The government is consulting on how to clamp down on charities being set up to avoid tax. Last year’s autumn statement included the move to bring forward rules aimed at keeping charities from being abused by parties seeking a tax advantage
HMRC already have the legislative means to challenge certain schemes, but Exchequer officials hope to shape more laws to deter a greater number of tax dodgers.
A committee of the European parliament has approved an amendment to the Fourth Anti-Money Laundering Directive, which would make details about individuals behind trusts publicly available for the first time.
Under the plan, each member state of the European Union would be required to keep and make available a register of information on the ultimate beneficial owners of privately owned companies, foundations and trusts.
How could anyone have believed Working Wheels was legitimate?
The Revenue is making inappropriate use of penalties
Bristol & West plc, Upper Tribunal (Tax and Chancery Division)
There are better ways to tackle avoidance than those recently proposed by HMRC
The rationale behind the Revenue’s plans to collect tax upfront in some instances
P Boyle (TC3103)
A record 10.74m tax returns were filed for 2012/13 by 31 January, the highest proportion (93.4%) of on-time submissions recorded. Around 8.48m were filed online, passing last year's figure by 0.55m. The busiest day for online returns was 31 January, when HMRC received 569,847. The busiest hour occurred between 4pm and 5pm on the same day: 45,706 returns were received at more than 12 a second, while 21,027 taxpayers filed their return between 11pm and midnight on deadline day.
Sanderson v CRC, Upper Tribunal (Tax and Chancery Chamber)
The taxman’s powers to withhold repayments
Users of avoidance schemes will be expected to pay tax upfront under proposals issued by HMRC.
A new consultation document, Tackling Marketed Tax Avoidance, outlines plans to extend accelerated payment of disputed tax to arrangements subject to the disclosure of tax avoidance schemes (DOTAS) regime and to taxpayers being investigated under the general anti-abuse rule (GAAR).