Admin

Ideas for improving the tax system

A new charity campaign will help vulnerable people with their tax

Hold your finger on the pulse

G Bianchi (TC4442)

HMRC have published initial detail on the manner in which they will interpret terms used in the sections of the Scotland Act 2012, which set out the definition of a Scottish taxpayer.

The department is seeking views on whether draft technical guidance provides clarity on the principles by which Scottish taxpayer status should be decided. The definition is focused on where the individual lives, not where he or she works.

The annual end-of-year reconciliation for PAYE taxpayers has begun, to check that people have paid the right amount of tax in 2014/15. HMRC expect the process to be completed by October.

Tax calculations – P800s – will be issued, and people due a repayment will receive a cheque about two weeks after the calculation, according to the Revenue.

The Low Incomes Tax Reform Group (LITRG) has reissued its guidance on what taxpayers should do if they receive a P800. The information includes explanations on how a person may be able to reduce a tax bill or have it set aside.

Government plans to reduce administrative costs to business by £10bn will fail unless the complexity of the tax code is tackled, the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) has warned.

Two of the UK’s three longest Finance Acts were enacted in the previous parliament, the ICAEW notes in a letter to the chancellor of the exchequer, George Osborne, while calling for a “one in, two out” principle to apply to tax laws.

Payments made by HMRC to informants have hit a record high, according to legal experts.

Tax whistleblowers netted £605,000 in the year ended 31 March 2015, up from £402,000 over the previous 12 months.

The rise was driven in part by a surge in public awareness about the Revenue’s efforts to track down evaders, leading to more individuals alerting the department to possible fraud by former employers or ex-partners, said said City law firm RPC.

Claiming the marriage allowance takes a lot of effort

The new rules for expenses and benefits in kind

Margaret Hodge’s legacy as chair of the Public Accounts Committee

Keep your client admin slick