Roy Millman and Tom Duffy examine the challenges facing the in-house tax function and its relationship with the rest of the company.
The general reaction to HMRC’s announcement that it has collected only £747m so far from the Swiss/UK tax agreement has been that it is a ‘flop’.
The additional tax yield received from compliance investigations into small and medium-sized businesses by HMRC has increased by 31% in the last year, according to figures obtained by UHY Hacker Young.
According to the Financial Times (19 September): ‘After months of championing the global crackdown on tax avoidance by multinationals, the UK government is facing mounting scrutiny at home and abroad over its own aggressive approach to tax competitiveness.’ The newspaper says that recent
HMRC’s latest tax disclosure campaign is aimed at residential property landlords. No closing date has been set and the opportunity to come forward voluntarily will remain open for at least 18 months. HMRC said: ‘By coming forward voluntarily, people will receive the best possible terms.
The backlog of disputes between HMRC and taxpayers has hit record highs this year, with the number of outstanding tax tribunal cases doubling in four years, according to law firm Pinsent Masons. There were 26,965 outstanding First-tier Tribunal cases in 2012/13, up from 24,273 the previous year.
Danny Alexander, the chief secretary to the Treasury, has announced that the government is to legislate against tax avoidance by partnerships and individuals in transactions involving compensating adjustments derived from the transfer pricing rules.
Power to obtain information
Requirement for online VAT returns
Special relief