SME Tax News

HMRC have issued their Employer Bulletin for October 2015, and we have summarised all of the key content for you, including a number of misconceptions about RTI which HMRC have identified from feedback they have received from employers.

HMRC have published a consultation document with more detail as to the changes ahead for non-domiciled individuals and inviting views as to how these could best be implemented.  Consultation closes on 11 November 2015.

In B & K Lavery Property Trading Partnership v HMRC [2015] TC04637 the First Tier Tribunal (FTT) refused an application to strike-out HMRC’s argument in an appeal against a closure notice, finding that HMRC could rely upon an argument before the FTT which it had not referred to in the closure notice.

HMRC have published the responses received to their consultation "Tax Enquiries: Closure Rules". It considers whether HMRC should be able to refer certain matters during an enquiry to the tribunal in order to bring about a swifter resolution.

If your trade involves alcohol, whether as a wholesaler or a retailer, then you will be affected by the Alcohol Wholesaler Registration Scheme (AWRS).

From 1 January 2016, HMRC began to consider whether pre-existing or new wholesalers are 'fit and proper' businesses for inclusion on an approved business register.  

All existing alcohol wholesalers must have applied online to HMRC by 31 March 2016 to be registered under the scheme. Wholesalers beginning to trade after 31 March 2016 must apply to HMRC at least 45 days before they intend to begin trading, and they cannot begin to trade unless HMRC approval is granted.

Those granted approval will be included on an online database of approved businesses and issued with a unique reference number (URN) to display on their sales invoices from 1 April 2017.

From 1 April 2017, wholesalers and trade buyers and retailers must only source alcohol from HMRC approved businesses. Where you purchase alcohol from a wholesaler, you must check that they are registered with HMRC and that they have an AWRS URN.

There will be new criminal and civil sanctions for those caught buying alcohol from non-registered sources, and alcohol found on the premises of unregistered businesses may be seized.

Penalties for wholesalers who trade without submitting an AWRS registration  began from 1 April 2016, and penalties for trade buyers purchasing alcohol from unregistered wholesalers began from 1 April 2017.

HMRC have launched a quick consultation, closing on 16 October 2015, as to how the new residence nil rate band (RNRB) should be introduced so that individuals are not disincentivised from downsizing or selling their property.

HMRC have opened their online registration facility for employers wanting to take advantage of the opportunity to include employees' benefits in kind in the payroll from 6 April 2016 rather than completing P11D forms.

Yet another film scheme fails to obtain loss relief. The Upper Tier Tribunal (UTT) has, in Patrick Degorce v HMRC [2015] UKUT 0447, upheld the decision by the First Tier Tribunal (FTT) that an loss incurred on a film investment by the taxpayer was not allowable to relieve general income, because there was no underlying trade.