'Change of tone' for new version of HMRC6

HMRC have issued a revised version of HMRC6, the booklet covering residence and domicile for individuals. The amendments include the removal of warnings that the publication has no legal force.

This represents a ‘change of tone’ from the previous edition, said Baker Tilly tax partner George Bull, who added that the Revenue appears to be ‘trying to be more prescriptive and to represent its own interpretation of the law as definitive’.

The revised literature includes expanded guidance about the treatment of particular types of employees working overseas, which previously appeared in a separate booklet, listing the main criteria that the taxman takes into account when forming a view of an individual’s residence status.

The new HMRC6 also contains some clarification, based on recent court decisions, of what is required for a taxpayer to break UK residence.

Mr Bull pointed out that the booklet 'incorrectly lists New Zealand as a country with which the UK has a treaty on National Insurance; the treaty in question covers only benefits, not contributions’.

He went on to remark that there seems to be some confusion over ‘the rules for social security in the EU with those applicable to the European Economic Area, which have differed in certain areas since May 2010’. These factors, he felt, may undermine confidence in the revised booklet, ‘at least as far as National Insurance contributions are concerned’.

Issue: 4287 / Categories: News , Baker Tilly , George Bull , HMRC6 , Employees , Income Tax , Residence & domicile