Is it a loan? Lessons learned from MJP Media

MJP Media Services Ltd v HMRC [2011] UKUT 100 (TCC) is a case that really should never have seen the light of its day in court. They are plucky to try it but it might have been better if someone had dissuaded them.

The case itself is actually quite simple and we have a result that's pretty much expected. Was the taxpayer MJP entitled to a tax deduction under the loan relationship rules for its partial waiver of an intra-group debt owed by its ultimate parent Aegis? No it wasn't – the taxpayer couldn't show that a loan relationship even existed let alone convince the Court that the rules should be read in accordance with their interpretation. Given the paucity of evidence on the factual position it's no...