The Scottish government is consulting on a draft bill giving Scotland the ability to reconsider the question of its independence before the UK leaves the EU, depending on the terms the Westminster government negotiates

The OECD has set the minimum standards it requires from countries submitting Mutual Agreement Procedure (MAP) profiles, with only 41 countries currently having a completed profile, which will be used as a tool for resolving cross-border tax disputes

The National Audit Office (NAO) is to take a further look at the health of the NHS’s finances, following on from last year’s report which found that the deterioration of the financial position of NHS trusts and NHS foundation trusts had been ‘severe and worse than expected’

Grant Thornton is backing calls for reform of the UK’s ‘excessively complex tax system’, amid claims that the tax code, which now stretches to 20,000 pages, represents a significant challenge to many companies

MPs have slammed attempts by the Cabinet Office to cut costs by sharing back-office functions, after a report found a move to two shared service centres has resulted in net costs to the taxpayer going up, and says urgent action is required to halt further problems

After accusations the Chancellor is too like an accountant in his attitude to Brexit, and the prime minister, Theresa May’s criticism of the accounting profession at the Conservative party conference, ACCA policy manager Anthony Walters calls for government support

US comedian Harry Shearer has launched a $125m (£101m) lawsuit against French media group Vivendi over accounting for royalties derived from 1984 cult classic film This Is Spinal Tap

The OECD tax team is calling on tax professionals and multinationals to participate in an online survey on tax certainty, responding to widespread concerns about the increasing complexity of tax rules and lack of stability for companies and multinationals over tax regulations 

The government has abandoned plans to create a market for secondary annuities after it was concluded that conditions for a competitive market were not compatible with effective customer protections.

EY is to pay a $11.8m (£9.5m) penalty to settle charges from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) relating to failed audits of an oil services company that used dishonest income tax accounting to inflate earnings

Deciding to sell off a buy-to-let portfolio is not an easy decision but the combination of an increasingly punitive tax environment with the higher rate stamp duty levy and the removal of interest rate relief, together with reductions in the returns on equity, are forcing owners to take drastic decisions. Omkar Joshi, accountant and property investor, explains the rationale for his decision to bail out of property 

The ICAEW has won a High Court injunction against a previous member who continued to be known as ACA qualified despite his membership ending in 2014 because of his failure to comply with continuous professional development requirements