HMRC ‘degrading’ services and ‘eroding’ confidence, MPs warn January 22, 2025 The UK’s tax authority is “degrading its own services as a matter of policy” and damaging the public’s confidence, a report by MPs into HMRC has warned. Growing concerns have been raised about HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) delivering poor customer service, which MPs claim is intentional, failing to pursue debts and reducing its prosecutions. [...]
How much does tax really affect your decision making? January 22, 2025 From VAT on school fees to business taxes, we’re living through a live experiment with the effects of tax on people’s choices. Evidence suggests the results could be far from clear-cut, says Tim Sarson Last week, I was lucky enough to be on the panel for the Women in Tax network’s annual debate. The question [...]
Public sector tackles inefficiency with new AI tools January 21, 2025 The government has launched a new digital strategy to modernise public services, using a series of artificial intelligence (AI) tools to fix government inefficiency. The science and technology secretary Peter Kyle announced the initiative following a review which revealed various efficiencies within the government. Daily, HMRC was dealing with over 100,000 phone calls, while DVLA [...]
Man United legend Bryan Robson to be hit with tax bill over ambassador role January 21, 2025 Former Man United legend Bryan Robson has lost a chunk of his IR35 case against HMRC leaving him exposed to a undisclosed tax bill
Haaland: Man City striker could pay £150m to HMRC over new deal January 21, 2025 Signing a lucrative contract, as Erling Haaland did with Manchester City this month, is usually one of the happiest days of someone’s life. Haaland has signed for nearly a decade in a deal that is reportedly worth £26m a year before bonuses. But the reality is that the taxman is coming, and for the Norway [...]
UK motorsport businesses missing out on corporation tax relief January 21, 2025 The heart of the UK’s Formula 1 and motorsport hub could be paying unnecessarily high tax rates because they’re unaware of free relief available to them, a new study has revealed. Less than 10 per cent of firms are claiming Patent Box relief in the motorsport corridor of the UK, which houses the likes of [...]
Bank of London appoints former Credit Suisse boss as chief executive January 20, 2025 Embattled fintech ‘unicorn’ the Bank of London has appointed the former UK boss of Credit Suisse as chief executive today, as it looks to recover from a string of setbacks and the sudden exit of its founder last year. In a statement, the digital clearing bank said Christopher Horne, who previously headed the failed Swiss [...]
KPMG: Regulator probes Big Four firm over audit of Ladbrokes-owner Entain January 20, 2025 The accountancy watchdog has kicked off an investigation into Big Four firm KPMG over its audit of gambling giant Entain
ScottishPower: Court grants appeal against HMRC over £28m tax bill January 17, 2025 Energy giant ScottishPower has been granted an appeal to allow it to deduct £28m in fines by Ofgem for corporation tax purposes
UK ‘lacks understanding’ on tech procurement as taxpayer foots bill January 16, 2025 The UK’s approach to technology procurement ‘lacks understanding’, resulting in costly setbacks whilst leaving its public services on outdated systems. The government has accumulated 29 years of delays across major IT projects and £3bn in cost overruns, according to a recent report by the National Audit Office (NAO). This comes as Keir Starmer recently launched [...]