HMRC plans to start piloting Making Tax Digital from April needs to have the serious reach to really test out the limits of the new VAT reporting system to avoid a botched rollout in April 2019, says George Bull, senior tax partner at RSM

HMRC has called on accounting institutes to help it recruit businesses for its Making Tax Digital for VAT pilot which starts in April 2018, with numbers limited at this stage

This month's review of tax cases and tax news including tax avoidance scheme closure notices, reasonable excuse gives taxpayer part penalty relief, Making Tax Digital for VAT set for 2019, tax-free childcare for under nines starts

In a regular timetable update for HMRC's Making Tax Digital, CCH Daily sets out the key dates for the start of VAT quarterly reporting for those above the £85k threshold and the subsequent year end reconciliation tax report. Full rollout of quarterly reporting has been delayed until 2020/21 tax year at the earliest. This list will be updated regularly to reflect any changes to reporting requirements

Following IT problems with the self assessment pre population service, HMRC has now confirmed that the system is up and running, so taxpayers can see pre-poluated data when they log into accounts but there are still problems with setting up a direct debit

The Association of Taxation Technicians (ATT) is warning that delays in releasing specifications for the software needed to file VAT returns digitally under HMRC’s Making Tax Digital initiative risk leaving some business facing a troublesome mid-accounting period change

Plans to go ahead with Making Tax Digital for VAT reporting from April 2019 are well under way with the government consulting on final details of the rules for so-called ‘electronic accounts’. Stephen Relf CTA ACA, tax writer at Croner-i, examines the proposals 

As a new year approaches it is always tempting to speculate on the big issues facing the profession although 2018 is unlikely to eclipse the two Finance Acts of the last year bringing endless changes to tax rules on a retrospective basis. On balance 2018 may see less upheaval to the tax system but new IFRS standards are set to challenge company reporters while slow progress on Brexit negotiations continue to create uncertainty, says Sara White, editor of Accountancy

After a four decade long career working in tax, outgoing HMRC chairman Edward Troup, joined a CIOT roundtable in December to set out his thoughts for the future of the tax authority and the inter-relationship of tax advisers with HMRC and clients over the next few years, highlighting the increasing need to monitor  the quality of advisers and acknowledging the impact of Making Tax Digital

The government is to legislate to make high speed broadband a legal right, introducing a regulatory universal service obligation (USO), giving everyone in the UK access to speeds of at least 10 Mbps by 2020, in a move which will ease the introduction of HMRC’s Making Tax Digital online updating initiative

HMRC has issued a seven-week consultation on the rules for VAT reporting under Making Tax Digital, due to come into force from April 2019 for businesses registered for VAT

In a busy year of complex tax changes, two Finance Acts set out a raft of new measures for businesses and individual taxpayers. Bill Dodwell CTA ACA, partner and head of tax policy at Deloitte and Kevin Prosser QC set out the key tax developments of 2017