mitson (Trustees of the Will of Consuelo Dowager Duchess of Manchester v the Commissioners of Inland Revenue: ChD 11 Jan 2005

The taxpayer appealed a notice of determination of liability of the estate for Inheritance Tax purposes. He sought to set off an excess of liabilities over assets in the deceased’s own estate against assets held in settlements.
Held: The appeal failed. ‘Inheritance tax is charged on death by virtue of the deemed transfer of value in section 4. That is a transfer of value ‘equal to the value of [the deceased’s] estate immediately before his death’. His estate is the ‘aggregate of all property to which he is beneficially interested’. The word ‘property’ is important here. It is not defined for these purposes (section 272 of the Act contains a partial definition in it that states what the expression includes but not what it means), but it is important to note that section 49(1) (which brings in the settled assets) does so by deeming the deceased to be beneficially entitled to ‘the property’ in which his life interest subsists. It does not say ‘net property’ (ie the value of the property net of trust liabilities) but that is what it must mean’

Judges:

The Honourable Mr Justice Mann

Citations:

[2005] EWHC 14 (Ch), Times 14-Jan-2005

Statutes:

Inheritance Tax Act 1984 224 593) 222

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

CitedCommissioners of Inland Revenue v McGuckian HL 21-May-1997
Steps which had been inserted into a commercial transaction, but which had no purpose other than the saving of tax are to be disregarded when assessing the tax effect of the scheme. The modern approach to statutory construction is to have regard to . .
CitedCape Brandy Syndicate v Inland Revenue Commissioners CA 1921
Rowlatt J said: ‘In a taxing Act one has to look merely at what is clearly said. There is no room for any intendment. There is no equity about a tax. There is no presumption as to a tax. Nothing is to be read in, nothing is to be implied’ and . .
AppliedRe Barnes 1939
A gift was made within three years of death. Under estate duty law it fell to be treated as property passing on the death. The deceased’s estate was heavily insolvent with a deficit of over andpound;90,000 and the executrix claimed that the . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Inheritance Tax

Updated: 27 June 2022; Ref: scu.221485