An analysis by Travers Smith, Taxand UK
The UK Court of Appeal has dismissed HMRC’s appeal in Burlington Loan Management concerning the interpretation of the principal purpose test (PPT) in the UK-Ireland double tax treaty.
The judgment confirmed that the PPT requires more than simply obtaining a treaty benefit and that the relevant question is whether obtaining the benefit would be contrary to the object and purpose of the treaty itself. The decision also includes wider observations on the interpretation of tax treaties and may have broader implications for the application of anti-abuse provisions in international tax matters.
Hannah Manning, Madeline Gowlett, Joseph Sheldrick, and Nadia Ashbridge from our UK member firm Travers Smith have provided a detailed analysis of the judgment, which you can read here.