Simon Norris, Head of HMRC Powers, and leading private sector tax professionals Phil Berwick, Kevin Igoe and Aileen Barry took part in a Tax Journal round table discussion on HMRC powers
The Treasury has launched a consultation on draft legislation for Finance Bill 2011, and published the Government’s response to the consultation ‘Tax policy making: a new approach’.
HMRC is to continue supplying agent copies of the tax calculation P800, and forms SA250 and SA251, for the time being. But agent copies of the PAYE coding notice P2 are being withdrawn from this month.
Baker Tilly observed that last year Cadbury paid UK corporation tax of around £197 million, and that the company has now announced plans to move its headquarters to Zurich ‘to take advantage of Switzerland’s more competitive tax regime’.
A Protocol bringing the exchange of information article in the UK/Austria double taxation convention 'up to the latest OECD standard’ will have effect for taxable periods beginning on or after 1 January 2011, HMRC announced.
Revenue & Customs Brief 49/10 announced a consultation to consider proposals to simplify the ‘change in use’ provisions in VATA 1994 Sch 10 Part 2 (Residential and charitable buildings: change of use).
A report setting out possible changes to the Gift Aid system has ‘much that could be taken forward,’ according to Justine Greening, the Economic Secretary to the Treasury.
The total recorded yield from HMRC settlements relating to controlled foreign companies legislation in the financial years 2007/08 to 2009/10 is estimated at £719 million, David Gauke said in a Commons written answer.
A new section of the Spotlights page features schemes where taxpayers ‘have conceded and paid the tax they had tried to avoid,’ HMRC announced.
HMRC has emphasised that it never ‘approves’ tax avoidance schemes. Some promoters or introducers for certain schemes are advertising products as ‘HMRC approved’, the department said.