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TW Ed reviews Bloomsbury's first Tax Conference aimed at advisers to Owner-Managed Businesses. There was a first class panel of speakers, including Peter Rayney, Pete Miller, Anne Fairpo, Jonathan Shwarz, Steven Bone and Steve Collings. Tax professionals will already recognise these as established writers and speakers, and so without further ado, some gems from the conference itself: Loans to Participators Peter Rayney reminded us that CTA 2010 s 455 was extended in scope by FA 2013 not just to ... Continue Reading

TW Ed considers the Spring Statement in all its gory glory... Introduction The Chancellor issued his Spring Statement on 13 March 2018. This article focuses on the tax aspects of his Statement that seem likely to be of interest to OMBs and their advisers. From that perspective, the Statement was primarily about announcing a series of consultations on tax measures that the government is considering. In all, thirteen papers were published – mostly consultation documents, but also comprising ... Continue Reading

TWebEd muses on how much fun tax agents are likely to have in 2018... Introduction Well, January's finally over. Who knew caffeine withdrawal could be so... fun? It being February, I doff my glass and raise my cap to the many tax agents out there, for whom a January ski holiday remains a New Year's resolution perennially unfulfilled. But now is the time to ask, "what tax wonders will 2018 bestow on us?" Making Tax Digital I have been loth to blight TW's pages with mention of this outrageous ... Continue Reading

Figures show that HMRC's focus on the 'gig economy' and its clampdown on businesses which wrongly categorise workers as self-employed is bearing fruit, warns Pinsent Mason’s Paul Noble. Enhanced Recovery HMRC recovered an additional £819m from investigations into payroll taxes in 2016/17, up by 16% from the previous year, according to figures we have recently obtained. Additional tax collected following payroll tax investigations into large businesses showed an even more striking increase, ... Continue Reading

Peter Vaines considers recent developments on some of the tax topics we love to hate.   Discovery Assessments I am always on the lookout for discovery assessment cases with interesting aspects. Discovery assessments are so prevalent and so important that it is useful to know what arguments you might be faced with from HMRC. The case Adam Cooke v HMRC TC 6239 is a goodie.   HMRC argued that they were able to raise a discovery assessment in connection with an excessive double taxation ... Continue Reading

The scale of the collapse of one of the largest construction companies in the UK is such that the consequences will ripple through the rest of the construction sector for some time. Many businesses will be caught up in the immediate aftermath; many more will not know that Carillion is one of their key clients’ key clients, etc., etc. And Carillion’s interests extended well beyond construction. With a view to the impending 31 January Self Assessment payment deadline, HMRC’s Business ... Continue Reading

Headline-grabbing changes to Income Tax – how do they stand up? TwebEd takes a gambol through the, er, thistles. The Scottish Draft Budget for 2018/19 has been published. It is an impressive 210 pages long. The main items of interest from a mainstream tax perspective were Income Tax Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) Income Tax There were several different approaches originally on offer, but it seems the Scottish government has settled on introducing a couple of new bands and ... Continue Reading

Given that this was supposed to be a quite momentous occasion, (the first Autumn Budget), it is a shame that there was so little meat on the bones of this wretched beast of a Budget. TW Ed picks among the remains. Introduction There is no denying that the current Chancellor bears little resemblance to his predecessor. It is perhaps unfortunate that the cupboard is so bare, and the course so fraught, that he is reduced to rearranging deckchairs for quips and giggles. Basically, if you’re not ... Continue Reading

Introduction The Chancellor’s Autumn Budget 2017 was Mr Hammond’s second Budget of 2017. The key themes revolved around embracing the future, in particular the changes, challenges and opportunities facing the United Kingdom as we prepare for Brexit. The Low Incomes Tax Reform Group (LITRG) has examined all of the Budget announcements, to see how they will affect those on low to modest incomes. Some of the key facts and figures are explored below. In addition, the Chancellor reminded ... Continue Reading

Grant Thornton's Jonathan Riley considers the Autumn 2017 Budget and whether or not it will deliver a vibrant economy. The Chancellor resolved at the outset of his speech that today’s budget would be one that looked forwards to a future full of change, new challenges and opportunities. A recognition of the need to invest now to grow our economy for tomorrow. A positive start then but did it really deliver what the UK needs to create a vibrant economy fit for the future? Mr Hammond revealed ... Continue Reading