Section 58 Finance Act 2008

[DonkeyRhubarb]

(I am talking to Montpelier about this but want to get other views too.)

Some of you may know me as the "ring leader" of a campaign against the retrospective legislation section 58 finance act 2008. And you are no doubt aware that last week we lost in the High Court. Montpelier are going to appeal. The legislation is also being challenged in separate actions by PwC and KPMG.

Not unsurprisingly, the topic of deals/concessions has come up. Personally, I can't see HMRC offering us anything with this win under their belt. For people in my position, who have CTDs, we might as well just sit tight until all avenues of appeal have been exhausted.

However, there are a large number of people who do not have the assets to cover the debt, even taking into account the equity in their property. For many, the primary concern is not to lose the family home.

Their fear is that if they wait for the case to be concluded, which could be 3-5 years, (a) the debt will have grown due to the interest and (b) HMRC may be less sympathetic than if they come forward to settle now.

I realise it's not easy to generalise such advice but any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.