In M R Currell Ltd v HMRC [2023] UKFTT 613 (TC) (12 July 2023) the First-tier Tribunal (FTT) upheld a charge to PAYE and class 1 NICs in respect of a payment by a company to an employee benefit trust (EBT) ruling that the payment which was subsequently loaned to a director and shareholder of the company (MC) was earnings of MC.
The company made a payment of £800 000 to an EBT it had established. At around the same time the trust loaned all of that amount to a director and shareholder of the company MC. The loan was interest-free and repayable on demand after five years but by the time of the appeal hearing only £50 000 had in fact been repaid. MC applied the loan to buy shares in the company from his wife who then lent the proceeds back...