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New powers given under Finance Act 2009, s. 94 will come into force on 1 April 2010 and will allow HMRC to make public details of taxpayers and companies who deliberately evade taxes.Stephen Timms, Financial Secretary to the Treasury, said:“It is only right that people pay their fair share of tax, which supports vital public services. We know that law-abiding taxpayers will want to see the results of HMRC’s investigations into tax cheats.“This new approach should make people think again ... Continue Reading

New figures have revealed that the HMRC Business Payment Support Service (BPSS) has already helped over 160,000 businesses reschedule more than £5billion of tax in its first 15 months.The BPSS gives viable businesses, experiencing temporary difficulties paying their taxes, the opportunity to reschedule their tax payments to a more affordable timetable, as part of a 'time to pay' arrangement. These arrangements can cover PAYE, National Insurance, VAT or any other HMRC taxes.In total, around 300,000 ... Continue Reading

LITRG offers some tips to consider before the tax year end on 5 April, including how to make sure you are not paying too much tax and make the most of your tax allowances.IntroductionThe tax year end is a good point at which to review your finances, so below we offer some tax saving tips.  For more practical issues to consider before 5 April and for the 2010/11 tax year ahead, you can read our separate article on tax and tax credits issues (see link below).Savings – make sure you’re not paying ... Continue Reading

LITRG’s reminders article for March focuses on practical points to consider before the tax year end, tidying up last year’s loose ends and looking forward to the year ahead.  Introduction Each month, we are writing articles to remind you of tax, tax credits and some benefits issues to consider.  Here we cover some practical points and issues that you might need to think about and act on in March.  Points to check now or before 6 April Tax on your wages or pension ... Continue Reading

LITRG’s response to housing benefit reform proposals urges cross-government collaboration so that tax and tax credits are considered in assessing how best to support claimants moving off benefit into work. The consultationThe Department for Work and Pensions’ (DWP) consultation ‘Supporting people into work: the next stage of housing benefit reform’ explores how people might be supported when moving into work, for example with ‘transition into work’ payments or fixed benefits awards.  ... Continue Reading

Plans to move existing incapacity benefit claimants on to employment and support allowance could reduce thousands of people’s incomes if the tax and tax credits impacts are not fully evaluated. IntroductionEmployment and support allowance (ESA) was introduced in October 2008 and from that date no new claims to incapacity benefit (IB) have been allowed.  There are two types of ESA – the non-taxable ‘income-based’ and the taxable ‘contribution-based’.  As the names suggest, claimants ... Continue Reading

Matthew Hutton MA, CTA (fellow), AIIT, TEP comments on recent HMRC guidance on a compliance issue involving settlor-interested trusts.  ContextHMRC's IHT & Trusts Newsletter (December 2009) highlighted an issue affecting settlors and trustees of settlor-interested trusts.Guidance  With settlor-interested trusts, the settlor is liable for all Income Tax due on income received by the trustees, even income that is not paid out to the settlor. However, the trustees are required to pay the tax, as the ... Continue Reading

Ian Wright reveals some tax planning opportunities to relieve part of the potential stress of separation and divorce. IntroductionThey say that the four biggest stresses in a person’s life are death, moving house, changing jobs and divorce.Divorce can have some serious tax implications. In fact, let us move away from the word divorce and focus on separation which is in fact far more important for tax purposes.Capital Gains TaxMarried couples who live together enjoy the ability to transfer assets ... Continue Reading

Julie Butler FCA of Butler & Co considers the VAT and capital allowances treatment of certain vehicles particularly in the context of farming businesses.  IntroductionFor the VAT registered farmer it is possible to claim input VAT on vans and this includes “twin cab pick-ups”. However, motor cars have to have no private usage in order to qualify for the input VAT claim and the claim is "all or nothing". The problem is that it is difficult to move away from the stricter test of simply being “available ... Continue Reading

Mark McLaughlin CTA (Fellow) ATT TEP highlights HM Revenue & Customs' 'Spotlights' and 'Signposts'.IntroductionIt is no secret that HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is taking a tougher line against tax avoidance. Indeed, there is a degree of openness about the type of tax planning arrangements that HMRC regards as unacceptable, or which are not considered to work as intended.HMRC has an ‘Anti-avoidance Group’ section on its website, which sets out HMRC’s strategy against tax avoidance, ( see Spotlights ).In ... Continue Reading