A research experiment carried out by the IFS has found that providing people with just a small amount of information in the form of some (true) statistics radically altered their views on the fairness of the UK tax system.
HMRC has published the following:
The amount of ‘tax under consideration’ as part of transfer pricing investigations by HMRC’s large business directorate rose to £5.8bn in 2016/17, an increase of 51% over the previous year, according to laws firm Pinsent Masons, which believes HMRC is using enquiries into diverted profits tax to
HMRC says it still finds a small number of banks ‘push the boundaries of acceptable tax planning’, in its third annual report on the operation of the code of practice on taxation for banks, covering the period from 1 April 2016 to 31 March 2017.
The ATT has proposed an amendment to the Finance Bill provisions introducing the new £1,000 trading allowance from April 2017, with the aim of removing a disadvantage to established sole traders who start up a smaller, second trade.
HMRC is increasing the per-premises money laundering supervision registration and annual renewal fee to £130 (from £115) from 1 December 2017.
The new online trust registration service (TRS) finally became available to agents, albeit in a limited form, on 17 October. Agents will have to set up a new ‘agent services account’ as part of gaining full access to the system.
The CIOT has issued guidance for tax practitioners on the statutory requirements when HMRC proposes using a deed, rather than a standard contract, to settle tax enquiries.
HMRC has published a 61-page draft guidance note on the new penalties for those who enable the use of tax avoidance arrangements which HMRC later defeats. The penalties will apply to arrangements and actions following royal assent to the second Finance Bill 2017.