A Bhaur and others v Equity First Trustees (Nevis) Ltd and others

In A Bhaur and others v Equity First Trustees (Nevis) Ltd and others [2021] EWHC 2581 (Ch) (28 September 2021) the High Court held that declined the Bhaur family’s application to set aside an employee benefit trust (EBT) scheme on the grounds of mistake and to restore to the Bhaur family the assets paid or transferred into the scheme.

HMRC did not wish to participate in the case. The scheme itself was highly complex and went through a number of iterations but essentially it amounted to using an EBT structure as a vehicle for family wealth preservation. It sought to take advantage of the inheritance tax exemptions in IHTA 1984 s 13 (dispositions by close companies for benefit of employees) and s 86 (trusts for benefit of employees). The scheme had come under HMRC investigation. Whilst it was not for...