Following the retirement of Margaret Hodge as chair of the Public Accounts Committee, nominations for a new chair have been taking place. At the time of writing, current nominations (all Labour MPs) are Helen Goodman, Meg Hillier and Gisela Stuart.
The following have been published:
· Updated guidance on PAYE reporting for employment intermediaries (see www.bit.ly/1uLyjZu);
· Updated guidance notes for letting agents and tenants for the non-resident landlords scheme.
Notification of VAT assessments
Tax Journal's recent coverage on the direction of UK tax policy - with views from business, leading tax experts, the Oxford University Centre for Business Taxation and the Institute for Fiscal Studies.
The following has been published:
According to The Daily Telegraph (29 May), tax officials no longer check why someone was unable to submit self-assessment forms if they provide a ‘reasonable’ excuse.
The European Union Referendum Bill, which makes provision for the holding of a referendum in the UK and Gibraltar on whether the UK should remain a member of the EU, was published on 28 May, and is expected to have its second reading on Tuesday 9 June.
Following the Wales Act 2014, the Welsh government has set up a series of consultations to implement new powers to reform taxes on waste disposal and property sales to deliver its own environmental and economic objectives.
HMRC has added ‘Spotlight 24’ to its featured list of tax avoidance schemes. This concerns the employment allowance scheme reported recently by the BBC, whereby agencies create multiple companies, each claiming the £2,000 allowance against employer’s NICs.
HMRC has updated its FATCA registration and reporting guidance to include a specific reference to reasonable excuse, and has indicated to agents that problems with its online registration system could provide a reasonable excuse for returns filed late after the 31 May deadline.