MPs on the Treasury Committee have raised concerns that the newly established Office for Value for Money (OVfM) is unlikely to provide value for money. It is under-resourced, operating in too tight a timeframe and duplicates the work of other departments.
SME Tax News
Prime Minister Kier Starmer and Chancellor Rachel Reeves, have announced new rules designed to give increased flexibility over how occupational defined benefit pension schemes are managed.
In Scottish Power Ltd v HMRC [2025] EWCA Civ3, the Court of Appeal (CoA) overturned a decision made by the Upper Tribunal (UT). The court found £28 million of settlements paid to customers were made in the course of business and were not penalties: they were an allowable deduction for Corporation Tax purposes.
In Hoopla Animation Ltd v HMRC [2025] UT00028, the Upper Tribunal (UT) dismissed an appeal relating to the eligibility of shares in a pre-school film venture's Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) for EIS relief purposes. A member of a group of companies who had provided subcontracting services to the SPV was 'party to' the arrangements.
Following a technical consultation on 'Improving the data HMRC collects from its customers', HMRC have confirmed that proposals to require more detailed employee hours data to be reported through Real-Time Information (RTI) will be scrapped.
HMRC are contacting employers with a PAYE Settlement Agreement (PSA) who have not yet submitted PSA calculations for 2022-23.
The number of live cases being investigated and reviewed under the Corporate Criminal Offences (CCO) regime for the failure to prevent the facilitation of tax evasion has remained static, for the second time.
As part of the Government’s aim to ‘Kickstart Economic Growth’, the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves has made a speech to a group of Oxford business leaders announcing increased levels of public spending on investment and creating "a new Silicon Valley" in the UK.
In HMRC v Bluecrest Capital Management (UK) LLP [2025] EWCA Civ 23, the Court of Appeal (CoA) found that the incorrect construction of Condition B was used to determine whether the Salaried Member rules applied. Both the First Tier Tribunal (FTT) and Upper Tribunal (UT) erred in law in accepting the broader interpretation of ‘influence’ set out in HMRC’s guidance.
Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, James Murray MP, has announced an independent review of the disguised remuneration loan charge to be led by Ray McCann, former President of the Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT).
