The government intends to publish a second 2017 Finance Bill ‘as soon as possible’ after the summer parliamentary recess. The Bill will contain the provisions withdrawn from the previous Finance Bill before the general election. The financial secretary to the Treasury has confirmed that the starting dates for these provisions will remain as originally announced, including those due to start in April 2017. Updated draft clauses have been published for a group of provisions requiring technical adjustments to ensure they work as intended. These are:
carried forward losses: with amendments affecting insurance companies, group relief rules, oil and gas ring fence expenditure supplement rules, and transitional provision for commencement rules having effect from 13 July;
corporate interest restriction: technical amendments, including extension of the time limit for appointing a reporting company and filing an interest restriction return in the first year;
deemed domicile for income tax and CGT: changes to allow transitional protections, including the pre-owned assets tax rules, and further cleansing rules for mixed funds;
employment income provided through third parties: clarification of outstanding loan balances, and accelerated payment postponement provision for NICs;
hybrid and other mismatches: change effective from 13 July confirming that the regime applies to relevant national rather than local taxes, by providing that local taxes are not treated as foreign taxes;
IHT on overseas property representing UK residential property: minor drafting changes; and
substantial shareholding exemption: amended definition of ‘qualifying institutional investor’.
The government has also published a full list of provisions (34 in all) that will apply from April 2017, or any other point before the introduction of the Bill. See http://bit.ly/2udRMvq.
CIOT president, John Preston, welcomed the announcement as ‘helpful’, but added that ‘taxpayers and their advisers will naturally still have questions on the detail of the measures, including cases where quarterly payments are required before legislation is passed’.
At the same time, the government announced a new timetable for the introduction of making tax digital (MTD), which will be among the measures in the new Bill. MTD will become mandatory from April 2019, but only for VAT, and will apply to businesses with a turnover above the VAT threshold. MTD for other taxes will remain optional until at least 2020. See http://bit.ly/2vfSB3u.
The news on MTD was widely welcomed by the profession. Paul Aplin, deputy president of the ICAEW, said: ‘There has never been any doubt about the potential that digital technology holds for improving tax administration, or any lack of enthusiasm for building a world class digital tax system. The problem at the heart of MTD from the day of the 2015 Autumn Statement was one word: mandation. Now that we have that deferred until 2020 at the very earliest for most businesses and landlords, we have the space and time for all stakeholders – businesses, agents, software developers and HMRC – to work together to create something that works well for all of us and that people will want to use. Getting it right is far more important than getting it fast; and credit is due to ministers and HMRC for creating the environment in which we can now achieve that. The concerns raised have been listened to.’
The new president of the ATT, Graham Batty, said the announcement on MTD was ‘extremely welcome news’, adding: ‘The ATT stands ready to work with HMRC in order not just to make tax digital, but to make tax doable.’
The government intends to publish a second 2017 Finance Bill ‘as soon as possible’ after the summer parliamentary recess. The Bill will contain the provisions withdrawn from the previous Finance Bill before the general election. The financial secretary to the Treasury has confirmed that the starting dates for these provisions will remain as originally announced, including those due to start in April 2017. Updated draft clauses have been published for a group of provisions requiring technical adjustments to ensure they work as intended. These are:
carried forward losses: with amendments affecting insurance companies, group relief rules, oil and gas ring fence expenditure supplement rules, and transitional provision for commencement rules having effect from 13 July;
corporate interest restriction: technical amendments, including extension of the time limit for appointing a reporting company and filing an interest restriction return in the first year;
deemed domicile for income tax and CGT: changes to allow transitional protections, including the pre-owned assets tax rules, and further cleansing rules for mixed funds;
employment income provided through third parties: clarification of outstanding loan balances, and accelerated payment postponement provision for NICs;
hybrid and other mismatches: change effective from 13 July confirming that the regime applies to relevant national rather than local taxes, by providing that local taxes are not treated as foreign taxes;
IHT on overseas property representing UK residential property: minor drafting changes; and
substantial shareholding exemption: amended definition of ‘qualifying institutional investor’.
The government has also published a full list of provisions (34 in all) that will apply from April 2017, or any other point before the introduction of the Bill. See http://bit.ly/2udRMvq.
CIOT president, John Preston, welcomed the announcement as ‘helpful’, but added that ‘taxpayers and their advisers will naturally still have questions on the detail of the measures, including cases where quarterly payments are required before legislation is passed’.
At the same time, the government announced a new timetable for the introduction of making tax digital (MTD), which will be among the measures in the new Bill. MTD will become mandatory from April 2019, but only for VAT, and will apply to businesses with a turnover above the VAT threshold. MTD for other taxes will remain optional until at least 2020. See http://bit.ly/2vfSB3u.
The news on MTD was widely welcomed by the profession. Paul Aplin, deputy president of the ICAEW, said: ‘There has never been any doubt about the potential that digital technology holds for improving tax administration, or any lack of enthusiasm for building a world class digital tax system. The problem at the heart of MTD from the day of the 2015 Autumn Statement was one word: mandation. Now that we have that deferred until 2020 at the very earliest for most businesses and landlords, we have the space and time for all stakeholders – businesses, agents, software developers and HMRC – to work together to create something that works well for all of us and that people will want to use. Getting it right is far more important than getting it fast; and credit is due to ministers and HMRC for creating the environment in which we can now achieve that. The concerns raised have been listened to.’
The new president of the ATT, Graham Batty, said the announcement on MTD was ‘extremely welcome news’, adding: ‘The ATT stands ready to work with HMRC in order not just to make tax digital, but to make tax doable.’
