Parliament's Public Accounts Committee's (PAC) latest report, 'The cost of the tax system', again criticises HMRC's performance, warning that as tax collection costs rise, HMRC needs to put the customer first and be ready to adopt new technologies, including Artificial Intelligence (AI).
In Raymond and Diana Eyre v HMRC [2025] TC09498, the First Tier Tribunal (FTT) found that a couple who purchased, renovated and disposed of a property for £27 million were not doing so in the 'nature of trade'. In addition, they were entitled to claim Private Residence Relief.
In Afsha Chugtai v HMRC [2025] TC09495, the First Tier Tribunal (FTT) found that a transfer of value made over seven years before death could not be excluded from the estate for IHT purposes as the donor had reserved benefit in the assets gifted.
In Alexander Beard v HMRC [2025] EWCA Civ 385, the Court of Appeal (CoA) found that distributions made by a company incorporated in Jersey and debited to its share premium account were subject to UK Income Tax, not Capital Gains Tax.
Missed our SME Tax Updates in April? Here is a summary of the month.
Hello,
It is a bumper week for tax news. On Monday, HMRC published a ‘tax update’ for Spring 2025, making several important announcements, focusing on simplification, administration and reform. A number of consultations were also launched.
The Valuation Office Agency (VOA), the arm’s-length body responsible for valuing properties for council tax and business rates, is being scrapped. It will be brought into its parent department, HMRC, by April 2026 as part of the Government's drive "to slash red tape, increase oversight and ministerial accountability and rewire Whitehall to be more productive and agile".
HMRC have released the April 2025 edition of the Employment-Related Securities (ERS) Bulletin. It contains some useful information and provides a reminder about this year's filing deadline. Here is our enhanced version.
The Government has published a response to its consultation, ‘Modernisation of the Stamp Taxes on Shares Framework’. Draft legislation for a new single tax on securities to replace Stamp Duty and Stamp Duty Reserve Tax (SDRT) will be published in due course. The new single tax and an online portal to handle reporting transactions should be in place by 2027.
HMRC will close both its Agent and Customer Online Forums from 30 June 2025, according to an email sent to agents. The closures were justified by the increased popularity and use of HMRC’s newer digital online channels.
