January’s VAT increase may be the first of many
Tim Denison from Synovate believes that the VAT increase which will come into effect next January could be the first of a range of changes.
hmrc
HMRC coding errors led to a 148% increase in overpayments
The fiasco surrounding HMRC’s attempt to introduce a new system to cope with PAYE codes earlier this year continues with news that PAYE processing errors resulted in a 15.7% increase in underpayments and a 148% increase in overpayments.
HMRC questions offshore account holders
Last week HMRC sent out letters to some of the taxpayers who had taken up the Offshore Disclosure Facility to ask them for their insights.
Don’t divulge personal information over the phone!
A fresh warning has been issued about a telephone scam that could be targeting small business owners and umbrella company contractors.
Umbrella company contractors affected by backlog of tax claims?
We all know that HMRC has been instructed to collect as much overdue tax as possible but it might surprise you to know that it also has a significant amount of overpaid tax claims to work through.
Forget about tax evasion, honesty must be the best policy
HMRC is set to increase its investigations into tax avoidance and contractors not operating via an umbrella company may wish to get advice from a specialist accountant to ensure that all their tax matters are in order.
Is my umbrella company financially stable?
1% fewer companies became insolvent in the 2nd quarter compared to the 1st quarter of 2010 according to the latest analysis from PricewaterhouseCoopers. 3,467 businesses became insolvent during the period, a drop of 28% from the same quarter last year.
Will HMRC helpline changes affect umbrella companies?
The Low Income Tax Reform Group believes that HMRC’s decision to reduce the opening hours of its helpline will hamper it in its long term aim to move to online services.
Concerns over tax avoidance measures
The government has announced that they will once again look at whether a general anti-avoidance rule should be introduced as a measure to deter limited company tax evaders.
HMRC issue online VAT return reminder
HMRC recently issued a statement to remind people of the need to complete their VAT procedures online if they have an annual turnover in excess of £100,000 or registered for VAT after the first of April this year.
Tough times ahead for HMRC
Morale is currently low at HMRC and employees have now been warned that they are in for tough times ahead. Chief Executive, Lesley Strathie, informed staff that they need to be realistic about the challenges they face.
Umbrella company workers affected by HMRC PAYE mistakes
Ten of thousands of people, including contractors and freelancers, have been affected by the tax coding problems caused when HMRC migrated their records to a new computer system earlier this year.
Current tax system “too confusing” for contractors
The Chartered Institute of Taxation has called on the new coalition to prioritise tax reform. They have written to George Osborne, the new chancellor, highlighted the need to simplify the current tax regime.
HMRC stand firm on late payments of VAT
According to new figures published by IT service provider Syscap, the number of Time To Pay VAT requests rejected by HMRC has more than doubled in the first 3 months of 2010.
Complex new tax rules create concern
If you’ve ever given advice to your friends and family about tax matters, you might be interested in the views of one of the UK’s leading tax experts.
Contractor group sees glass half full over IR35
It had been hoped that a Conservative government would scrap IR35 but it now appears that this may not be the case. A Tory spokesman said last week that this may not be a viable option.