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The 2011/12 Employer's Annual Return Form P35 season is most definitely upon us - the deadline for filing is 19 May. (See Reminder - Only 1 Month Left to File Employers' Annual Returns). As with previous years, the Form contains the question "Are you a Service Company?". As many readers will know, this is a deliberately loaded question, and the tax consequences are far-reaching if the answer is "Yes".  It will not apply to a significant proportion of companies (or employers ... Continue Reading

Mark McLaughlin reports on a recent tax case regarding Inheritance Tax and holiday lettings. Business Property Relief Business Property Relief (BPR) is a valuable relief for Inheritance Tax (IHT) purposes. BPR offers relief of up to 100% of the value of relevant business property. The difference between a business and a mere investment is an important one, as the latter does not qualify for BPR; but it can be a fine distinction between the two. Even if the 'business' test is satisfied, ... Continue Reading

The Proposed General Anti-Avoidance Rule: Will it Really Help? Mark McLaughlin asks if the proposed legislation to stop people avoiding tax will create more problems than it solves. I attended a tax conference a few days ago, in which one of the speakers (an eminent tax QC) was discussing the General Anti-'Abuse' Rule (GAAR), and the effect of its proposed introduction on tax disputes. I must confess that I was among those in favour of a GAAR, but only on the assumption that ... Continue Reading

Peter Arrowsmith, FCA, looks at some of the recent National Insurance developments and provides some helpful advice for employers who deal with teachers, lecturers and instructions. EC Regulations and Switzerland With effect from 1 April 2012, EC Reg 883/2004 has been extended to cover Switzerland. The formal decision was taken only on 31 March and not published by the European authorities until 13 April. The new rules that have applied to the full EU Member States since 1 May 2010 ... Continue Reading

News has broken overnight that Danny Alexander, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, has written to the Chancellor to advise that there are more than 2,000 'senior civil servants' who are being paid through personal companies rather than as employees. (The criterion appears to be that they were being paid at least £58,200 in order to fall in that bracket.) This count excludes people on similar contracts in the NHS or in local authorities. This is a result of Mr. Alexander's investigation ... Continue Reading

HM Revenue & Customs has announced that SMEs (Small and Medium Sized Enterprises) can now apply online to join the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) trial. ADR offers SMEs who are in dispute with HMRC to apply for a fresh approach with an independent mediator (or 'facilitator' in HMRC parlance) to encourage a negotiated settlement. Whilst the number of cases taken through the ADR is still quite small, HMRC has been encouraged by the relatively high success rate and positive feedback from ... Continue Reading

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is urging anyone who has still not done their 2010/11 tax return to send it online before the end of April, or be charged daily penalties from 1 May. Anyone whose Self Assessment return is more than three months late will now be charged a further £10 penalty for each day it remains outstanding, up to a maximum of 90 days. This is on top of the £100 late-filing penalty they have already received. This means people who file their 2010/11 return online on or ... Continue Reading

Graham Black, president of the ARC, argues that staff cuts mean taxpayers and agents are not getting the help they should from HMRC. Having read TaxationWeb’s editorial and article last week about the impact of declining staff numbers in HMRC, I thought it would be helpful if I gave a perspective from members of ARC, the Association of Revenue and Customs, which represents senior professionals in the Department. The previous editorial was wholly correct when it highlighted the ... Continue Reading

Mark McLaughlin looks at the revised rules for Transactions in Securities, two years on. Introduction The anti-avoidance provisions regarding Transactions in Securities (TiS) have been around in one form or another since the 1960s. Such is the significance of the provisions that even many non-tax specialists are aware of them, and will seek to address whether share transactions involving their clients are 'caught' by an income tax charge in appropriate cases. The TiS legislation ... Continue Reading

James Bailey warns that HMRC is abolishing a useful tax allowance for property owners, for Tax Insider. Introduction The article on HMRC’s withdrawal of the “renewals allowance” (RA) in the February 2012 edition of Property Tax Insider has caused a lot of interest, and some questions from readers. This article seeks to deal with those questions and to give further information on the implications of the withdrawal of the RA from April 2013. First, the source of my ... Continue Reading