Income Tax

HMRC have fixed a problem with their business tax dashboard that caused employment records to merge on the department’s systems.

The error hit some firms that employed a work to do more than one job within the same PAYE scheme, and resulted in erroneous consolidation of the separate employments.

Affected accounts were incorrect on the business tax dashboard – but the Revenue has updated the employer records, which will be displayed as follows:

Aspect Capital plc v CRC, Upper Tribunal (Tax and Chancery Division)

L Howard (TC3154)

An IT contractor operates via a limited company as the director and shareholder, paying himself a low wage and dividends. His brother is also an IT contractor, but is a disqualified director and has been using the limited company as a conduit for his income

Peebles Baptist Church (TC3204)

Claiming a construction industry scheme refund can be an overlong process

A client has become very wealthy over many years, but now has little income that is subject to tax. He wishes to make substantial gifts to charity, but is concerned that gift aid will not be of benefit

A client is proposing to transfer a large residential property to his son. The client will continue to live at the property and pay a rent. This should avoid an inheritance tax charge

A pottery collector is expanding and improving his collection. Because of the limited space available, unwanted or inferior examples are sold to make room for more recent acquisitions

By David HJ Cohen; £65; paperback; 209 pages; Bloomsbury Books

HMRC are set to close all open periods of contracting out on taxpayers’ National Insurance (NI) records. The move will be to supply individuals with details of their occupational pension rights when contracting out ends in April 2016.

HMRC have announced new fuel rates for company cars, to apply to all journeys on or after 1 March 2014 until further notice. Employers may use either the previous or new rates for one month from the date of change, and therefore make or require supplementary payments, but are under no obligation to do either. Petrol hybrid cars are treated as petrol cars for this purpose. The amounts can be used for VAT, but employers will need to retain receipts.