The EU has launched a trio of VAT consultations including proposals to simplify the SME VAT scheme for small businesses, attempts to harmonise EU VAT rates and measures to improve intra-EU transactions

This year HMRC has paid £460,000 to individuals that have provided information to the tax authority on tax evaders, according to law firm RPC

A cross-party group of MPs is pushing the government to force the UK’s overseas territories to publish public registers of beneficial ownership, in a bid to tackle the abuse of tax havens in countries including the British Virgin Islands (BVI) and Cayman Islands

A yacht catching fire has been given as one of the absurd explanations for missing the 31 January self assessment tax return deadline, according to HMRC’s latest top ten list of excuses used in unsuccessful appeals

In keeping with the move to digital tax reporting, HMRC has introduced an online service for submitting a landfill tax return

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond, has announced that the government will publish its next Spring Budget on Wednesday 8 March 2017, the last one to be held at this time of year before the switch to an autumn event

Government is investing in HMRC in order to strengthen the tax authority’s anti-avoidance capability, warns KPMG tax director Kevin Elliott

Travellers departing Scottish airports will be able to benefit from half price air passenger duty from 2018 when the Scottish government is set to replace the UK-wide air passenger duty scheme with its own airline ticket tax called air departure tax

The US government is facing calls to delay the introduction of a new tax on foreign investors in US equity-linked derivative transactions, after the G5 group of countries signalled their opposition and the US Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) indicated its members would not be ready for the planned 1 January 2017 implementation

The Indian government has signalled it is taking further action to tackle the country’s black economy with the introduction of a new and tougher declaration scheme for hidden income, following on from the decision to withdraw high value bank notes

The tax authorities in Portugal have introduced a controversial increase in property tax on homes that offer a sea view, which will pay 20% more than the standard levy, while those facing north or overlooking a cemetery may be given a 10% reduction

In the wake of the Scottish government’s decision not to replicate the UK Treasury's tax cut for higher earners, the National Audit Office (NAO) is warning that HMRC faces ‘significant’ challenges in administering the Scottish rate of income tax (SRIT), and is still having problems ensuring that all Scottish taxpayers are correctly identified despite a £1.1m marketing campaign