Building a business may take most of your time but it is important to make sure you are making the most of the thousands of pounds of potential tax relief and allowances claimable every tax year. Jonathan Amponsah CTA FCCA, founder and CEO of the The Tax Guys, highlights some common mistakes and ways to mitigate an unnecessary tax bill

HMRC has published guidance for self-reporting a company or partnership that did not prevent the facilitation of tax evasion, for use by individuals who are the designated authorised representative for that organisation

A European Commission ruling that Belgium’s ‘excess profit’ tax scheme amounted to €700m of illegal state aid to Belgian subsidiaries of multinational companies has been overturned in the highest EU court, on the grounds that it was an umbrella scheme and not clearly defined

Ahead of the Chancellor’s spring statement next month, official figures show public sector borrowing has recorded the largest January surplus on record at £14.9bn, £5.6bn more than the same period last year, boosted by self assessed income tax payments which also hit a record high

MPs are backing changes to the tax regime to halt the current decline in high streets and town centres and allow them to flourish in the future, which could include reforms to business rates, a new sales tax and ‘green taxes’ on packaging and deliveries

UK businesses should ensure they claim the local VAT incurred in the EU by their staff on expenses spending before the March deadline for quitting the EU, or they could face having to deal with the delays and costs of dealing with countries individually, in the event of a ‘no deal’ withdrawal, CIOT is advising

UBS has been fined a record €3.7bn (£3.2bn) by a French court on tax evasion and money-laundering charges, after allegations the Swiss bank illegally helped French clients hide assets worth €10bn from the tax authorities between 2004 and 2012

George Bull, senior tax partner and Andy Ilsley, VAT director at RSM assess the latest no deal Brexit VAT guidance from HMRC and warns companies to act now to avoid missing VAT refunds and review MOSS compliance

Companies will not have to file their first digital VAT return under Making Tax Digital for VAT until 1 July at the earliest, although the digital reporting requirement becomes mandatory in April

With six weeks to go to the launch of Making Tax Digital for VAT, HMRC research indicates 81% of VAT mandated businesses are aware of the new requirements and a similar proportion have started to prepare for the changes, although only 45% plan to sign up before the April deadline

A number of tax tribunal decisions every year revolve around HMRC’s interpretation of reasonable excuse, but it is the Upper Tribunal decisions which are important to watch. Meg Wilson CTA, specialist tax writer at Croner-i Tax and Accounting, examines the options for taxpayers considering an appeal and use of the reasonable excuse defence

MPs are calling for a 1p producer responsibility charge for fashion retailers and say taxation should also be reformed to reward companies that offer clothing repairs and reduce the environmental footprint of their products