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TW Ed wonders if MPs are asking HMRC and the Treasury to find a way around their own legislation. When it was announced last week that Vodafone was selling off its very substantial stake in the US company Verizon for a sum of more than £80bn, I took note that it ranks as one of the ‘largest’ deals ever announced. It did not take long for questions to be raised about the prospective tax receipt to the UK Exchequer. While I was racking my brain to wonder the basis for ... Continue Reading

Capital allowances are available on the purchase of certain fixed asset items used in a letting business. Expenditure in excess of the Annual Investment Allowance limit is transferred into a ‘pool’ and claimed (‘written down’) over a period of several years (generally at 18% per annum). If any assets in the pool are subsequently sold, the proceeds are deducted from the pool amount brought forward before reducing the value against which further writing down allowances ... Continue Reading

TW Ed wonders how long it will be before taxpayers are on an equal footing with HMRC. Well, dear reader, I could not let the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech go unmarked. Thanks to the Internet, it is readily accessible and, for those who have not read or preferably watched it, I can only recommend they do. It is powerful, inspiring and magnificent. In short, world-changing.  50 years on, we might well ask if we have lived up to King’s hortations. ... Continue Reading

A premium is a sum paid by a tenant to a landlord either on the creation or surrender of an interest in a property. Surrender premiums payable to terminate a lease early are generally tax inefficient; depending on the length of the lease and whether or not there is a provision in the agreement for early termination, the landlord will be taxed on a capital and/or revenue receipt whilst the tenant receives neither a capital nor revenue deduction. Tax planning possibilities: •   ... Continue Reading

HMRC should allow more time for assessment of the impact of the closure of their enquiry centres in the north-east of England before deciding whether to close down centres UK-wide. Background In May 2013 HMRC published a consultation about replacing enquiry centres with a new service for those who need extra support. HMRC have closed thirteen Enquiry Centres across the North East from 3 June to 31 October, piloting at the same time a new “better and improved” service for ... Continue Reading

Peter Duchars of Russell Bedford considers how VAT is developing across the EC. Background Anthony Barber, the then Chancellor of the Exchequer, introduced VAT in the UK in 1973 (as a precursor to entering Europe) at a rate of 10%, describing it as a simple and easy to understand tax.  Forty years later, VAT has evolved into a different beast to deal with the changing nature of business supplies and products, and an expanding European Union (EU). The initial expectation was that ... Continue Reading

Losses from a property business are calculated in the same way as losses from a trade.  The loss on one property in a portfolio is automatically offset against profits made on any other properties in the same portfolio for the same period.   Therefore profits and losses of all UK properties are ‘pooled’ together. As profits and losses of any overseas properties are kept separate, two distinct and separate ‘pools’ are created should there be both UK and foreign ... Continue Reading

UK Tax legislation is growing at an alarming rate, warns TaxationWeb's Mark McLaughlin It was difficult enough returning to work last week after a wonderful two week holiday. Then I read a blog from the publication 'Taxation', which really depressed me! The blog concerned the increasing volume of UK tax legislation. 'Taxation' is part of Lexis Nexis, which publishes Tolley's 'Yellow Tax Handbook' and 'Orange Tax Handbook'. These contain (among other things) the UK's main direct and indirect ... Continue Reading

If a gift of a property (or share of a property) is made or a property is sold at less than its market value, CGT is charged as if the donor had received the market value in cash.   This ruling does not apply to transfers (gifts) between spouses/civil partnerships. In this situation the donee is treated as having acquired the property at the date of the transaction but most importantly at the original purchase price. No CGT will be due until the receiving spouse/civil partner sells the ... Continue Reading

Ward Williams' Erin Walls advises Self Assessment taxpayers on paying their tax liabilities. Introduction Tax returns can be hard work. Sometimes, especially in today's business climate, finding the cash to pay the tax can be the biggest problem. I get many questions about Payments on Account (or POAs for short): why do some of us have to make Payments on Account and others don't? How are they calculated? And, can they be avoided? Let’s take a look at the basics. Who Makes ... Continue Reading