Law and Regulation

Latest news

Image for ingenious case pyrrhic victory

Tax | Ingenious case: a Pyrrhic victory?

The decision in the Ingenious partnerships tax case highlights risks around leveraged loan-based investments, says Tessa Lorimer, special counsel, tax investigations team, Withers

7 Sep 2016

Tax | Dental insurance case heads to ECJ for VAT decision

The Upper Tribunal has referred questions to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in a long-running case involving the VAT status of dental care plan payments, saying it needs clarification of whether the services provided are excluded from exemption on the grounds they are ‘debt collection’

31 Aug 2016

Tax | Common reporting standard versus FATCA: compliance issues

The introduction of the common reporting standard (CRS) creates a degree of confusion over consistency with FATCA compliance, warns Laila Arstall is advocate and counsel at Carey Olsen

31 Aug 2016

Tax | Legislation must distinguish promoting tax avoidance and straightforward advice

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)

18 Aug 2016

Tax | Innovative Finance ISA draft legislation published

Draft legislation on a new ISA which some MPs believe could lead to investors taking unnecessary risks has been published by HMRC

10 Aug 2016

Tax | Commercial properties may see business rate hike

A Supreme Court decision on the process used to value non-domestic office and commercial premises occupied by more than one tenant could raise business rates as the Valuation Office Agency is forced to treat different areas of building as separate premises

9 Aug 2016

Tax | Use of IFI ISA could encourage inappropriate crowdfunding, warns Tyrie

The use of Innovative Finance ISAs could lead investors into taking on far greater risk than they can bear, Treasury select committee chairman Andrew Tyrie has warned

8 Aug 2016

Tax | Upper Tribunal unearths problems in asparagus-growing tax relief

A taxpayer has been left facing a further assessment of whether her actions in growing asparagus for sale should be considered as farming or market gardening for the purposes of tax, after an Upper Tribunal said it was unable to determine the position in regards to a claim for ‘sideways’ loss relief

5 Aug 2016

Tax | Hodge brands UK ‘difficult friend’ of BEPS project

The UK has been a ‘difficult friend’ of the OECD’s Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project, while the proposals themselves fail to deliver the level of transparency needed to tackle global tax avoidance, according to a report released by the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on responsible tax

4 Aug 2016

Tax

Tax Compliance

Law and Regulation

Image for planned public sector ir35 reforms could see ps115m tax loss

Tax | Planned public sector IR35 reforms could see £115m tax loss

Planned reforms to IR35 off-payroll regulations which will make public sector bodies responsible for applying the intermediaries rules are predicted to result in a £115m tax loss for the government and a £610m increase in employment costs, according to research by ContractorCalculator

3 Aug 2016

Tax | OECD to report on countries’ non-compliance in tax transparency

At the recent G20 meeting in China, finance ministers stressed their support for greater tax transparency, calling for a report from the OECD on the implementation of automatic exchange of information before the end of the year, and stating that by July 2017 it wants a list of non-compliant jurisdictions

26 Jul 2016

Tax | Debate dates for Finance Bill 2016 set for September

The House of Commons is expected to consider the remaining stages of the Finance Bill on 5 and 6 September 2016, after it completed the committee stage in June 2016

21 Jul 2016

Tax | HMRC issues guidance on ending contracting-out for DB pension schemes

HMRC has published guidance for pension administrators about the end of contracting-out for defined benefit pension schemes, following the introduction of the new state pension, and has warned it will not track contracted-out rights or issue statements to pension schemes

18 Jul 2016

Tax | EU adopts corporate tax avoidance directive by 2018

The European Council has adopted a directive to crack down on corporate tax avoidance by large companies and their subsidaries including interest deductibility and exit taxation rules under new rules set to come into force by 2018

15 Jul 2016

Tax | Monaco signs tax information exchange agreement with EU

The EU and Monaco have signed a tax transparency agreement to automatically exchange information on the financial accounts of each other's residents from 2018

15 Jul 2016

Tax | Major milestone in Scottish devolved powers

Westminster has passed a major milestone in the transfer of new powers to Holyrood under the Scotland Act 2016, meaning that for the first time the Scottish parliament will be able to legislate to tailor the welfare system to reflect local needs, including the ability to create entirely new welfare benefits in areas of devolved responsibility

15 Jul 2016