Covid cash lost to fraud down by third because we’re ‘going after everybody’, Sunak claims May 3, 2023 Government cash lost to fraud and error via Covid-19 business and jobs support schemes has been reduced by a third thanks to “hundreds of criminal investigations”, Rishi Sunak has claimed. The prime minister defended the pandemic business loans and job support and vowed his government was “going after everybody” in a bid to reclaim the [...]
HMRC tax-dodging prosecutions drop – and it has no plans to change that May 3, 2023 HMRC is prosecuting far fewer people for tax dodging than before the pandemic, an influential committee of MPs has warned. Over the two pandemic years, the tax authority completed around 1,000 fewer prosecutions for tax-related offences than before the pandemic, a report by the influential Public Accounts Committee found. In 2020–21 and 2021–22, it concluded [...]
Tech companies may try to dodge digital tax if OECD reforms are delayed, UK spending watchdog warns April 5, 2023 Tech firms may try to dodge a UK government tax levied on digital companies if international tax reforms on the sector are delayed, parliament’s spending watchdog warned. The public accounts committee said this week that it had raised £358m from the digital services tax in its first year, 30 per cent more than expected, but [...]
No firms charged with ‘failure to prevent’ tax evasion in 6 years – here’s why April 3, 2023 The UK taxman has not charged any British firm with the ‘failure to prevent tax evasion’ offence since it was introduced six years ago, HMRC has confirmed. Under the offence, introduced in 2017, a British company can be criminally prosecuted if it was found to have not put adequate checks and systems to prevent its [...]
Pensions, Isas, child benefit limits and inheritance tax: Your ten point end of tax year checklist March 29, 2023 In five year’s time the annual income of another 2.1 million taxpayers will fall into the higher rate tax threshold, a rise of 47 per cent, according to the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). The threshold has been frozen since April 2021 – and is expected to stay frozen until April 2028 while the threshold [...]
Lump sum or regular saving, investing for children and how to go green: Your Isa guide to making the most of this year’s tax-free allowance March 24, 2023 With just under three weeks left until the end of the tax year, savers may still be considering how to use their annual tax-free Isa allowance. You can use your allowance whether you are looking at setting up a regular savings plan, or investing a lump sum, or even considering putting some cash aside for [...]
Inheritance tax take beats all records as property price hikes boost HMRC’s coffers by whopping £6.4bn March 21, 2023 The amount of inheritance tax (IHT) paid in February totalled £531m, bringing the total for the 2022/23 tax year to a record £6.4bn. With just one month to go the amount already surpassed the £6.1bn received by the Treasury throughout the entire 2021-22 financial year. The record-breaking inheritance tax take follows last week’s revision by [...]
Pension pain: Savers who bought lifetime allowance ‘protection’ warned they may still find their tax-free lump sum capped March 17, 2023 Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s decision to scrap the pension lifetime allowance (LTA) in Wednesday’s Spring Budget, was heralded as an incentive for wealthier employees over 50 to stay in the workforce. But some pensions experts say for those who took out a form of LTA protection may still have to watch they do not go over [...]
HMRC delays are hindering UK growth, accounting body warns February 8, 2023 Major hold ups at HMRC are “acting as a drag on the UK’s economic growth,” the head of one of Britain’s top accounting bodies has said. The “unacceptable” delays, caused by backlogs at the UK’s tax authority, “need to be addressed promptly,” ICAEW chief executive Michael Izza said, as he called for the launch of [...]
EY says it does not owe ‘duty of care’ to taxman in fight over property magnate’s tax affairs February 6, 2023 EY has said it is under no obligation to help HMRC collect more taxes in defending itself against a High Court lawsuit over a British property magnate’s tax affairs. The Big Four accounting firm said it owed no “duty of care” to HMRC to have given it information that could have helped it collect more [...]