Following the recent cut in the Bank of England base rate from 0.25% to 0.1%, HMRC has announced changes to the rates of interest they charge.
The new late payment interest rate, applied to the main taxes and duties, took effect from 30 March
The Help to Save scheme can assist those on low incomes to boost their savings. The scheme was launched in September 2018 and new figures just published by HMRC have revealed that over 163,000 people have signed up depositing more than £53
Taxpayers may find themselves in a position where they need to make a complaint to HMRC. Complaints can relate to many different issues such as unreasonable delays, mistakes and poor treatment by HMRC’s staff. Note, there is a separate
There is a free tracing service called ‘mylostaccount’ to find lost bank accounts. The service brings together the three tracing schemes of the British Bankers’ Association (BBA), the Building Societies Association (BSA) and National Savings and
The Finance (No.3) Bill 2017-19 received Royal Assent (later than originally planned) on 12 February 2019 following agreement by both Houses on the text of the Bill. The Bill is now an Act of Parliament known as Finance Act 2019. The Act contains the
HMRC has issued an updated version of their online guidance on Genuine HMRC contact and recognising phishing emails and texts. The guidance provides a current list of genuine messages from HMRC. This includes: email messages, text messages and
The Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme was launched in March this year to help small businesses and local communities connect and gain access to full fibre superfast broadband speeds. The vouchers can be used by small businesses and the local
Under certain circumstances, taxpayers can apply to HMRC for clearance or approval for a specific transaction. This can help give certainty about how a proposed transaction will be treated. Of course, there are numerous caveats to seeking clearance
HMRC has used targeted campaigns to recover underpaid taxes and penalties from specific sectors and industries where significant underpayment of tax has been identified. The use of these campaigns is part of the government’s continued moves to tackle
A director of a company that manufactured security systems has been found guilty of two counts of fraudulent trading and one count of fraudulently removing property in anticipation of winding up. He was sentenced to two years in prison after
The government’s Bank Referral Scheme was launched in November 2016. The scheme, created by the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015, is designed to help improve SME access to finance and competition in the SME lending market.
The bank
The Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) has updated its papers on the possibility of launching a Sole Enterprise Protected Assets (SEPA) business model for sole traders.
SEPA status would allow sole traders to retain the simplicity of sole trader
Public Health England (PHE) and Business in the Community have published a new toolkit to help employers support workers who are affected by domestic abuse.
One in four women and one in six men suffer from domestic abuse in their lifetime and
The Finance Bill 2017-18 officially known as Finance (No.2) Bill 2017-19, received Royal Assent on 15 March 2018 following agreement by both Houses. The Bill is now an Act of Parliament to be called the Finance Act 2018. The Act contains the
HMRC expects that taxpayers take ‘reasonable care’ over their tax affairs and do everything reasonably within their power to ensure that tax returns and other relevant documents are accurate.
There is no legal definition of reasonable care from a