Weekly tax brief | 1 November 2022

Tax tribunal decision may result in £135m VAT cost for UK education institutions
Scott Harwood and Graham Conner
A recent tribunal decision which has ruled that VAT should be charged on car parking fees and catering facilities at hospitals, could result in the same VAT treatment applying to student income.

NHS workers heading for the highest pension annual allowance charges yet seen
James Ramshaw
Measures were taken at the start of the pandemic to reduce the number of healthcare workers falling foul of exceeding the pension annual allowance. The current rate of inflation being experienced looks to scupper all that effort and then some.

Making Tax Digital likely to impact many more landlords than first expected
Adam Jefferies
Making Tax Digital for landlords is expected to come into force from April 2024, meaning that landlords receiving income of over £10,000 will be required to submit quarterly returns. However, this threshold was set prior to the recent shocks to interest rates, rent increases and inflation, so we can expect to see many more landlords impacted by these changes than originally thought.

HMRC’s bonfire of statistics
Stephanie Court and Andrew Robins
Last week, HMRC opened another consultation on reducing the volume of statistics that are published. HMRC explain that there is a need to channel its efforts to prioritise statistical publications that are of the most value to users, but we question the withdrawal of information at a time of such fiscal uncertainty.

Be careful how you present yourself – HMRC is watching!
Sian Marsden
A recent First-tier Tribunal case acts as a reminder that HMRC uses publicly available information including social media sites, to support their compliance activities. Those presenting a lavish lifestyle to the public, which doesn’t match up with their tax returns could be opening themselves up to an enquiry with HMRC.

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