News

A tax agent who lied to cover up incorrect returns submitted for clients has been convicted of six offences, under the Fraud Act after an investigation by HMRC.

Christopher Jonathan Lunn who worked at his father’s company, Christopher Lunn & Co, sent false invoices to the Revenue to cover up an increase in the amount charged for accountancy fees on behalf of his employer’s clients.

Clients were given one low-cost bill for accountancy services, but they were increased when their accounts were submitted to the taxman.

Help for small firms

HMRC have relaunched Supporting Small Business, an interactive digital publication containing links to new products and services for small firms.

Lloyd’s underwriters

The Lloyd’s Underwriters (Conversion of Partnerships to Underwriting through Successor Companies) (Tax) Regulations 2014 SI 2014/3133 have been published.

The government will not proceed with plans for a new employee shareholding vehicle, it has been announced.

Disclosure campaign

HMRC’s latest disclosure campaign is designed to give solicitors the opportunity to bring their affairs up to date on preferential best terms. Relevant taxpayers should complete a notification form or call 0300 013 4749 by 9 March 2015. Participants will have until 9 June to complete a disclosure form and pay outstanding tax.

The government has scrapped plans to abolish the capital gains tax (CGT) main residence election.

Treasury officials intended to replace the measure with fact-based tests to decide which property would benefit from only or main residence relief, as part of proposals to implement a CGT charge on UK non-residents.

But a change of policy means a non-residents investing in UK residential property and UK residents investing in non-UK property will instead have to meet an occupation requirements.

Anti-avoidance; R&D relief; pensions; venture capital schemes; inheritance tax; trusts; ISAs

Capital gains will remain eligible for entrepreneurs’ relief (ER) when realised even when they have been deferred into investments that qualify for the enterprise investment scheme or social investment tax relief, the chancellor announced in yesterday’s autumn statement.

The measure takes immediate effect, and is good news for taxpayers wishing to re-invest gains into unquoted trading companies. The previous system saw such investors facing the full capital gains tax (CGT) rate of 28%, rather than ER’s 10%

The abolition of employer National Insurance contributions (NICs) on young trainees is a “great idea” made at the “right time”, according to commentators inside and outside the tax sector.

Chancellor George Osborne this afternoon announced that firms will no longer have to pay NICs on earnings up to the upper earnings limit for apprentices under 25 years old.

Today’s autumn statement was a mixed bag for non-domestic taxpayers in the UK, experts have suggested, with the Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT) praising the announcement that there will be no changes to rules governing a non-residents’ entitlement to the UK personal allowance.

The government had proposed that a restriction should be introduced using an ‘economic connections test’ – but it will now not come into effect before April 2017, following a detailed consultation.

Scotland

Revenue and Customs Brief 43 (2014) sets out HMRC’s response to the decision in Fiscale Eenheid PPG Holdings BV cs te Hoogezand (C-26/12).

The case concerned an employer’s entitlement to deduct VAT paid on services relating to the administration of defined benefit pension schemes and the management of their assets.