Enter Your E-mail

Mark McLaughlin highlights an important change to the filing of self assessment returns for 2008 and later years.Mark McLaughlin31 October 2008A further date in the tax calendar will become important for some taxpayers and practitioners from 2008. That date is 31 October. Whereas previously a single filing deadline of 31 January generally applied to personal tax returns under self assessment, following changes introduced in Finance Act 2007 the tax return filing date for 2007/08 and later years depends ... Continue Reading

Julie Butler, FCA describes some tax considerations related to horse racing.Julie ButlerTax–efficient SponsorshipSponsorship is currently an essential element of the commercial viability of the racing industry.  Since 1994 the owner is in a position to benefit from the financial rewards of the fiscal advantage of well structured and compliant sponsorship.  All trainers are aware that “tax breaks” for the owners can provide financial and emotional incentives to increase ... Continue Reading

The Government has published the 2008/09 rates and allowances for Income Tax, National Insurance Contributions, Working and Child Tax Credits, Child Benefit/Guardian's Allowance and State Pension and Pension Credit.A full list of all the proposed increases for other benefits will be announced later this year by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions.Tax AllowancesThe personal allowance for those aged under 65 will be £5,435.For those aged 65-74, the personal allowance will be ... Continue Reading

Following the recent decision in the Douglas Virtue & Sonia Virtue T/A Lammermuir Game Services case [V20259], HMRC have announced a change in the liability treatment of serviced building plots.A serviced building plot is bare land in respect of which civil engineering works have been carried out to provide access to essential services such as gas, electricity, water, main drainage, street lighting and sewerage. Until now, HMRC have treated the supply of a serviced building plot by the landowner ... Continue Reading

Regulations will come into force on 6 April 2009, which introduce a new requirement for large and medium-sized employers to file PAYE forms online during the course of the tax year.The Finance Act 2007 contains provisions that enable recommendations made by Lord Carter of Coles (known as the "Carter Report") to be implemented and the new requirements are now being phased in. The Income Tax (Pay As You Earn) (Amendment No. 4) Regulations 2007 (SI 2007/2969) deal with the first phase, covering ... Continue Reading

John Barnett CTA outlines the potential implications of the Capital Gains Tax changes announced in the Pre-Budget Report 2007 in terms of company sales and 'earn-out' deals.BackgroundWithin a day of Alastair Darling's pre-budget announcement of the 18% CGT rate, four separate colleagues asked me how the announcement would affect earn-outs.  While the mainstream press has concentrated on the disparity between entrepreneurs (+8%) and investors (-6%), the true impact of the proposals ... Continue Reading

Matthew Hutton MA, CTA (fellow), AIIT, TEP, author of Monthly Tax Review, highlights the question of remittances to the beneficiary of an offshore discretionary trust.   Matthew HuttonContextConsider a non-resident discretionary trust with a UK resident, ordinarily resident but non-domiciled beneficiary. The settlor was non-UK domiciled for his entire life and is deceased.The trust was settled with cash and the trustee invested all of the funds in a fixed income bond.The trust fund is administered ... Continue Reading

HMRC are concerned that the regulations which make employer-provided health screening and medical check ups exempt for income tax are not working in the desired way.In July 2007, regulations were laid to exempt employer-provided health screening and medical check ups from tax. The regulations came into effect from 14 August 2007 and replaced the non-statutory treatment previously set out in HMRC guidance. For the regulations to apply the health screening and/or medical check ups have to be available ... Continue Reading

The Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT) will launch Tax Advice week on Monday 15 October 2007.The "Taxables" will launch Tax Advice Week on Monday 15 October. Britain’s first (cartoon) family of tax will be having a day out in Westminster.  First, they will have their photographs taken by the Houses of Parliament and then be visiting HM Treasury to meet a VIP.  Tax Advice Week is an annual event organised by the Institute which aims to help people better understand tax ... Continue Reading

The Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT) has welcomed the fact that HMRC have recognised the problem of a benefit in kind (BIK) tax charge for people buying a property abroad through a company.Welcoming the fact that HMRC have acknowledged the problem of a benefit in kind charge arising on directors who buy overseas property through a limited company, Stephen Coleclough, Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT) Chairman of the Technical Committee, comments:“The draft legislation is helpful ... Continue Reading