IR35: Business groups urge Rishi Sunak to suspend rollout February 17, 2020 Employment groups have urged the new chancellor Rishi Sunak to suspend the IR35 new tax regulations for self-employed workers or risk damaging the economy. According to industry bodies, the changes, which are due to come into effect in April, will lead to a third of self-employed contractors stopping freelancing over non-compliance fears. Andy Chamberlain, deputy [...]
Number of dawn raids carried out by HMRC falls February 10, 2020 The number of dawn raids carried out by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) fell last year, according to new data. HMRC raided 1,082 homes and businesses as part of criminal investigations into tax evasion in the year to 31 March. This represents a 27 per cent fall from the previous year when HMRC carried [...]
The clock is ticking: Why it’s time to address IR35 February 5, 2020 There has been a lot of noise around IR35, the updated government intermediaries legislation. Generally, it seems to be leaving a bad taste in people’s mouths. And that’s the trouble with some taxation changes: their interpretation and intent can be tarnished with a negative brush. Instead of fuelling the current conversation, is it time to [...]
Record number of tax returns filed online, says HMRC February 3, 2020 A record number of people filed their tax returns online for 2018/19, the government has said. HMRC said 10.4m self-assessment tax returns were filed online, out of a total of 11.1m received by the deadline of 11:59pm on 31 January. But almost 1m people missed the deadline, which can incur an initial fine of £100. [...]
Watch out for IR35, the tax rule that could ruin your business January 31, 2020 If you haven’t yet heard of IR35, the controversial tax rule, it’s time to start learning. The rule, designed to limit tax avoidance through “disguised employment”, already means that off-payroll workers who would otherwise be deemed directly employed are taxed at the same rate as employees. But from April the law changes: it will be [...]
Thanks to improving tech, tax collectors are no longer the bad guys January 31, 2020 “If you drive a car, I’ll tax the street. If you try to sit, I’ll tax your seat. If you get too cold, I’ll tax the heat. If you take a walk, I’ll tax your feet.” Thus warbled four rockstars from Merseyside. As rebellious as it was melodic, Taxman would become the first track on [...]
I confronted our bureaucratic tax system — and lost January 30, 2020 “Tax doesn’t have to be taxing,” claim the helpful ducks on the HMRC adverts that urge people to file their self-assessment returns by the deadline of midnight tomorrow. As anyone who has been through the rigmarole of painstakingly filling in a return that always results in a higher-than-expected calculation, the reality is somewhat different. Filing [...]
The taxman cometh: 6 tips to help you complete self-assessment tax return January 29, 2020 This Friday marks the end of a process that many have found divisive, emotionally draining, expensive, and time-consuming. No, I’m not talking about Brexit. Friday 31 January is the deadline for completing your self-assessment tax return — the bane of existence for freelancers, the self-employed, and anyone who earns extra income outside their basic salary. [...]
Tech giants urged to pick up VAT bills in fraud crackdown January 29, 2020 Online marketplaces such as Amazon and Ebay have been urged to take responsibility for VAT collection and remittance in the UK. Trade body the Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) today called on the government to make tech firms liable for the goods tax, citing concerns about growing fraud. HMRC has estimated that VAT fraud by [...]
Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary calls Flybe a ‘loss-making turkey’ in stinging rebuke to chancellor Sajid Javid January 28, 2020 Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary has issued another sharp rebuke to chancellor Sajid Javid in the wake of the government’s rescue of Flybe, this time saying the UK’s business strategy is “doomed to fail”. In a letter bound to further escalate the row between the two, O’Leary called the struggling regional airline a “loss-making turkey”. He [...]