First-tier Tribunal decision – [2011] UKFTT 425 (TC) – TC01278
The taxpayer in his return declared self-employment income from a boat chartering business and claimed capital allowances on the vessel used for the business, and used the resultant losses to offset other income. The question on appeal was whether the boat chartering constituted a provision “of plant or machinery for leasing in the course of a trade”. Accordingly, the tribunal had to decide whether the losses arose out of expenditure incurred on the ‘provision of plant or machinery for leasing in the course of a trade’ or whether the losses arose in the normal course of trading. The tribunal concluded that where the boat was hired out with a skipper the activities, from which the losses arose, were non-leasing activities and where the services were provided ‘bare boat’ without a skipper, were leasing activities. Where the loss resulted from expenditure relating to a leasing activity the loss set off would be restricted.
