News

HMRC have issued 600 notices to avoidance scheme-users since late August, demanding that they pay more than £250m of disputed tax under the accelerated payments regime.

Many of the recipients have responded to arrange to make payments, covering over £25m of tax, according to the Revenue, and other taxpayers are also contacting officials to settle their affairs rather than wait to receive an accelerated payments notice (APN). 

Taxpayers reported almost 75,000 scam emails in six months earlier this year, marking a massive increase in known phishing attempts by tax fraudsters.

HMRC was notified of 74,743 scam messages between April and September: a 70% rise on the equivalent period in 2013.

The Revenue worked with other law enforcement agencies over the same months to close more than 4,000 websites responsible for sending the emails, which promised a tax refund in return for the recipient’s name, address, date of birth, bank and credit card details.

HMRC have announced the end of IR35 compliance checks, only two years after they were introduced.

The abolition of risk-based business entity tests (BETs) will take effect on 6 April 2015, following a review by tax professionals. The IR35 Forum, the Revenue’s external group of advisers on intermediaries legislation, found the voluntary checks – launched in 2012 – were not widely used and were not fulfilling their purpose of assessing whether or not IR35 applied to taxpayer firms. 

HMRC’s compliance office dedicated to the tax affairs of the country’s best-off people has passed a major landmark in its five-year history.

The high net worth (HNW) unit has collected more than £1bn in additional tax revenue since being formed in 2009, with £268m retrieved in 2013/14, according to a new Revenue report, which show a rise on the previous year’s £222m.

Self assessment

The deadline for paper self assessment returns for 2013/14 is 31 October. Online returns must be filed by 31 January 2015.

Finance Bill

Draft clauses to be included in the Finance Bill will be published on 10 December 2014, together with responses to policy consultation, explanatory notes, tax information and impact notes and other accompanying documents. The consultation on the draft legislation will be open until 4 February 2015.

HMRC are set to change their VAT policy regarding floor space partial exemption special methods.

The move follows the Upper Tribunal’s decision in CRC v Lok’nStore Group plc, which dismissed a Revenue appeal on the grounds the First-tier Tribunal was entitled to conclude that the method used by the taxpayer for calculating deductible VAT on overheads produced a more fair and reasonable result than the standard technique.

The rates for Scotland’s land and buildings transaction tax (LBTT) have been announced.

Details of the tax – the first to be introduced by Scottish parliament in 300 years – were unveiled in Scotland’s draft Budget for 2015/16.

The 2012/13 tax gap was £34bn, or 6.8% of tax liabilities, according to newly released HMRC figures, which show a small rise on the £33bn (6.6%) in the previous year (revised down from an initial £35bn).

Group payments

HMRC’s guidance note GPA1 “Application for a group payment arrangement” has been revised to include new telephone numbers.

VAT special scheme

VAT information sheet 9/14: special scheme for non-EU businesses has been published. It provides information about some of the most used currency exchange rates needed by non-EU businesses that are registered for the special scheme in the UK so they can complete declarations and make payments to HMRC in sterling.

HMRC have launched what they call a credit card sales campaign. This opportunity gives businesses that accept credit and debit card payments, but that have not declared all their UK tax liabilities, the opportunity to bring their tax affairs up to date on preferential terms.

There is no end date for this campaign. A business that wishes to take part should contact HMRC by completing the notification form or calling the credit card sales campaign helpline on 0300 123 9272.

HMRC publish a technical consultation

But tax experts blame Revenue’s systems