The Interrelation of Scheme and Purpose Under Part IVA

The way in which a scheme is defined under Part IVA is emerging as the principal factor which circumscribes the purpose of the scheme. Context is critical to this inquiry. If the identified tax benefit is not referenced to its practical context, then the inquiry regarding whether obtaining the tax benefit is the dominate purpose is largely a forgone conclusion. This essay examines the principles which have been established to date and argues for the need to determine dominate purpose by reference to the practical context of the transaction, in order to ensure that the general anti-avoidance measure does not annihilate all tax benefits.