March 2019

Mar

OTS calls for auto enrolment into HMRC’s digital personal tax account

The Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) has called for the government to consider auto enrolling all taxpayers into HMRC’s personal tax account service, after concerns that developing technology will cause individuals to lose sight of their tax obligations. The OTS has published a discussion paper looking at the risks and challenges that tax simplification through technology poses. The OTS says

Mar

MTD for VAT registration takes seven working days, warns HMRC

HMRC has warned that the registration process for Making Tax Digital for VAT, due to come into effect from 1 April, will take seven days to complete, and will not be a real time service. The latest HMRC notification updated its guidance for businesses looking to sign up to Making Tax Digital for VAT, pointing out those that pay VAT

Mar

Millions of self-employed workers turn backs on pension pots

Almost two-thirds (64%) of self-employed people in the UK are avoiding paying money into a personal pension scheme to save for their retirement, a new study shows. With an estimated 4.5 million self-employed workers in Britain, the figures suggest as many as 2.9 million contractors and freelancers are now opting to shun defined contribution schemes – an increase of 12%

Mar

Late payment culture ‘hits SMEs’ productivity and stability’

Small businesses across the UK are facing major cash flow pressure, leading to increased financial instability as a direct result of a late payments culture, according to consultant Duff & Phelps. “Our concerns follow recent research by Bacs Payment Schemes, which claimed that small businesses are facing a collective bill of £6.7bn a year in outstanding payments owed by other

Mar

HMRC Talking Points

HMRC’s regular Talking Points webinars provide information, guidance and tips to help you understand tax issues. Forthcoming ones include: Cryptoassets (also known as cryptocurrencies) and HMRC: Cryptoassets continue to evolve and remain in the public eye. Following the recent release of guidance, this webinar will consider the view of cryptoassets from an HMRC perspective and how tax rules apply. Thursday

Mar

Government abolishes the Financial Reporting Council

A new ‘enhanced’ regulator to transform the audit and accounting sector has been unveiled by the Business Secretary Greg Clark. The Financial Reporting Council is being replaced with a new watchdog – the Audit, Reporting and Governance Authority (ARGA). The UK government, in the guise of the Department for Business, Energy & Industry Strategy, said it now wants a new

Mar

Shock move on Making Tax Digital

Making Tax Digital (MTD) will not be mandated for income tax or corporation tax until 2021 at the earliest, according to Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond. He made the announcement in a written statement following his Spring Statement on 13 March. He said: “Mandatory digital record keeping for VAT for businesses over the VAT threshold (with turnover over £85,000)

Mar

PAYE tax codes for 2019-20 confirm £12,500 personal allowance

HMRC has issued the latest PAYE tax codes for tax year 2019-20 effective 6 April, highlighting the increase in the tax-free personal allowance to £12,500. The guidance P9X (2019) explains which tax codes employers need to change, how to change them and which codes to carry forward for the new tax year on 6 April. From April 2019 the basic

Mar

Concern over rising threat of landline scams

HMRC is warning all households to be vigilant after seeing a rise in the number of phone calls from fraudsters pretending to be them. In the past six months the tax authority has received 60,000 reports of phone scams. This is an increase of 360% on the six months before this. Ironically, it appears that HMRC’s crackdown on text and

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