HMRC have announced downtime in their online systems for PAYE and National Insurance between Friday 23 June and Monday 26 June 2023. Many other online and telephone HMRC services will also be affected.
SME Tax News
In Raystra Healthcare Limited v HMRC [2023] TC08838, the First Tier Tribunal (FTT) found that a failure to file Real-Time Information (RTI) returns on or before 19 March 2020 due to a software issue, invalidated a claim under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS).
In William Archer v HMRC [2022] EWCA Civ 626, the Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal against penalties for late payment of tax following a judicial review of closure notices. The judicial review amounted to a reasonable excuse for late payment but not throughout the period of non-payment and the delay in making payment once that excuse ended was unreasonable.
HMRC have issued their Agent Update for June 2023. We have summarised the key content for you with links to our detailed guidance on the topics covered.
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HMRC needs to have a re-think to find ways to simplify their Making Tax Digital (MTD) project in order to avoid vast future cost overruns. A National Audit Office (NAO) report this week shows that HMRC is currently 400% over budget. As far as throwing money into a vast 'black hole', few thought that anything could beat the IT disaster that was the COVID-19 Track n' Trace app. I hope that this is a wake-up call for all concerned. The MTD project now needs to be reviewed and aptly refined to ensure that it keeps up with technological change, delivers value for money and creates a significant improvement in tax reporting.
A new survey measures the impacts of IR35 and Off-Payroll Working reforms. It shows that in terms of their current engagements, two-thirds of professional contractors still favour working via the established model of a Personal Service Company. There is also good news for HMRC: its Check Employment Status Tool is giving acceptable results for contractors.
HMRC have published their Employer Bulletin for June 2023. We have summarised the key content for you, with links to our detailed guidance on the topics covered.
The Northern Ireland Assembly Department of Finance (DoF) has published 'Consultation Response Report - Devolution of more fiscal powers', this considers stakeholders' views, including the public's responses on the recommendations made by the Independent Fiscal Commission in 2022.
In Top-Notch Accountants Limited v HMRC [2023] TC08833, the First Tier Tribunal (FTT) found that the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) conditions were not met. Documents produced in support of the claim had been deliberately manipulated.
The Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT) has reported that HMRC have commenced their compliance response to the Pandora Papers (The Papers). The Papers was a large leaking of documents containing sensitive offshore financial investment data in 2021. HMRC are now following up with individual taxpayers who they believe have not disclosed all taxable income.