In this edition of RSM’s weekly round-up of the most important tax news, we cover the latest developments. Please feel free to share this update with any of your colleagues and invite them to sign up to our regular briefings here.
Is the non-dom regime unfair?
Rachel de Souza
Labour has suggested the non-dom regime is unfair and proposes to replace it with a shorter-term scheme for temporary residents, but would this be any better?
EU relaxes its rules on reduced rates of VAT
Sarah Halsted
New EU legislation has come into force, giving its member states much wider discretion to apply reduced or even zero rates of VAT to certain goods and services. This will make it more difficult for the UK government to describe similar VAT changes in the UK as a ‘Brexit dividend’.
HMRC officers ‘Thai’ up loose ends in restaurant case
Sian King
HMRC often tests sole trader hospitality businesses to check Self-Assessment tax return’s ‘match’ what is seen in the day-to-day business. The recent case of Wuttinan Kotpat V HMRC (TC08448) highlights the steps HMRC can take to test what is reported and is a useful reminder to taxpayers that anything they say in conversation with HMRC can, and indeed will be used against them in the course of an enquiry.
“Bug Bounty” millionaires could face financial ruin
Chris Etherington
The threat of cyber-attacks, highlighted in RSM UK’s ‘The Real Economy’ report on Cyber Security, is prompting more companies to offer millions of dollars in “bug bounty” rewards to ethical hackers who identify security vulnerabilities in their systems. However, for those being paid in cryptocurrency for their efforts, the tax risk of receiving the reward is substantial and could result in financial ruin.
