Happy New Year to one and all. We thought that we would kick things off with a quiz. 

1 What did two former Chancellors of the Exchequer lose on 4 September 2019?

2 What was increased from £200,000 to £1 million on 1 January 2019?

3 Which former Secretary of State for Health and Social Security died on 20 May 2019, aged 81?

4 In the general election campaign what did the Green Party offer for £89 a week?

5 In June 2019, HMRC announced that what had reduced to 5.9%?

6 This year a state called Eswatini joined the OECD framework on base erosion and profit shifting. What was the state’s former name?

7 Which employees gained a C in their tax codes this year?

8 Just before Theresa May resigned as prime minister, it was discovered that she wanted to extend an existing tax to what product? She was opposed by health secretary Matt Hancock.

9 This year, HMRC made a record 4,885 refunds of penalties totalling £1.8 million. For what offence were the penalties originally issued?

10 In the Conservative party leader election, which candidate promised to reduce the basic rate of income tax to 15%

11 In November 2019, it was announced that 6,586 people are still paying a tax of £52 a year. What is it?

12 What new tax has the government said it will introduced in April 2022?

13 What did the Chancellor say on 2 May 2019 would not be scrapped after all? He had conducted a consultation on the matter.

14 Which drummer died in October 2019, aged 80? He battled with US and UK tax authorities, in addition to growing olives and breeding polo ponies.

15 What old form of tax evasion was discovered in Chew Valley in August 2019?

16 In June 2019, what reason did the actor Robert Glenister give for freezing with stage fright in a West End production of Glengarry Glen Ross in 2017?

17 In October 2019, the Oxford Dictionary added the word “omnishambles”. To which Budget was this word first applied?

18 Which singer who died on 13 May 2019, aged 97, had to continue working in 1968 when she discovered that her manager had not put her recording fees into tax shelters but had embezzled them?

19 What reason was eventually accepted as reasonable excuse for Keith Butler not to do jury duty in accordance with a jury summons issued in April 2019, having first been refused?

20 In 2020, it is planned to provide the public with millions of copies of Turner’s 1838 painting of The Fighting Temeraire. Why?

21 In February 2019, a judge said it was a “scandal” that HMRC was chasing a taxpayer for £1,600 in penalties. Why?

22 In February 2019, it was discovered that £43 million of public funds and another £10.5 million of private funding had been spent on what item that does not exist?

Answers: 

Send you responses to Steve 

Prizes: 

This year we are offer the first correct entry with one year subscription to either our Entrepreneur's relief Sole Trader or our share disposal toolkit, see our Virtual Tax Partner toolkits for more details.