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In an earlier news item HMRC Now Scanning (and Destroying!) - Post we advised that in future, when conducting enquiry work into taxpayers' affairs, HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) would scan documents and letters received from taxpayers and their agents and then routinely destroy the originals within the following 40 days. We asked HMRC for a list of the documents which it would never destroy but would automatically return the originals to the taxpayer/agent and we have now been advised they are ... Continue Reading

LITRG comments on the progress of HMRC’s special tax deal for plumbers and associated trades to ‘own up’ to under-declared tax liabilities and those targeted in future special deals. Plumbers and associated traders In an article on its website in March (see useful links  below), LITRG commented on the possible shortcomings of HMRC’s ‘Plumbers Tax Safe Plan’ (PTSP). The PTSP is still open, although HMRC’s original notification deadline of 31 ... Continue Reading

Everybody knows that 6 July is the filing deadline for Employers' Annual Returns of "Benefits in Kind" Forms P11D/P9D. It has been publicised by HM Revenue & Customs in the literature which they send to employers, and on their website, along with warnings of the penalties which will be incurred if the 2010/11 forms P11D (and the summary form P11D(b)) are not submitted by 6 July 2011. In fact, on 4 July, HMRC helpfully posted a new article on their "What's New" section, Employers - Send ... Continue Reading

LITRG draw attention to tax credits issues when your childcare costs change in the holidays or when your children leave school.   Introduction As the end of the school year approaches, students switch their attention from exams to the summer holiday fun ahead. Unfortunately for parents, summer holidays can also signal lots of tax credit changes that need to be resolved before the fun begins. The academic year is coming to an end and this article covers two key issues where your ... Continue Reading

Mark McLaughlin looks at a recent victory for the taxpayer against HMRC's application of the 'IR35 intermediaries / disguised employment rules. Introduction Hopes were raised that the Government would take the opportunity in the Budget on 23 March 2011 to abolish IR35 – the intermediaries legislation variously described as the ‘personal service company’ or ‘disguised employment’ rules. Improvements to IR35 in the Latest Budget? Unfortunately, ... Continue Reading

Julie Butler FCA highlights some recent cases on the availability of Only or Main Residence Relief for Capital Gains Tax purposes, in the context of farmhouses. Introduction Most family farms and landed estates contain a number of houses, cottages and converted farm buildings. It is quite a normal occurrence for members of the family to move from property to property or to be forced to sell residences to help with farm finances or to pass property to the next generation to help with ... Continue Reading

HM Revenue & Customs' (HMRC) crusade against tax avoidance continued last week with the publication of a consultation document 'High-risk areas of the tax code: Relief for income tax losses'. HMRC alleges that "loss reliefs that can be used to reduce or eliminate tax on general income or capital gains have regularly been used for tax avoidance purposes." Pausing there for a moment, it would be interesting to know the number of 'offenders' in, say, 2010-11, and their proportion expressed as a percentage ... Continue Reading

The Provincial Tax Practitioner provides his own perspective on HMRC's 'Plumbers' Tax Safe Plan'.  Introduction A number of plumber clients have rung us to express their views on the Plumbers’ Tax Safe Persecution - sorry, slip of the keyboard - I mean of course, Tax Safe Plan written warnings that HMRC has been lobbing through their letterboxes. The general opinion expressed by them all can be summed up by taking a collection of words all too familiar to them – load of ... Continue Reading

The Government proposes to remove from the scope of legal aid all welfare benefits and tax credits advice. LITRG asks who will now help those most in need. Legal aid reform The Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill was introduced to Parliament on 21 June 2011. It proposes to remove all welfare benefits and tax credits advice from the scope of legal aid. Furthermore, there will be reductions in legal aid for employment, housing, debt, immigration and family law cases. At ... Continue Reading

LITRG expresses concerns about HMRC’s consultation on working with tax agents, asking where it leaves the unrepresented.   The consultation HMRC have started a consultation on the future relationship between the Department and tax agents – mainly paid agents, but also those acting pro bono and the extensive community of ‘friends and family’ representatives. A likely outcome is that certain paid agents (and possibly also some in the voluntary sector) will ... Continue Reading