Blog

Sarah Saunders

When is a tax adviser not a tax adviser?

Anyone can provide tax advisory services, with no requirement for qualifications or experience. Plans are being mooted to increase regulation to improve the protection of taxpayers.

2 minutes

Sarah Saunders

Why are US figures used in the algorithm which calculates the UK tax gap?

The tax gap is HMRC’s estimate of the difference between the tax which should be paid, and the tax that is actually paid. It is a key factor in determining tax policy. It is therefore surprising to learn that US calculations of non-disclosure percentages are currently used to calculate the UK tax gap. The radical differences between the UK and US tax systems suggest this must distort the results.

3 minutes

Scott Harwood

New £15 billion VAT refund scheme for NHS and central government could impact net funding and supporting businesses

The Government has announced plans to simplify the way public bodies, including the NHS, recover VAT they are charged on outsourced activities and infrastructure projects. While this may seem welcome news upfront, the proposed full refund model could radically change the market for contractors and private sector competitors and may have a net effect on core public funding.

4 minutes

Carolyn Brown

Will employers terminate their gig economy workforce first with no redundancy pay?

Workplace law is changing. As we await the definitive Supreme Court judgement on working status in the Uber case, and as CJRS tapers off, will employers terminate their gig economy workforce first without redundancy termination payments? We review the latest developments.

4 minutes

Sarah Saunders

Free Money! Children’s Trust Funds begin to mature

Directly or indirectly, most taxes are ultimately paid by individuals. We’ve been looking at what this means in practice, particularly as some countries make increasing use of their tax systems to tackle avoidance by multinational corporations, to slow global warming and, in the UK’s case, to prepare for the end of the Brexit transition period.

2 minutes

George Bull

Who pays the tax bill anyway? Well-intended tax schemes often penalise consumers

Directly or indirectly, most taxes are ultimately paid by individuals. We’ve been looking at what this means in practice, particularly as some countries make increasing use of their tax systems to tackle avoidance by multinational corporations, to slow global warming and, in the UK’s case, to prepare for the end of the Brexit transition period.

5 minutes

Sheetal Sanghvi

R&D tax relief reforms risk stifling innovation in small firms

HMRC recently published a second consultation document with proposals for preventing abuse of the research and development (R&D) tax relief for SMEs, but will these proposals discourage small businesses from undertaking genuine R&D activity? We suggest improvements.

3 minutes

Justin Stevenson

HMRC is back and focusing on people with offshore investments

HMRC has launched its latest campaign of nudge letters aimed at taxpayers who hold overseas investments. Given the potential for extremely harsh penalties for any errors discovered by HMRC relating to offshore matters, taxpayers with such investments need to carefully review their position.

3 minutes

Chris Etherington