Sep 12

HMRC should increase rewards for whistleblowers, says law firm

HMRC should increase the rewards it pays out to whistleblowers in line with the US system, according to law firm RPC. The tax authority paid out over £509,000 to individuals providing evidence about tax fraud over the past year, RPC’s research found. That figure is up from £495,000 in 2021/22 and a 75% increase from the […]

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Aug 11

CMA scheme will force retailers to publish live fuel prices

A new fuel finder scheme to enable drivers access to live fuel prices and revitalise competition in the retail road fuel market, according to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). The scheme would be made possible by new compulsory open data requirements and backed by a new ‘fuel monitor’ oversight body. The proposals are the key recommendations […]

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HMRC increases late payment interest rate to 7.5%

HMRC has increased interest rates with late payment bills charged 7.5% from 11 July, the highest rate since 2001. The move follows the Bank of England’s June increase in the base rate with HMRC also increasing the rate paid on repayments of tax. The Bank increased the base rate to 5% from 4.5% on 22 June, […]

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UK inflation falls as economy shrinks in May

The UK’s rate of inflation fell to 7.9% in the year to June while the country’s economy shrank in May, according to the latest Consumer Prices Index (CPI) published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The inflation rate is currently at its lowest annual rate since March 2022, the ONS said. Price rises have slowed […]

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200 companies named and shamed blog

Jul 11

More than 200 companies named and shamed for minimum wage breaches

Over 200 employers have been named by the government for failing to pay their lowest paid employees the minimum wage. The 202 employers were found to have failed to pay their workers almost £5 million in a clear breach of the National Minimum Wage (NMW) law, leaving around 63,000 workers out of pocket. Companies named […]

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MTD expected to cost blog

MTD expected to cost £1 billion more than originally forecast

A report published by the National Audit Office (NAO) has found that HMRC’s Making Tax Digital (MTD) initiative is expected to cost around £1 billion more than its initial £226 million budget, which was forecast in 2016. MTD is intended to modernise the tax system for income tax self-assessment, VAT and corporation tax. It requires taxpayers […]

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Advisory fuel rates June 2023

Jun 15

Advisory fuel rates for company cars June 2023

New company car advisory fuel rates have been published and took effect from 1 June 2023. The guidance states: ‘you can use the previous rates for up to one month from the date the new rates apply’. The rates only apply to employees using a company car. The advisory fuel rates for journeys undertaken on […]

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Energy suppliers

Energy suppliers urged to renegotiate fixed contracts for small businesses

The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has urged energy suppliers to renegotiate fixed contracts for small firms on market-peak tariffs. Research carried out by the FSB revealed that many small businesses are trapped in contracts that mean that their latest bills are at last summer’s peak market rate for energy, despite wholesale prices having fallen […]

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One in five workers

One in five workers will be higher rate taxpayers by 2027, says IFS

The number of people paying income tax at 40% or above will reach 7.8 million by 2027/28, according to research published by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS). This represents one in five taxpayers and one in seven of the adult population – a near-quadrupling of the share of adults paying higher rates since the […]

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‘Fresh thinking’ needed in regard to MTD for ITSA

The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) has written to HMRC regarding how Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Self Assessment (MTD for ITSA) can be better shaped to suit the needs of small property businesses and the self-employed. On 19 December 2022, HMRC announced the deferral of MTD for ITSA’s start date […]

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HMRC increases late payment

HMRC increases late payment interest rate to 7%

Following the Bank of England’s latest increase in the base rate, HMRC has increased both late paid tax and the rate paid on repayments of tax. The Bank increased the base rate to 4.5% from 4.25% on 11 May, the 12the consecutive rise. The late payment and repayment interest rates follow this rise and are […]

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UK rate of inflation

UK rate of inflation fell sharply in April

The UK rate of inflation fell to 8.7% in April from 10.1% in March, according to the latest data from the Office of National Statistics (ONS). The fall has been attributed to energy price rises slowing from their hikes in 2022. The rate at which grocery prices rose slowed marginally in the year to April, […]

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May 11

Latest guidance for employers May 2023

HMRC has published the latest issue of the Employer Bulletin. The April issue has information on various topics, including: reporting expenses and benefits for the tax year ending 5 April 2023 the annual ‘Tell ABAB’ survey gives small businesses a voice in the tax system understanding your obligations on right to work and National Minimum Wage […]

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Workers must be protected from decisions made by AI, TUC says - blog

Workers must be protected from decisions made by AI, TUC says

The Trades Union Congress (TUC) has stated that UK employees must be protected from workplace decisions made by artificial intelligence (AI) systems. The TUC warned that, in some instances, AI technology is making ‘life-changing’ decisions, including those in relation to line managing, hiring and firing. AI systems are being used to analyse the facial expressions […]

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£177.6 million lost to impersonation scams in 2022

£177.6 million was lost to impersonation scams in 2022, data published by trade association UK Finance has revealed. The data showed that there were 45,367 cases of impersonation scams in 2022. It also revealed that just 51% of individuals always check whether a request for personal data or money is legitimate. Just 38% of 18–34-year-olds […]

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PAC criticises government for billions lost to error and fraud - blog

PAC criticises government for billions lost to error and fraud

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has criticised the government for losing billions of taxpayers’ money to fraud and error in pandemic support. The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) is ‘effectively writing off’ nearly £1 billion paid out erroneously by local authorities on its behalf in pandemic support. Meanwhile, of an estimated £2.2 billion lost to […]

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Tax threshold freeze trebles to £25 billion - blog

Tax threshold freeze trebles to £25 billion

Research carried out by think tank the Resolution Foundation has suggested that the size of the UK’s six-year ‘stealth tax’ threshold freeze has nearly trebled to £25 billion. The figure is significantly higher than the previous forecast of £9 billion announced during the 2021 Budget. A small number of tax thresholds have been frozen since 2021/22 and […]

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Online VAT filing portal to close in May - blog

Online VAT filing portal to close in May

HMRC has reminded businesses that file VAT returns annually that the online VAT filing portal will close from 15 May 2023. The VAT portal closed to standard quarterly filers on 7 November 2022, but was kept open for a longer period for those who file annual returns. In emails to businesses and tax agents, HMRC urged all […]

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Late Payment blog

Apr 13

HMRC late payment interest rate hits 6.75%

HMRC has revised interest rates with late payment bills charged 6.75% from 13 April, the highest level since January 2008 The late payment and repayment interest rates follow the rise in the Bank of England base rate to 4.25% on 23 March and are applied to the main taxes and duties that HMRC currently charges and […]

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pensions lifetime allowance Blog

HMRC issues guidance on abolition of pensions lifetime allowance

HMRC recently issued preliminary guidance in regard to the abolition of the pensions lifetime allowance. At the Spring Budget, Chancellor Hunt announced that the lifetime allowance charge will be removed from 6 April 2023. The allowance will be fully abolished from the 2024/25 tax year via a future Finance Bill, HMRC said. HMRC states that pension scheme administrators […]

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