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Everyone has devoured Christmas lunch and watched the queen’s seasonal message. Before dozing off or indulging in that second glass of port, why not gather family and friends around and impress them with your knowledge of topical tax stories from the pages of Taxation over the past year?
It’s just for fun (no prizes) and the final few questions have a distinctly non-tax feel to them … well, it is Christmas.
The answers will appear on the Taxation website in the new year.
1) How many Budgets has chancellor of the exchequer Rishi Sunak presented in 2021 and on what date(s) did it/they take place?
2) Important new rules were introduced into the VAT sector on 1 March. They had been due to start on two previous occasions but were postponed. What is this new regime called?
3) Self-assessment tax returns are due on 31 January. Penalties apply for late submissions. For 2019-20 returns due on 31 January 2021, HMRC said no penalties would be charged for late returns received by what date?
4) In February 2021, the Supreme Court ruled that drivers working for a well-known organisation are workers and entitled to workers’ rights. Which was the case?
5) Also in early 2021, the Court of Appeal ruled that zero rating applies to e-newspapers – digital publications – but from what date?
6) What did Rishi Sunak describe as ‘the biggest business tax cut in modern British history’.
7) What significant event took place on 23 March?
8) In another landmark decision, this time in May, the Supreme Court ruled there was no concept of what in discovery? Which tax case was it?
9) Which set of employment rules celebrated their tenth anniversary in April 2021?
10) On 5 June, the G7 struck an historic international agreement on global tax reform. What is the main expected outcome of this agreement?
11) In June, the Office of Tax Simplification said it was going to review the potential for moving the end of tax year. What is the current tax year end date and what were the two options under consideration?
12) Marking the end of more than 300 years of tax-related history, what items were finally allowed by HMRC to retire in July?
13) What do the following First-tier Tribunal decisions have in common: Partridge (TC7991), Doe (TC8003), Mobey (TC8103), and Mullane (TC8100)?
14) A new tax was announced in September, dividing commentators on its merits. For example IFS director Paul Johnson said ‘a simple increase in income tax would have been preferable’. What is this tax?
15) At the same of the year, HMRC offered a settlement opportunity to a particular group of taxpayers. What had these taxpayers been members of?
16) To many people’s relief, the government postponed what until April 2024?
17) Another, day another leak – what name has been assigned to the latest revelations of offshore tax arrangements?
18) The coronavirus job retention scheme finally closed its doors on what date?
19) Individuals who sell a second property and have to report the sale and pay the tax within 30 days of completion will have been cheered by the chancellor’s extension to the deadline in his autumn Budget. What is the new timeframe?
20) Some have called for the exemption for office parties to be raised – although sadly for many companies this may be a moot point. What is the current limit?
21) The Fair Tax Mark Foundation has launched a new global standard recently. In which country is the first company to gain accreditation located?
22) What is the town called in the classic film It’s a Wonderful Life starring James Stewart?
23) In what year was The Snowman first released?
24) Oogie Boogie is the villain in which animated film?
25) ‘Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas’, was sung by Judy Garland in which 1944 MGM musical?
26) Which Christmas song did astronauts broadcast from space in 1965?
