HMRC is consulting on the current property categories that can be selected under the terms of a life insurance policy without that policy becoming a personal portfolio bond, with a view to adding further property types in response to representations from the investment industry

HMRC plans to use the introduction of the Making Tax Digital (MTD) online strategy to move to a points-based penalty regime for failure to submit tax information on time, using a graduated model similar to the ‘speeding points’ system used for drivers who break the law, and is also potentially seeking wider investigative powers

The Treasury and HMRC are consulting on the detailed proposals for the new soft drinks industry levy, set to raise £520m a year when it is introduced from April 2018 and designed to reduce the nation’s sugar consumption by taxing highly sweetened fizzy drinks

HMRC has laid out the progress it expects to make in its major Making Tax Digital project which it hopes will overhaul and modernise the tax system, despite calls from some quarters for delays to certain aspects of the project

In a week of consultation overload, HMRC has released six documents setting out plans for the transition to Making Tax Digital covering unincorporated businesses, self-employed, indivudal taxpayers, pensioners and landlords, although quarterly reporting for business is still expected. CCH tax writer Stephen Relf provides a summary of the Making Tax Digital consultation documents

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)

The overhaul of the IR35 tax rules for self-employed contractors in the public sector cause concern for tax advisers and intermediaries alike, and will increase costs, warns Dave Chaplin, founder and CEO of ContractorCalculator

HMRC has released details of a short eight-week consultation on proposals for sanctions for accountants and tax advisers who design, market or facilitate the use of tax avoidance arrangements which are defeated by HMRC, and to change the way the existing penalty regime works for those whose tax returns are found to be inaccurate as a result of using such arrangements

The ‘simplification’ of reporting requirements for partnerships is proposed as part of the government’s Making Tax Digital policy, consultation documents reveal

HMRC’s consultation on proposals for Making Tax Digital (MTD) includes details of plans for taxpayers to opt for a voluntary pay as you go (PAYG) approach, allowing them to make payments at a point of their choosing towards an expected tax liability

Unincorporated businesses, the self employed and landlords will be required to update HMRC on their tax position at least quarterly through digital tax accounts under long awaited plans published today

HMRC’s long-awaited consultations into how its flagship Making Tax Digital (MTD) strategy will work in practice have been published and has been divided into seven documents focusing on specific customer groups or specific elements of the reforms, which HMRC says reflects the scale of the planned changes, which have been subject to some strong criticism from MPs and professional bodies