Enter Your E-mail

HMRC Brief 54/08 provides guidance for house builders who have built or are building new dwellings with the intention, when they are completed, of selling either the freehold interest or a long lease of over 21 years (at least 20 years in Scotland) in each of the properties. Several such house builders have sought guidance on whether HMRC consider certain transactions involving the supply of new dwellings to be abusive. Those situations that HMRC consider not to be abusive are highlighted in the ... Continue Reading

A capital gains tax (CGT) double whammy is coming the Government’s way because receipts are due to decline steeply according to the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA).ACCA Head of Taxation Roy-Chowdhury explains: “The double-hit will come from a slow down in the rental and purchase of second properties and in securities trading. The decline in mortgage lending and the aftershocks of Bradford and Bingley’s demise as a popular mortgage lender for buy-to-lets will ... Continue Reading

Andrew Needham, Director of VAT Solutions (UK) Ltd, highlights a selection of recent VAT decisions.{mosimage}VAT Tribunal says ‘Lennartz' principle applies to refurb of existing assets, not just the creation of new onesThe dispute in this appeal was whether the Lennartz principle applies when a taxable person carries out extensive reconstruction work to an existing building. The Lennartz ECJ decision established that a taxable person may take initial input tax deduction on the full cost ... Continue Reading

HMRC have published new rates of interest on direct and indirect taxes and national insurance contributions paid late and overpaid, which take effect from 6 November 2008.Income tax, national insurance contributions, capital gains tax, stamp duties etc. The rate of interest charged on income tax, national insurance contributions, capital gains tax, stamp duty, stamp duty land tax and stamp duty reserve tax paid late, tax credits overpayments in cases of fraud, neglect and on penalties charged, ... Continue Reading

The former managing director of PTP Software has joined as a Director of Keytime, one of the last of the independents with a significant presence in the tax software market.Vaughan Thompson successfully steered PTP from a fledgling business with a turnover of £120,000 in its first year to a company with sales of £2.5 million when he left four years ago, helping to build it into one of the leading suppliers of tax software in the UK.As such he had repositioned PTP from well below the acquisition ... Continue Reading

HMRC have launched a new CD Toolkit to help charities and Community Amateur Sports Clubs (CASCs) boost their income through Gift Aid.The Toolkit contains clear, basic guidance, templates, an interactive claim form and other materials to help charities and CASCs get started with Gift Aid and use Gift Aid in different fundraising situations. Charities are also encouraged to sign up to receive automatic updates on issues relevant to them from HMRC's website. See http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/rss/rss.htm. ... Continue Reading

Introduction TaxationWeb's Tax Tips Forum brings together taxpayers and professional advisers in a helpful and unique way. Taxpayers are encouraged to ask tax questions on the Forum where, hopefully, someone might have the answer! If you have successfully solved a tax problem, it is an opportunity to share your experiences with others. For tax professionals, the Forum presents a chance to network, share knowledge and possibly gain new clients by demonstrating tax expertise to the Forum's visitors. Disclaimer Please ... Continue Reading

Mark McLaughlin CTA (Fellow) ATT TEP highlights a recent Special Commissioners case, which tested the generosity of a particular inheritance tax exemption.{mosimage}A generous regime?Many tax reliefs and exemptions are subject to an upper monetary limit. For Inheritance Tax (IHT) purposes, examples include the following (all references are to IHTA 1984): an annual exemption of £3,000 (although if the total value of gifts in one tax year is less than £3,000, the balance can be carried ... Continue Reading

Steve Allen, Director of VAT solutions (UK) Ltd, reports on VAT litigation that could pave the way for VAT refund claims by gaming machine operators.   {mosimage}Gaming machinesThere is increased pressure on HMRC to acknowledge the validity of VAT refund claims for gaming machines following a recent interim Tribunal decision.Rank Group Ltd was successful in its appeal (VTD 20,777), after HMRC was accused of being inconsistent in the way it levied VAT on different kinds of gaming machine ... Continue Reading

HMRC have announced new rates of interest covering quarterly instalment payments and early payments of corporation tax not due by instalments, in respect of accounting periods ending on or after 1 July 1999.The new rates of interest, which take effect from 20 October 2008, are set out below and are a result of the recent movement in market rates. The rate of interest charged on underpaid instalment payments of corporation tax changes from 6 per cent to 5.5 per cent. The rate of interest on overpaid ... Continue Reading