Retail sales record biggest monthly fall for more than four and a half years
The UK’s retail sector recorded the sharpest fall in sales for more than four and a half years, official figures have revealed. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said sales in December dropped...
View ArticleHMRC compliance teams shift focus to target more SMEs
Compliance teams at HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) are shifting their focus towards small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) – many of which are unprepared for close scrutiny, according to reports....
View ArticleSmall business owners are failing to fully understand tax returns, study reveals
A new study suggests that 31 per cent of small business owners do not know how to correctly submit their tax return, while 27 per cent did not think that they were required to submit one at all. The...
View ArticleWages up across the board, says study
Key UK regions and industries witnessed standout wage growth in the final three months of 2016, according to new research from online job board CV-Library. The study, which looked at salary growth...
View ArticleHMRC publishes list of silliest self-assessment expense claims
A list of some of the silliest expense claims featured in recent self-assessment tax returns has been published by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC). The Revenue has published the list as a warning for...
View ArticleSelf-employed people are happier, according to a new study
Self-employed people earn more money, work less, and are happier, according to new research published this week. The survey of 5,000 self-employed workers found that they are generally better off than...
View Article£3.5bn year-on-year fall in cash collected from HMRC tax probes targeted at...
The amount of cash collected by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) from its investigations into large businesses and corporations has fallen by £3.5billion year-on-year, according to a new report. The...
View ArticleHMRC publishes long-awaited responses to Making Tax Digital consultations
The Government’s long-awaited responses to six consultations about Making Tax Digital (MTD) which were originally opened in August 2016 have now been published. Despite ongoing criticisms regarding the...
View ArticleNIESR predict significant slowdown in UK economy
A think tank has warned of the possibility that the economy may slow down over the next two years in the face of trading uncertainty. The National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR)...
View ArticleHMRC phone lines “descended into chaos” ahead of tax return deadline day
Reports suggest that a “technology failure” left hundreds of thousands of self-assessment taxpayers “uncertain whether tax payments had cleared” on 30 January – the day before the deadline for online...
View ArticleCyber security is “number one challenge” impeding digital strategy, say...
Around 55 per cent of businesses consider security to be the “number one challenge” when it comes to implementing digital technology, a new study has revealed. The survey, conducted by software...
View ArticleHMRC will ask thousands of sole traders to ‘trial’ Making Tax Digital this year
Approximately 400,000 landlords and sole traders will be asked to ‘trial’ Making Tax Digital (MTD) before October 2017, according to reports. HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has said that it will begin...
View ArticleMicrobusinesses less confident than SMEs, study finds
Almost three quarters (73 per cent) of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) at the larger end of the scale are anticipating business growth over the next two years, while only 45 per cent of...
View ArticleMaking Tax Digital faces fresh criticism from House of Lords
The Government’s hotly-contested Making Tax Digital (MTD) project is now facing fresh criticism over its proposed £10,000 a year exemption threshold, above which businesses and self-employed...
View ArticleFresh concerns raised over forthcoming IR35 changes
The Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed (IPSE) and other contractor bodies have issued fresh warnings about forthcoming reforms to IR35. The reforms, which are due to take...
View ArticleFraudsters rev up ‘phishing’ emails in tax season
Fraudsters are continuing to target taxpayers with fake HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) emails in an effort to steal private and confident information. The ‘phishing’ emails raged rampant around the 31...
View ArticleTax changes for non-doms just around the corner
Important changes to the tax treatment of non-domiciled (non-dom) individuals in the UK are due to take effect from the beginning of April – and those who believe they might be affected are strongly...
View ArticleTaxpayers waiting longer for HMRC enquiries to close, says study
A new study suggests that HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) enquiries are taking longer to close – and that taxpayers had to wait an average of 60 days (or 24 per cent) longer for the Revenue to complete...
View ArticleSpiralling business rates close four pubs every day
Around four pubs close their doors every day in the face of rising business rates, a new study has revealed. The research, conducted by property surveyors CVS, shows that a fifth of pubs closed between...
View ArticleCrack down on unpaid CGT raises £140m for HMRC
New research suggests that investigations into unpaid Capital Gains Tax (CGT) managed to raise an additional £140million for HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) over the course of the last financial year....
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