While there is much to be applauded about the government’s campaign to tackle the tax gap, estimated at a monumental £45bn, there are signs that political pressure is the main driver rather than practical measures to collect unpaid tax

At a heated debate on the extension of HMRC powers, tax advisers objected strongly to plans to introduce new powers for HMRC to collect unpaid tax, with particular antipathy to the proposed direct recovery of debt (DRD) proposals, which they claim have simply been dusted off and resubmitted after they were rejected by the last government six years ago. 

The government is consulting on plans to give HMRC sweeping powers to recover debts directly from individuals' and businesses' bank accounts, but are the moves too draconian? Meg Wilson, tax expert at CCH, analyses the proposals and outlines potential pitfalls to a policy shift which has been met with strident opposition from MPs to professional institutes

With the UK adoption of US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) rules, UK trusts and trustees must reconsider their status and ensure they are totally compliant with the new US regime of tax disclosure, says George Hodgson, deputy chief executive of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP)