The Department for Business has launched a nationwide programme of events to help businesses prepare for Brexit. The free events are designed to provide free advice on a range of Brexit-related topics, including exporting, importing and employing EU citizens. Attendees will also have the opportunity to hear from senior government officials and access support tailored to their ...

The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) has urged the government to simplify the complexities of accessing apprenticeship funding. The Apprenticeship Levy took effect from 6 April 2017 and changed the way in which apprenticeships are funded. Larger employers are required to pay a levy of 0.5% of their annual pay bill. However an annual allowance of ...

In order to try and ensure that businesses are ready to trade post-Brexit, HMRC is automatically enrolling them in the customs system. HMRC has confirmed that more than 88,000 VAT-registered businesses across the UK will be allocated an Economic Operator Registration and Identification (EORI) number in order to enable them to keep trading with customers and suppliers in the EU ...

In the latest Trusts and Estates Newsletter HMRC has confirmed the continuation of the interim arrangement for interest reporting. In 2016 the requirement for payers to deduct tax at source on bank and building society interest was removed and income from these sources is now paid gross. Due to this change, trustees and personal representatives had increased reporting requirem ...

A domestic reverse charge means the UK customer who get supplies of construction services must account for the VAT due on these supplies on their VAT return rather than the UK supplier. This removes the scope for fraudsters to steal the VAT due to HMRC and follows similar measures introduced in response to criminal threats for mobile telephones, computer chips, emissions allow ...

HMRC have published responses to the consultation, ‘Capital Gains Tax: Private Residence Relief: changes to the ancillary reliefs’ together with draft legislation as part of Finance Bill 2020. The draft legislation proposes changes to the Private Residence Relief (PRR) rules for disposals on or after 6 April 2020.  A summary of the proposed changes are as follows: The fina ...

HMRC has updated their list of examples of websites, emails, letters, text messages, WhatsApp messages and phone calls used by scammers and fraudsters to obtain an individual's personal information. The guidance can be used to help you decide if a contact from HMRC is genuine and provides examples of the different methods that fraudsters use to get individuals to disclose pers ...

From 6 April 2020, insolvency legislation will be amended to move HMRC up the creditor hierarchy for the distribution of assets in the event of insolvency by making HMRC a secondary preferential creditor in respect of certain tax debts held by a business (this includes individuals and partnerships) on behalf of their customers and employees. This includes VAT, PAYE income tax a ...

The government published draft legislation for the next Finance Bill including draft clauses on the changes to Private Residence Relief (PRR). The draft legislation is subject to consultation which closes on 5 September 2019. Following consultation this Spring, changes are proposed to the Private Residence Relief (PRR) regime from April 2020. For properties that have not been ...

From April 2020, the government will introduce a new 2% tax on the revenues of search engines, social media platforms and online marketplaces which derive value from UK users. However, this only applies when the group's worldwide revenues from these digital activities are more than £500m and more than £25m of these revenues are derived from UK users. Jesse Norman, Financial Se ...