Wired Orthodontics Ltd and others v HMRC

In Wired Orthodontics Ltd and others v HMRC [2023] UKFTT 17 (TC) (6 January 2023) the First-tier Tribunal (FTT) held that the award of £300 000 worth of gold bullion by a company to its directors formed part of the directors’ taxable earnings. The FTT also held that the company’s expenses in acquiring the gold bullion were not deductible for corporation tax purposes as those expenses were not incurred ‘wholly and exclusively’ for the purposes of the company’s trade. 

Wired Orthodontics Ltd (WO) acquired a pre-packaged tax scheme designed to provide tax-free income to its two directors who were also employees. The scheme was also intended to give rise to a corporation tax deduction for WO. In essence under the scheme WO purchased £300 000 worth of gold bullion from a third party. At the time WO...