Tax

Employment Tax

| MPs says HMRC ‘too cosy’ with Big Four accountancy firms

HMRC is criticised for having ‘too cosy’ a relationship with large accountancy firms and for failing to come down hard enough on tax avoidance and evasion in the final reports of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) for this parliament, which are also critical of the department’s failure to monitor the impact of tax reliefs in terms of cost to the Exchequer and potential tax avoidance abuse closely enough

26 Mar 2015

Tax | Budget 2015: key tax changes and implementation dates

Our essential snapshot of the key measures announced in Budget 2015, including all the implementation dates and effective dates for new measures affecting income tax, NICs, charities, capital gains tax, inheritance tax and corporation tax, as well as changes to tax administration

26 Mar 2015

Tax | Draft legislation issued on tax-advantaged venture capital schemes

HMRC has published draft legislation and explanatory notes amending the rules for the tax-advantaged venture capital schemes, although the new rules will not come into force in this month's Finance Bill due to the lack of time for consultation

25 Mar 2015

Tax | Pensions Regulator consults on PAYE auto enrolment assessment tool

The Pensions Regulator has launched a consultation on whether to provide a basic automatic enrolment (AE) assessment tool for employers who use HMRC’s Basic PAYE Tool

25 Mar 2015

Tax | Complex tax code must be simplified, says ICAS

ICAS is calling for the next government to ‘get serious’ on simplifying the lengthy and overly-complex UK tax code in order to reduce tax avoidance and says the next government should ensure the Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) is properly resourced to continue its tax simplification work

25 Mar 2015

Tax | ‘Antiquated' HMRC process results in £40m student loan overpayments

A record £40m has been taken in overpayments deducted via payroll from recent graduates who are repaying the loans which funded their further education degrees , because HMRC only notifies the Student Loans Company (SLC) about repayments on an annual basis

25 Mar 2015

Personal Tax

Tax | ACCA warns of HMRC IT challenge in abolishing tax returns

The Chancellor’s proposal to scrap annual tax returns as outlined in the Budget will create problems and increase costs for taxpayers and lead to additional work for accountants, according to a survey of practising accountants carried out by ACCA

25 Mar 2015

Personal Tax

Image for budget 2015 analysis direct profits tax iht pensions aggresssive tax promoters

Tax | Budget 2015 analysis: direct profits tax, IHT, pensions, aggresssive tax promoters

With a Budget light on concrete measures, the Chancellor finalised the direct profits tax, aka Google tax, announced a serious clampdown on aggressive tax scheme promoters and a review of the use of deeds of variation to avoid IHT, while there were some new business reliefs for the hard-pressed oil and gas sectors, R&D tax credits and tax reporting extension for farmers

20 Mar 2015

Tax | Editor's comment: Budget papers deliver shock for advisers

In a Budget marked by a mix of political posturing and self-congratulation on the coalition’s achievements over the last five years, it was clear that the Chancellor was determined to deliver a positive message while virtually revealing no giveaways in a tax neutral speech

20 Mar 2015

Tax | Herring: limitations of a Budget constrained by election timing

Perhaps surprisingly, Budget 2015 was more subtle than most commentators had predicted in that its emphasis was upon keeping on track with deficit reduction and prioritising – by pre-announcing - future increases for 2016/17 and 2017/18 in the personal allowance, says Stephen Herring, head of taxation at the Institute of Directors

20 Mar 2015

Tax | Commission signals plan to share details of Swiss bank account holders across EU

The European Commission has finalised negotiations on an a new tax transparency agreement with Switzerland, marking a step forward in the fight against tax evasion and forcing the Swiss authorities to share information on all Swiss bank accounts held by EU residents

19 Mar 2015

Tax | Budget 2015: key tax measures at a glance

In the last Budget of the current coalition government, the Chancellor was in upbeat mood promoting five years of achievements, but despite a raft of tax and national insurance proposals, many rest on the outcome of the May general election. Diane Tan assesses the key tax measures from personal allowances to capital gains tax and entrepreneurs relief, with links to all the technical notices and TIINs for the announcements which are set to come into force in next week's Finance Bill, not to mention a wishlist for the next parliament

18 Mar 2015

Tax | Budget 2015: Increase in limit for Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme

Chancellor George Osborne has announced that secondary legislation will be introduced to increase the maximum annual donation amount which can be claimed through the Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme (GASDS) from £5,000 to £8,000, in a move which will help charities and Community Amateur Sports Clubs

18 Mar 2015

Tax | Budget 2015: Class 2 NICs to be abolished if Tories win election

Chancellor George Osborne has announced that the government will abolish Class 2 NICs in the next Parliament and will reform Class 4 NICs to introduce a new contributory benefit test, amid concerns that this move could potentially impact future benefits payments to the self-employed and others

18 Mar 2015

Tax | Budget 2015: pensions lifetime allowance reduced to £1m

In line with the major pension reforms and new drawdown rules due to come into effect from April 2015, the Chancellor confirmed that the lifetime allowance will be reduced to £1m next year while annuity exchange for those who have already retired will be introduced from 2016

18 Mar 2015