R (on the application of Newfields Developments Ltd) v Inland Revenue Commissioners

Not stated in the judgment.

The limited material provided states that the case concerned interpretation of provisions in the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988 (notably sections 13, 416 and 417) in the context of small companies relief and the statutory concept of associated companies. The case raised whether two companies were associated where the same individual was connected to two different sets of trustees who respectively controlled the two companies, and whether attribution of the rights and powers of associates is a matter for the Commissioners' general discretion.

Background and parties: Not stated in the judgment. The available material identifies the applicant as Newfields Developments Ltd and the respondent as the Inland Revenue Commissioners. The dispute concerns corporation tax relief (small companies relief) and the statutory restrictions applying where a company has one or more associated companies.

Nature of the application: Not fully stated in the judgment. The central tax question concerned entitlement to small companies relief by reference to the association rules in the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988.

Issues framed: The judgment (as supplied) frames the following issues: (1) whether two companies were "associated" where an individual was associated to two sets of trustees who respectively controlled the two companies; (2) whether the attribution to an individual of the rights and powers of associates is a matter of general discretion to be exercised by the Revenue only if appropriate to the facts of the particular case; and (3) the proper construction and application of sections 13, 416 and 417 of the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988.

Court reasoning and disposition: Not stated in the judgment. The supplied text does not include the House of Lords' holdings or detailed reasoning on these issues.