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Finance | Marshall: time for transparency on judgments and estimates

Investors want financial statements to clearly explain the judgments and estimates made, but companies often obscure the detail. Andrew Marshall FCA, senior technical partner at KPMG, considers whether the latest FRC thematic review will improve the situation

22 Feb 2017

Finance | International reporting: 2017 will be the year of truths for IFRS

This year marks the implementation of two new accounting standards, IFRS 16 Leases and IFRS 9 Financial Instruments. Jeroen Van Doorsselaere, vice president of risk and finance at Wolters Kluwer Financial Services comments on a year of truth for IFRS reporters

22 Feb 2017

Tax | HMRC updates VAT guidance for racehorse owners

HMRC has updated its guidance on the VAT registration scheme for racehorse owners who run a business for the first time since 2002, including new advice on how to register and a change in contact details, and a reminder of the VAT status of any winner’s trophies

22 Feb 2017

Tax | Potential challenge to Uber over £20m VAT claim

Tax barrister Jolyon Maugham has indicated he is planning a legal challenge to rideshare company Uber, which he claims could owe some £20m annually in unpaid VAT on fares

22 Feb 2017

Tax | Scotland passes historic tax vote

There has been a historic vote in the Scottish Parliament where, for the first time in its history, MSPs have passed measures setting all income tax rates and bands, confirming that higher rate Scottish taxpayers will be paying more tax than their counterparts elsewhere in the UK

22 Feb 2017

Business | Women lose out on pension auto-enrolment

Women are being unfairly disadvantaged over pensions, because they are more likely to have multiple low-paid jobs and cannot meet auto-enrolment requirements, according to research by Citizens Advice, which is advocating a change to the rules

22 Feb 2017

Business | Fugitive tax fraudster extradited to UK

A runaway tax fraudster is starting a six year jail sentence, after being extradited back to the UK by HMRC for failing to repay £1.5m

22 Feb 2017

Business

Called to Account

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Tax | Skilled workers not gig economy fuelling self employment

Analysis from the Resolution Foundation challenges the view that the recent increase in self-employment is down to the rise of the gig economy offering short-term, low paid work, arguing the majority of the growth has been high-skilled, higher-paying sectors, putting the tax take at risk

22 Feb 2017

Finance | FRC sanctions ex-RSA Ireland CFO for inaccurate financial statements

CIMA member Rory O’Connor, the former chief financial officer at RSA Insurance Ireland (RSAII), has been excluded for three years and fined, along with two of the insurer’s former actuaries, following the conclusion of the Financial Reporting Council’s (FRC) investigation into financial irregularities at the company

22 Feb 2017

21 Feb 2017

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Tax | Buy-to-let taxation: stamp duty tax charges - part 7

In part seven of our exclusive series on buy-to-let taxation, Adam Kay, partner at Saffrey Champness, reviews the impact of the 3% SDLT levy on additional property purchases

21 Feb 2017

Finance | Blockchain: game changer for audit?

Given its dubious black economy origins, initially there was widespread distrust of Blockchain among audit and accounting circles. But it could change audit radically if it is adopted by larger businesses and auditors are forced to review their technical capability, reports Calum Fuller

21 Feb 2017

| FRC publishes response to corporate governance reform proposals

The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has released details of its response to the government’s green paper on corporate governance reforms, identifying the interests of stakeholders, executive remuneration, accountability of large private companies and effective enforcement as key areas of reform

21 Feb 2017

Corporate Governance

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Tax | Careless taxpayer has penalty reduced by £158k

A taxpayer, who has previously appeared on the Sunday Times rich list, has had his penalty reduced by £158,000 at a First Tier Tribunal (FTT), after he incorrectly claimed capital loss relief, on the basis that the penalty should be calculated upon the used portion of the loss only

21 Feb 2017

Tax | Microsoft founder Gates advocates robots pay taxes

Billionaire Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft, has predicted that in future there will be a need for robots to pay taxes, as increasingly automation replaces more jobs, in order to prevent inequalities

21 Feb 2017

Tax | £30K tax-free redundancy payments to be scrapped

Government is planning to abolish rules under which the first £30,000 of redundancy payments are tax free in a move which will have far reaching implications for companies and employees from 2018, according to analysis from Wolters Kluwer

21 Feb 2017

Tax | NHS staff targeted by tax rebate scam

NHS workers are being targeted by a scam run by tax rebate companies that claim they offer services where they can get a refund, according to a warning put out by Action Fraud, the UK’s national reporting centre for fraud and cyber crime

21 Feb 2017

Tax | Hammond under pressure to review business rate rises

Chancellor Philip Hammond is coming under pressure to offer further concessions in the Budget next month to the planned hike in business rates, after Conservative MPs joined business groups and major retailers in a public outcry against the impact of new valuations, the first in seven years

21 Feb 2017

Business | Nexia International post 4% rise in fee income

Nexia International, the worldwide network of independent accounting and consulting firms, has reported its financial results for 2016 which show a 4% rise in total fee income, to hit $3.2bn (£2.58m)

21 Feb 2017

Business

Companies

Accountancy Firms

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Finance | DWP consults on defined benefit pension scheme reforms

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has launched a consultation on measures to ensure defined benefit (DB) pension schemes within the private sector remain a secure and sustainable option, given the growing number of schemes in deficit

21 Feb 2017

Business

Pensions

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Business | VAT fraud café owners face suspended sentence

Two North London café owners, who claimed £67,000 in VAT fraudulently and spent the money on gifts including Premier League football tickets for their family, have been sentencedto a suspended sentence after an investigation by HMRC

21 Feb 2017

Business

Called to Account

20 Feb 2017

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Tax | Farming businesses too complex for quarterly reporting

The rigid framework of quarterly reporting under Making Tax Digital does not make sense for the farming community due to accounting complexity, use of capital allowances and seasonality of the business, NFU head of tax tells Lords committee. Sara White reports

20 Feb 2017

Finance | Stallabrass: post-Brexit accounting standards from UK GAAP to IFRS

Matthew Stallabrass, partner in the corporate team at Crowe Clark Whitehill, considers how Brexit may affect the future use of key accounting standards in the UK from FRS 102 - new UK GAAP - to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS)

20 Feb 2017

Finance | Sale & Purchase Agreements and locked box deals

At the heart of every deal is a Sale & Purchase Agreement (SPA) that defines the terms of the transaction, the basis for deriving the final consideration and the price adjustment mechanism on which the seller and purchaser should both agree. Co-heads of Grant Thornton's SPA advisory team Patrick O'Brien and Nick Andrews explain how they are changing

20 Feb 2017

Finance

Financial Reporting

Companies

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Tax | Cash basis strongly supported by buy-to-let landlords

Landlords have shown strong support on being taxed on the cash basis as part of the Making Tax Digital plans saying that it is an important and strong aspect for small landlords as well as showing overall positivity towards digitalisation, as part of evidence given to the Lords Committee

20 Feb 2017

Tax | Small businesses face ’10 year payback’ for Making Tax Digital

Small businesses could face a wait of up to 10 years before they see a return from investing in becoming compliant with Making Tax Digital, members of the House of Lords’ Economic Affairs Committee have heard. Calum Fuller reports

20 Feb 2017

Finance | Climate change reporting will increase length of annual reports

Enhanced climate-related disclosures would make climate change a boardroom issue, but must not mean annual reports become less useful to investors as the volume of information increases, ICAEW has warned

20 Feb 2017

Finance

Financial Reporting

Audit Consultations

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Business | Accountant forged mother’s will

A chartered accountant who forged his dead mother’s will as part of a long-running and acrimonious dispute litigated across multiple jurisdictions with his three brothers over control of a $200m (£160m) family business has been branded ‘a self-confessed liar’ in the High Court

20 Feb 2017

Business

Law & Guidance

Called to Account

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Tax | Lords to examine Making Tax Digital for farmers and small businesses

Farmers, small businesses and landlords are to give evidence to the Economic Affairs Finance Bill sub-committee on the government's Making Tax Digital project today

20 Feb 2017

Tax | Chips may be down 30% for overseas US poker players

UK and overseas poker players competing in the World Series of Poker (WSOP) tournament and other events held in the US risk their winnings becoming subject to a 30% US tax, after an expert in gambling taxation highlighted changes to the way the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) plans to apply the rules

20 Feb 2017

Tax | Stamp duty land tax avoidance schemes hit the wall

There has been a sharp drop in the amount of unpaid stamp duty land tax (SDLT) collected by HMRC over past year, which was a third of the previous year’s total, suggesting the crackdown on property-based tax avoidance schemes is having an impact, according to law firm Collyer Bristow

20 Feb 2017

Business | Ham Baker group sold by FRP Advisory to Intrinsic Equity

Newly formed Ham Baker Group Limited, backed by Birmingham-based equity fund, Intrinsic Equity, has acquired the shares in five solvent subsidiaries of F J Holdings Limited and the trade and assets of the Flow division from administrators at FRP Advisory, safeguarding more than 130 jobs

20 Feb 2017

Business

Companies

Restructuring & Insolvency

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Tax | Republicans block Democrats from releasing Trump’s tax returns

Republicans have voted against releasing President Donald Trump’s tax law returns after Democrats attempted to use a forgotten 1920s law to order the Treasury to release the President’s returns to the ways and means committee, following Trump’s continued refusal

20 Feb 2017

Tax

International Tax

Politics

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Finance | IFRIC 22 on foreign currency transactions up for review

The European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) is consulting on its assessment of IFRIC Interpretation 22 Foreign Currency Transactions and Advance Consideration (IFRIC 22) against the endorsement criteria in the IAS regulation

20 Feb 2017

Business | Pub landlord disqualified over non-payment of VAT

The former landlord of The Albion pub in Bristol has been disqualified as a company director for three and a half years for trading to the detriment of HMRC, after an Insolvency Service investigation found he owed £180,000 in VAT

20 Feb 2017

Business

Restructuring & Insolvency

Called to Account

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Business | ‘Fantasist’ who fabricated VAT claims jailed

A Wiltshire woman, who falsely claimed to be a furniture restorer to commit a £166,000 VAT fraud, has been jailed for two years and eight months after an HMRC investigation found that she had not undertaken any work

20 Feb 2017

Business

Called to Account

Business | OTS seeks tax policy advisers

The Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) is looking for people to join its team, and is advertising for up to three tax professionals with current or recent experience in the private sector or within government to join as senior policy advisers

20 Feb 2017

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Latest news

Finance | Marshall: time for transparency on judgments and estimates

Finance | International reporting: 2017 will be the year of truths for IFRS

Tax | HMRC updates VAT guidance for racehorse owners

Tax | Potential challenge to Uber over £20m VAT claim

Tax | Scotland passes historic tax vote

Business | Women lose out on pension auto-enrolment

Business | Fugitive tax fraudster extradited to UK

Tax | Skilled workers not gig economy fuelling self employment

Finance | FRC sanctions ex-RSA Ireland CFO for inaccurate financial statements

Tax | Buy-to-let taxation: stamp duty tax charges - part 7

Finance | Blockchain: game changer for audit?

| FRC publishes response to corporate governance reform proposals

Tax | Careless taxpayer has penalty reduced by £158k

Tax | Microsoft founder Gates advocates robots pay taxes

Tax | £30K tax-free redundancy payments to be scrapped

Tax | NHS staff targeted by tax rebate scam

Tax | Hammond under pressure to review business rate rises

Business | Nexia International post 4% rise in fee income

Finance | DWP consults on defined benefit pension scheme reforms

Business | VAT fraud café owners face suspended sentence

Tax | Farming businesses too complex for quarterly reporting

Finance | Stallabrass: post-Brexit accounting standards from UK GAAP to IFRS

Finance | Sale & Purchase Agreements and locked box deals

Tax | Cash basis strongly supported by buy-to-let landlords

Tax | Small businesses face ’10 year payback’ for Making Tax Digital

Finance | Climate change reporting will increase length of annual reports

Business | Accountant forged mother’s will

Tax | Lords to examine Making Tax Digital for farmers and small businesses

Tax | Chips may be down 30% for overseas US poker players

Tax | Stamp duty land tax avoidance schemes hit the wall

Business | Ham Baker group sold by FRP Advisory to Intrinsic Equity

Tax | Republicans block Democrats from releasing Trump’s tax returns

Finance | IFRIC 22 on foreign currency transactions up for review

Business | Pub landlord disqualified over non-payment of VAT

Business | ‘Fantasist’ who fabricated VAT claims jailed

Business | OTS seeks tax policy advisers