Clampdown on tax relief schemes

13 january 2013

INVESTORS have been warned they may lose their valuable tax breaks after a landmark court ruling last week against a risky scheme used by celebrities and the wealthy to reduce tax bills.

HM Revenue and Customs won a court case against Eclipse 35, a film investment partnership, that allowed investors to claim income tax relief worth more than the amount they invested.

The taxman successfully argued that investors were simply using the scheme to benefit from the tax breaks rather than take a risk to help boost the UK film industry.

It is the latest in a series of moves by HMRC to clamp down on tax avoidance. It confirmed last week that it is investigating a series of other partnership schemes including those offered by Future Capital Partners and Ingenious.