It is ‘not possible’, because of taxpayer confidentiality, to estimate the collective losses that banks in which the state has an interest may set against future tax liabilities, Mark Hoban, Financial Secretary to the Treasury, said in a
Age-related tax allowances, the taxation of savings and ‘convoluted’ PAYE forms have been identified by the Office of Tax Simplification as the areas of the tax system that cause the most problems for pensioners.
Helen Lethaby provides your monthly update, which includes coverage of the government’s action to close down ‘abusive’ debt buyback planning retrospectively and the appointment of the new Assurance Commissioner to oversee large tax settlements.
A new YouGov poll shows a ‘strong demand for tougher government action’ on corporate tax avoidance, according to ActionAid, the anti-poverty group. The poll of 1,764 adults found that 79% thought the UK government was not doing enough to tackle avoidance by large businesses.
‘Liberal Democrats are prepared to see the 50 pence top rate of income tax abolished in return for a tax on property, Vince Cable said today.
Tax experts insist that ‘most big companies have no interest in bending the rules’, The Sunday Times reported yesterday. Barclays had 'failed to sense a prevailing mood against tax avoidance’, according to the paper.
Barclays insisted that its tax arrangements were within ‘the letter and spirit’ of HMRC’s Code of Practice on Taxation for Banks after the government announced retrospective legislation to close two ‘highly abusive’ tax avoidance schemes.
‘In a letter to the Daily Telegraph, the bosses of small and medium sized firms across the country say the levy has meant they have not expanded their firms and taken on more workers.