On 6 December it was quietly announced in a Ministerial Statement released with the draft Finance Bill 2012 provisions that the UK is planning to change two key pieces of anti-avoidance legislation: the rules governing transfers of assets abroad (ITA 2007 ss 714 – 751) and the attribution of gains made by non-resident companies (TCGA 1992 s 13). Proposals will be published for consultation around the time of Budget 2012 with a view to enactment in Finance Bill 2013.
This was not an altogether surprising development. The European Commission announced in February 2011 that it had issued ‘reasoned opinions’ to the UK explaining how (in the Commission's view) the existing legislation infringes...