UK schools and colleges stand to benefit from a VAT windfall after the European Court of justice (CJEU) confirmed that catering sales in training restaurants at educational establishments and admission charges to theatrical performances by students should be deemed services closely related to the provision of education, and so are exempt from VAT

HMRC has numerous powers to check a business’ tax position. This can include VAT assurance visits or enquiries into self assessment tax returns or stamp duty land tax (SDLT) for land transactions. Checks are usually undertaken after a submission of a return but pre-return checks can be undertaken if HMRC believes there is a tax risk, but you need to be prepared to face the tax authority

Plans to allow EU member states to reduce the VAT charged on e-books have moved a step closer, after a committee of MEPs voted in favour of the proposals to bring the VAT rates for printed and online publications into line

Graham Elliott, VAT expert at City & Cambridge Consultancy considers the Adecco (UKUT0133) ruling on temp workers which leaves the company with a VAT charge, input tax issues in U-Drive over repair bills and the low cost traders' flat rate scheme

The European Council has adopted legislation, known as the Protection of the Union's Financial Interests (PIF) directive, designed to protect the financial interests of the EU by having common rules for the prosecution and sanctioning of crimes against EU finances, including VAT fraud, making it easier to recover misused EU funds

HMRC has opened a four-week consultation on plans announced at Budget 2017 to charge UK VAT on all telecommunication services, particularly mobile phone calls and internet browsing, used outside the EU by UK consumers

HMRC’s understanding of the amount of tax lost to online VAT fraud and error, which it says may be up to £1.5bn annually, and its efforts to tackle the problem, have been criticised by the National Audit Office (NAO) as lacking sufficient detail or urgency

In part two of our series on VAT compliance, The Tax Guys managing partner Jonathan Amponsah outlines five potential pitfalls to avoid in making VAT returns from overseas transactions to whether to claim VAT on business entertainment

The OECD has set out plans to issue an official VAT and general sales tax act, incorporated into OECD guidance to help harmonise global compliance and collection to improve levels of VAT and general sales tax collection, and reduce evasion

In part one of a two-part series, The Tax Guys founder and managing partner Jonathan Amponsah outlines seven common errors to avoid in making VAT returns, from incorrectly claimng VAT on private usage of motor vehicles and fuel, to VAT charges for non-standard business transactions 

Yvette Nunn CTA unpicks the fine print and potential pitfalls in the revised rules for the reduced VAT flat rate scheme

KPMG auditors were ‘unable’ to form an opinion on the accounts of international phone call business Lycamobile UK, while it is also facing a £26m VAT dispute with HMRC, latest filings with Companies House show