Enter Your E-mail

HMRC have confirmed that they are to appeal to the Court of Session in the RBS Deutschland Holdings GmbH case.In this case, the VAT Tribunal decided that a German leasing company which leased cars to United Kingdom customers and accounted for no output tax in Germany or the United Kingdom could nevertheless deduct input tax on the purchase of the cars, and that the arrangements were not an abusive practice. The Tribunal gave its decision in the  on 24 July 2007.HMRC have now confirmed that ... Continue Reading

A quick guide to recent additions to the HM Revenue & Customs website.Week ending 7 SeptemberWhat’s new?A note that the "Doing PAYE online all year round" pages have been updated;The FAQs calculating hours for different work patterns have been updated;PEP & ISA Bulletin 41;Working Together, issue 28;Online Services - details of a forthcoming event in London;Draft ISA Guidance Notes, which explain how the new ISA rules will operate from 6 April 2008, are now available. This ... Continue Reading

Matthew Hutton MA, CTA (fellow), AIIT, TEP considers the effectiveness of a capital gains tax planning scenario involving a second residence. Matthew HuttonContext - lettings reliefProvided that at some time during the period of ownership, a particular property has been the only or main residence (by fact or election), the gain attributable to a period of letting is relieved, up to a limit, by TCGA 1992, s 223(4).  The amount relieved is the lower of the amount protected by owner occupation ... Continue Reading

Mark McLaughlin CTA (Fellow) ATT TEP outlines the scope and limitations for correcting errors or omissions in documents, or where the tax effects are not fully understood.Mark McLaughlinWhat can be done?Documents such as contracts and deeds can clearly be important for tax purposes, as well as under general law. Sometimes a document may contain an error or omission, or the parties may be mistaken as to its effect. Can anything be done to put matters right? Practitioners may be aware of the Hastings ... Continue Reading

Steve Allen, Director of VAT Solutions (UK) Ltd, reports on a further selection of recent VAT cases.Steve AllenTribunal decides that snacks are potato-based and have to be standard-ratedAn interesting case concerning the correct VAT liability of the popular ‘Pringles’ snacks. HMRC contended that regular Pringles were classed under excepted item 5 of Group 1 of Schedule 8 to the VAT Act 1994 and hence standard-rated. In a separate case Procter & Gamble had successfully argued that ... Continue Reading

HMRC are considering a change in the regulations governing mistakes made when businesses account for and pay over their VAT.Currently, where a trader makes a net error of less than £2,000 on a VAT return, he can correct the mistake on the following return. If, however, the error involves a sum of more than £2,000, the trader must report the discrepancy to the tax authorities. Larger firms have complained that the current threshold for reporting errors is too low and adds unnecessarily ... Continue Reading

HMRC have launched a new regular electronic round-up called "Agent Update", which, as the name suggests, is aimed at the agent community.The new, bi-monthly publication includes a summary of recent HMRC announcements, publications and guidance, which HMRC believe may be of interest to tax agents and advisers. The update will also contain links to further information on the HMRC website.The first edition includes links to the following:the latest information on HMRC help for customers affected ... Continue Reading

Commentry on the HMRC online services, and responses to agents' questions, can be heard in the latest HMRC podcasts.HMRC Chairman, Paul Gray, says in an interview that while HMRC has "come a very long way", there are more improvements it can make to its online services, and admits that there are "some features of our systems that don't give the service people are looking for". In another podcast, Dave Hartnett, HMRC's Director General (Business), answers tax agents' ... Continue Reading

HMRC have announced details of a series of presentations designed to provide practitioners with practical information about how to file stamp taxes returns online.The HMRC Stamp Taxes’ Outreach team was formed in 2007, following a series of visits to legal firms and practitioner groups. The team now wishes to share its knowledge and experience in SDLT by making presentations for solicitors and conveyancing professionals, either in partnership with other organisations, such as ... Continue Reading

Sarah Laing CTA considers the tax breaks currently available for married couples and civil partners and the future availability of such financial incentives.  Sarah LaingMarriage tax breaksTax breaks to support marriage are back on the political agenda, with the Conservatives considering a £20 a week incentive. This announcement has rekindled the debate inside the tax profession and out, as to whether certain financial incentives should be available exclusively to married couples. In response ... Continue Reading