Blog

Carbon offsetting consultation overlooks existing taxes and devolution

Transport Secretary Chris Grayling has launched a call for evidence on offsetting carbon emissions produced by transport. While initially promising, the document completely overlooks existing taxes, such as fuel duty and air passenger duty, and ignores the inconvenient truth that aspects of these have been devolved around the UK.

4 minutes

It’s wrong to leave the NHS to fix the pensions tax problem

Political infighting within the UK government means that the NHS is being left to resolve what is described as the “NHS pensions allowance problem”. This is wrong. The Treasury should be tasked with resolving the tax problem, leaving the NHS to do what it does best: making people better. We show how.

2 minutes

Steve Hodgetts

Charities brace for additional VAT costs

A recent judgment from the European Court risks restricting charities' VAT recovery on the generation of additional funds through investment and fundraising.

2 minutes

Susan Ball

Changes to electric car taxation are just tinkering under the bonnet

A new Treasury announcement has set out details of the benefit-in-kind (BIK) tax rates for company car drivers who choose an emissions-free electric model. But are these measures sufficient to encourage drivers and fleets to use their cars in the most environmentally-friendly way?

3 minutes

Susan Ball

New tax treatment of expenses for unpaid officeholders from April 2020

Originally announced in the 2018 Budget, the draft Finance Bill 2019-20 now confirms that expenses paid or reimbursed to unpaid office-holders would be exempt from income tax.

2 minutes

Is the weaponisation of taxes here to stay?

With France and the UK imposing new digital services taxes on big technology companies and the USA threatening to retaliate with import tariffs, UK and European businesses and consumers are likely to be caught in the crossfire of a trade and tax war. What’s going on?

5 minutes

Sarah Saunders

Simplification of Inheritance Tax? Yes please!

The second report from the Office of Tax Simplification presents a range of suggestions to simplify inheritance tax; but will this lead to further tinkering of the system rather than full scale reform?

2 minutes

Susan Ball

Employment Allowance: stealthy removal or Brexit planning?

In the ever-changing landscape of employment allowance, changes could mean over a million firms will be paying more towards their employer’s national insurance contributions (NICs) from April 2020. Will the latest changes bring clarity; or further complexity, greater confusion and as a result reduced take-up?

3 minutes

Philip Munn

Compensation or consideration? VAT when contracts are terminated

Another European Court decision regarding HMRC’s new policy on retained deposits for unfulfilled supplies has been released, but does it bring clarity to application or muddy the waters further?

2 minutes