The latest power grab by HMRC will see a series of harsh penalties for the so-called ‘enablers’ of aggressive tax avoidance schemes, described colourfully as 'peddlers' by the financial secretary to the Treasury but will these measures simply create more confusion over definitions and liabilities, asks Sara White, editor of Accountancy

The total corporation tax for July hit £7.5bn in July, boosted by the first receipts from the new bank surcharge, which totalled £343m, but the budget surplus currently stands at under £1bn, compared to £1.2bn in the same month last year

HMRC is consulting on the current property categories that can be selected under the terms of a life insurance policy without that policy becoming a personal portfolio bond, with a view to adding further property types in response to representations from the investment industry

Air Passenger Duty (APD) rates for tax years 2017-18 are set to increase for long-haul flights, reflecting a continuous increase in the tax level for long haul destinations, including Asia and Australia

HMRC plans to use the introduction of the Making Tax Digital (MTD) online strategy to move to a points-based penalty regime for failure to submit tax information on time, using a graduated model similar to the ‘speeding points’ system used for drivers who break the law, and is also potentially seeking wider investigative powers

The Australian government has launched a review into tax issues affecting working holiday maker visa holders, including details on the proposed ‘backpacker tax’

The Treasury and HMRC are consulting on the detailed proposals for the new soft drinks industry levy, set to raise £520m a year when it is introduced from April 2018 and designed to reduce the nation’s sugar consumption by taxing highly sweetened fizzy drinks

Plans to release the long-awaited, revised tax advisers’ professional code - the Professional Conduct in Relation to Taxation (PCRT) - is likely to go ahead following the announcement of the government’s decision to fine accountants and tax advisers who push ‘aggressive’ tax schemes

HMRC has laid out the progress it expects to make in its major Making Tax Digital project which it hopes will overhaul and modernise the tax system, despite calls from some quarters for delays to certain aspects of the project

In a week of consultation overload, HMRC has released six documents setting out plans for the transition to Making Tax Digital covering unincorporated businesses, self-employed, indivudal taxpayers, pensioners and landlords, although quarterly reporting for business is still expected. CCH tax writer Stephen Relf provides a summary of the Making Tax Digital consultation documents

The US currently leads the medal table at the Rio Olympics, with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) also set to come out a winner, as the nation’s athletes are required to pay tax on any medal they earn, as well as on the financial bonuses paid for getting to the podium 

The line between giving straightforward advice and marketing tax avoidance must be more clearly defined for the government’s latest anti-avoidance measure to work, says John Cullinane, tax policy director of the Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT)