UK Tax Authorities Respond to the Supreme Court Decision in Anson v. HM Revenue & Customs: US LLCs Generally Opaque for UK Tax Purposes

In our July alert memorandum we discussed the uncertainty in the UK tax classification of US LLCs following the Supreme Court of England and Wales’ judgement in Anson v. HM Revenue & Customs (2015 UKSC 44).

On September 25, 2015 HMRC released a Revenue & Customs Brief in response to the decision. Despite the Supreme Court’s conclusion that the members of the particular LLC under consideration should be entitled to treaty relief on the basis that they were automatically entitled to the profits of the LLC as they arose, HMRC have confirmed that they generally intend to continue their long-standing practice of treating US LLCs as opaque companies for UK tax purposes. In HMRC’s view the decision is specific to the facts found in that case and does not affect other cases where an LLC is treated as a company by a UK taxpayer.