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It’s been fascinating to watch the almost hysterical way in which media coverage of the HMRC’s new ‘side hustle tax’ has developed over the last couple of weeks. The irony of course is that there is no such tax. What has changed is the reporting requirement for online operators, who will now be required to provide information automatically to HMRC rather than only supplying it when requested. But that nuance clearly got lost in the telling.
I’ve had some fun online looking for the most entertaining headlines. Among my favourites are ‘side hustle tax to hit residents in the South East harder’, ‘watch out Depop girlies, the side hustle tax is coming for you’ (no, me neither) and – from a national newspaper that surely should have known better – ‘HMRC’s new eBay sales tax (and how to dodge it)’. One paper even had ‘I make thousands selling clothes as a side hustle on Vinted – the tax could ruin my holiday’. Just to drive home the point, the paper obligingly published her name and her monthly sales figures!
Entertaining as this undoubtedly all is, there is a serious point here. It is difficult enough to explain the workings of the tax system to a general audience so when a non-story like this appears it makes things even more difficult. Half-truths spread like wildfire on the internet and social media. A search for ‘side hustle tax January 2024’ gives over 3,000 results and some of these come dangerously close to condoning evasion on second incomes.
Fortunately, there are those who do care about getting these things right and we are happy to publish an article in this issue by Emma Rawson of the ATT which sets out the facts in a clear and unsensational way.
If you do one thing...
Read HMRC’s updated guidance on capital allowance claims for partnerships (tinyurl.com/hmrcca11145).
