Case Note HMRC v George Anson: UK Court of Appeal Upholds Previous Decision that US LLC is Fiscally Opaque

摘要

The UK Court of Appeal released its decision in the case of HMRC v George Ansor on 12 February 2013. This decision confirms the HMRC's longstanding position on the UK tax treatment of US limited liability companies (LLCs), although it is thought likely to be subject to a further appeal. Mr Anson was a member of HarbourVest LLC (HV), a Delaware LLC, and, between 1998 and 2004, received profits from HV that were taxable in the UK as distributions. Mr Anson's position was that, in accordance with the provisions of the UK/US Double Tax Convention (both the 1975 and 2001 conventions were relevant on the facts but they were not materially different in the relevant respects), he was entided to claim double tax relief (DTR) in the UK for tax paid in the US on his HV profits on the basis that these were the same profits the UK was seeking to tax. HMRC denied him such relief. Mr Anson took his case to the Tax Tribunal and the First Tier Tribunal ruled in his favour, taking a position contrary to established practice given HMRC's known views. HMRC appealed the case to the Upper Tribunal, which reversed the decision of the First Tier Tribunal. Mr Anson pursued the matter to the Court of Appeal.