Business news and opinion from Evans Weir > Category: Tax | Page 2

Following, significant adverse feedback from motor manufacturers, businesses and drivers alike, the government has completed a U-turn on legislation that was set to change the tax classification on double cab pick-ups, treating them as cars rather than goods vehicles. Had they progressed with their plans, the tax on benefits-in-kind for employees, when provided with a double cab pick-up by their employers, would have increased, substantially.

Important – If you are self-employed or in a trading partnership and your accounting year end does not match the tax year (April to March), new annual self-assessment reporting changes will impact you from this tax year.

New legislation that came into force from 1st January 2024, has left many individuals wondering whether they will end up paying tax on incomes generated through a range of online portals such as eBay and AirBnB. News of the reporting changes for digital portals spread like wildfire across social media with some suggesting this was a back door in for HMRC to begin charging tax on sales of unwanted goods and second-hand clothes. But clarity has now been provided to help online sellers and those renting properties via portals such as AirBnB understand what the new legislation is and when it might see them paying additional tax.

It’s an interesting question isn’t it. In the UK we’re used to things being relatively cut and dried when it comes to VAT. There is the prevailing rate (currently 20%), zero rated VAT, (0%), VAT exempt (equally 0% but needs to be identified differently to Zero rated) and then the odd few idiosyncrasies such as energy at 5%. But by and large, the overwhelming majority of transactions will be either standard rate, 20%, or zero rated, 0%. That is unless you deal with someone like Amazon, who, it would appear, have been able to agree some of their own rates with HMRC.

Our latest Autumn Tax briefing is now available to download here.

The Treasury and HMRC are reportedly looking at the removal of a ‘double tax break’ which currently enables families to inherit pension savings and not pay income tax or Inheritance Tax (IHT) on the proceeds. At present, families inheriting pension savings from somebody who dies before the age of 75 can withdraw funds and not pay any tax on the proceeds.

At the same time as a poll for the Sunday Telegraph suggested voters believe Inheritance Tax (IHT) to be the most unfair tax levied on UK residents, revised HMRC forecasts were suggesting that up to 50,000 more families would be faced with an IHT tax bill by 2028.

News that HMRC has pulled in almost £650m due to complex inheritance gifting rules in the past three years, has once again highlighted the need for careful estate planning by families. Whilst the overall tax receipts from Inheritance Tax (IHT) between April 2022 and February 2023 were £6.4 billion, the focus of this latest news is on the proportion collected as a result of gifts made by the deceased in the period leading up to their death.

When you split a business to avoid registering for VAT it is called disaggregation and HMRC can perceive this to be deliberate tax avoidance, which carries penalties and could see them treating all the individual businesses as a single entity and taxing them all equally. However, there are legitimate situations whereby disaggregation is acceptable and appropriate.

Our Spring 2023 tax year end newsletter can now be downloaded here.

If there’s one thing the recent hokey cokey of Chancellors and fiscal policy has achieved it has to be a rigorous testing of our sentiment towards taxation. Whilst it is hard to imagine that anyone has found this funny or even useful for personal and commercial planning purposes, as a research case study it provides tremendous insight on public opinion and our threshold for taxation.

From October 2022, HMRC is extending the ability for companies to make regular payments via Direct Debit, specifically for PAYE and national insurance contribution liabilities.