21/10/2010, by Low Incomes Tax Reform Group, Tax article - General
LITRG reports on HMRC and DWP’s error and fraud joint policy document, which fails to recognise that these are quite different concepts and downplays the role of official error.
The policy document
A new policy document jointly issued by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is entitled ‘Tackling Fraud and Error in the benefits and tax credits systems’.
It attempts to send a strong message that fraud and error will no ... Continue Reading
19/10/2010, by HM Revenue & Customs, Tax article - General
Do you file a Self Assessment tax return on paper? If so, you have just a few days left to file your return by the 31 October deadline.IntroductionIf you miss the filing deadline, it could be costly as paper returns filed after this date could mean a £100 penalty.The Benefits of Online FilingAn alternative to paper filing is to file your return online instead. It’s simple to do – three quarters of Self Assessment filers already do it – and you get three months longer to file.Online filing ... Continue Reading
19/10/2010, by Lee Sharpe, Tax news - Income Tax
HM Revenue & Customs has now agreed that joint investors can benefit from favourable tax reliefs for subscriber shares.Generally, when an individual sells shares for less than their acquisition cost, then he or she will make a capital loss. Capital losses can be set against other capital gains but people may not make further disposals for several years, and it might be some considerable time before those losses can be utilised. There is a special provision for qualifying shares acquired by subscription ... Continue Reading
17/10/2010, by James McBrearty, Tax article - General
James McBrearty (‘The Twittering Tax Man’), Managing Director of taxhelp.uk.com, talks about Twitter and its application in a tax context. What is Twitter?A way of connecting with people easily, both existing friends and new contacts, by the sharing of short 140 character messages.One advantage of Twitter is that you are limited to the size of a standard text message, which means that it is quick to use as you do not have to spend large amounts of time composing articles.Another key advantage ... Continue Reading
17/10/2010, by Mark McLaughlin CTA (Fellow) ATT TEP, Tax article - Business Tax
Mark McLaughlin provides an insight into non-statutory business clearances.IntroductionIt is perhaps a reflection of the complexity of tax legislation and the uncertainty often caused by its ambiguity, that HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) offers various clearance facilities for ‘customers’ and their advisers:Statutory clearances, which the tax legislation requires HMRC to provide (e.g., for transactions in securities, under ITA 2007 s 701);A non-statutory clearance service for businesses;A non-statutory ... Continue Reading
17/10/2010, by Matthew Hutton MA, CTA (fellow), AIIT, TEP, Tax article - Inheritance Tax, IHT, Trusts & Estates, Capital Taxes
In the Sixth of a series of extracts adapted from his eBook 'Hutton on Estate Planning' (3rd Edition), Matthew Hutton looks at Inheritance Tax (IHT) planning issues involving chattels and investments.ChattelsOverviewIt often comes as something of a shock to people to discover quite how much the contents of their house (or houses) and other personal possessions are worth. But all that value is potentially subject to IHT on death; subject of course to the spouse/civil partner (and possibly the charities) ... Continue Reading
17/10/2010, by Steve Allen, Tax article - VAT & Excise Duties
Steve Allen of VAT Advisers Ltd points out that a recent HMRC announcement may not be as helpful as it first appears. IntroductionDuring August, HMRC put a brief announcement on their website urging businesses to adjust current VAT returns if the error was under the Voluntary Disclosure limits. The reason given for this was that the Error Correction Team was currently taking six to eight weeks to process voluntary disclosures. At first glance, the announcement seems helpful, but a few words of ... Continue Reading
15/10/2010, by Lee Sharpe, Tax news - Business Tax
In a move designed to ease the administrative burden for smaller companies it is now possible to file Corporation Tax Returns together with accounts for Companies HouseOne of the improvements to come out of the recent overhaul of HMRC's Online Systems, is that companies can now submit their Corporation Tax Returns to HMRC, AND their accounts to Companies House, together as one online submission.
This is designed to make life easier for many smaller companies, which file the 'short' (4 page) version ... Continue Reading
13/10/2010, by Lee Sharpe, Tax news - Income Tax
It seems that HMRC's recent upgrades to the Self Assessment Online Service did not exactly go without a hitch...The Daily Telegraph has reported that, following HMRC's online system overhaul over the last few days, some Self Assessment taxpayers' online accounts are (incorrectly) showing them to be many thousands of pounds in credit. The alarm has been raised by Blick Rothenberg, a London-based firm of accountants. Apparently an HMRC spokesman has hastened to reassure the public that, "There is no ... Continue Reading
12/10/2010, by Low Incomes Tax Reform Group, Tax article - Income Tax
LITRG releases updated guidance to help if you receive one of the large number of PAYE tax calculations HMRC are now issuing for the last two completed tax years.IntroductionFollowing an initial ‘trial run’ in September, HMRC have now started sending out the main bulk of calculations to people who they think have overpaid or underpaid tax through PAYE during the last two tax years 2008/09 and 2009/10. Between now and Christmas they expect to send out some 1.4 million underpayment and over 4 million ... Continue Reading
