In the summer the BBC featured five episodes of Britain’s Secret Charity Cheats in their daytime schedule. The programmes featured examples of fraudsters either purporting to be a charity or charity insiders and how they committed their frauds. The programmes alsofeatured some ‘good news’ stories about the sector. The timing was again very pertinent given the environment and ...

Stamp duty cut: 121,500 households save £284 million
According to the latest statistics 121,500 first-time buyers have saved a total of £284,000,000 following the introduction of a relief for first-time buyers under the Stamp Duty Land Tax rules which apply in England and Northern Ireland. Over the next five years, it is estimated that this relief, part of the UK government’s housing policy will help over 1 million people getting ...

Consultation on pensions cold calling ban
HMRC has launched a consultation on draft proposals to ban pensions cold calling. Under the proposals, unsolicited marketing calls relating to pensions could be banned, alongside cold calls that offer a ‘free pension review’. The government also outlined its intention to ban cold calls that promote retirement income products, such as drawdown. The consultation closes on 17 A ...

Requirement to Correct – tax due on offshore assets
What is the Requirement to Correct? The purpose of the Requirement to Correct (RTC) legislation is to require those taxpayers with undeclared offshore tax liabilities to disclose such liabilities to HMRC on or before 30 September 2018. Those who fail to do so will face severe financial penalties. The Common Reporting Standard (automatic exchange of financial data on a global ...

One million couples still eligible for £900 tax boost
HMRC has highlighted that three million UK couples have already taken advantage of Marriage Allowance but a million more are still eligible for the tax break. The Marriage Allowance allows certain couples, where neither pay tax at more than the basic rate, to transfer 10% of their unused personal allowance to their spouse or civil partner, reducing their tax bill by up to £238 ...

Next round of tax draft tax legislation published
The government has published draft legislation for Finance Bill 2018-19 which is currently open for consultation, and ‘continues the government’s commitment to a competitive and fair tax system’. The draft legislation could affect a range of taxes, from Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) to income tax. The draft legislation also outlines the government’s approach to the Making Tax Di ...

Use Tax-Free Childcare over the summer holidays
The Government is reminding ‘stressed out parents’ that help may be available for childcare costs during the summer holidays. According to a YouGov poll, 31% of parents feel stressed trying to arrange childcare for the school holidays. The poll, for HMRC, also found that around 30% of parents worried about balancing their job and school holiday childcare. With 54% admitting the ...

Making Tax Digital for VAT
HMRC has published further information on Making Tax Digital for VAT (MTDfV). The VAT notice sets out some further details of the MTDfV regime, which will ultimately require taxpayers to move to a fully digital tax system. Under the rules, businesses with a taxable turnover above the VAT threshold (currently £85,000) will be required to keep digital records for VAT purposes us ...

Property Investment versus Trading
The distinction between development and investing in property is crucial for tax purposes. Often it will be quite clear-cut as to whether a person is trading or investing in land. A person buying property to let out long term will be making a property investment, whereas someone buying a property to refurbish and sell will most likely be trading as a property developer. There c ...

UK ‘tax gap’ falls to 5.7%
HMRC has confirmed that the tax gap for 2016/17 has fallen to 5.7%. The ‘tax gap’ is the difference between the tax that should theoretically be paid to HMRC and the actual tax that has been paid. HMRC believes that the tax gap is lower as a result of its work to help taxpayers get things right from the start, and the department’s sustained efforts to tackle evasion and avoidan ...