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Peter Vaines of Squire Sanders considers the findings of the recent Charlton hearing in the Upper Tribunal. Introduction The case of Charlton published at the end of 2012 is seriously important. I know I am always going on about discovery assessments but this is the most significant case on the matter for some time. Discovery and the Enquiry Window HMRC are entitled to raise an assessment outside the enquiry window only if they discover that an assessment to tax is insufficient. ... Continue Reading

In its report HM Revenue & Customs: Customer Service Performance issued yesterday, the National Audit Office has found that "despite improvements, customers are still not getting a good service": In 2011-12, HMRC answered 74% of calls and surpassed its lower interim target of just 58%. The commercial standard is to answer 90% of calls But 20,000,000 calls went unanswered - over 50,000 per day In providing these figures, HMRC assumed that people hanging up while listening ... Continue Reading

Overseas employers seconding staff to the UK should be aware of significant tax breaks that can reduce employment costs and employee taxes, says Sarah Brock, Corporate Tax Manager at Ward Williams. General Tax Relief for Travelling and Subsistence Expenses Employees seconded to the UK for up to 24 months, and who keep their employment contract and permanent workplace in the home country, can enjoy tax-free living expenses at their UK temporary workplace.  This is a generous relief that ... Continue Reading

Mark McLaughlin CTA (Fellow) ATT TEP reports on a tax case with a cautionary note for a service partnership. Introduction It is probably not uncommon for one business to provide services to another related business, where there are individuals who are common to both businesses. A good example is a partnership and a related company. The partnership might provide administration services to the company, and its partners may also be directors of the trading company. What would the ... Continue Reading

Continual tinkering with the tax regime is not helpful, warns Mark McLaughlin. There is an excellent article by Mike Truman in the latest Taxation magazine. In that article ('Stop Messing About'), Mike sees an unfortunate connection between Chancellor George Osborne and the late Kenneth Williams, whose well-known catchphrase gave the article its title. Mike's article broadly highlights changes in the approach of the Government to various tax related procedures and policies. One of the ... Continue Reading

LITRG has helped persuade HMRC to improve their notifications to new tax credits claimants of their entitlement to backdating but those who have missed out will need to take action. Introduction Some tax credit claimants may not have received payments they should have for periods before they made their claim (‘backdated payments’) because HMRC failed to notify them of their entitlement. As a result of LITRG’s intervention, HMRC have now improved matters for new claimants, ... Continue Reading

In the last few days, Starbucks has committed effectively to "volunteer" a minimum amount of Corporation Tax to the Treasury over the next two years - broadly £10 million a year. This will be regardless of whether or not Starbucks makes a profit which warrants such a payment. In a speech to the London Chamber of Commerce last week, (as published in the Guardian), the Managing Director of Starbucks UK, Kris Engskov, said that the company would NOT claim tax relief for Royalties The ... Continue Reading

The government is to introduce a scheme whereby employees may exchange certain employment rights for shares in their employer company. LITRG believes this plan is misguided, particularly for lower-paid employees. Introduction Following a short consultation run by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills in October and early November (the proposals being set out on the department's website), the Chancellor has confirmed that the government will be introducing a new ‘employee-owner ... Continue Reading

The basic state pension increases to £110.15 from April 2013, benefiting all pensioners. However, there are other measures that affect those on the lowest and middle incomes differently. Background As announced last year, the higher personal allowance given in past years to people aged 65 or 75 and over will no longer be available to those reaching their 65th birthday in 2013/14. Also, those who have already qualified for the higher age allowance will see no increase in future years, until ... Continue Reading

Autumn Statement – Has the Pain Been Fairly Distributed? Robin Williamson, Technical Director of the Low Incomes Tax Reform Group, responds to the Chancellor's Autumn Statement. As the Age of Austerity is now predicted to last longer than originally forecast, the Chancellor in last week’s Autumn statement attempted a balancing act between taxing the wealthy and cutting welfare. Lively debate has ensued about whether the pain was fairly distributed. The legality and ethics of tax avoidance ... Continue Reading