Monday 30 May 2022

Government Owes HMRC £263M



It seems that Whitehall departments owe HMRC £263M in unpaid taxes after the Government failed to comply with its own rules for off-payroll workers.

The Public Accounts Committee has lambasted central Government for "widespread non-compliance" with so-called IR35 rules, which require companies to determine the tax status of freelancers and contractors.

Public sector departments owed HMRC £236m in back-taxes for workers wrongly assessed as self-employed for the tax year 2020-21, the committee estimated.

It is quoted by the Telegraph:

"Such widespread non-compliance is not acceptable, particularly as government bodies should be best placed to understand the rules and communicate with HMRC."

HMRC had exacerbated the the situation by "rushing implementation" of the IR35 rules and providing "poor guidance" with no means of appealing a tax status for workers. 

The Public Accounts Committee accused HMRC of having done "little to understand the wider impact of the reforms on workers or labour markets" and warned the taxman had been "too dismissive" of people and businesses reported being adversely affected by the rules. 

Dame Meg Hillier, Labour MP and chairwoman of the committee, said: 

"After years of fiddling with these reforms and with central government spending hundreds of millions of pounds to cover tax for individuals wrongly assessed as self-employed, the fundamental problems underlying UK taxation of work remain.

It is now up to HMRC to demonstrate that the system can work fairly in the real world; to prove that it is correctly claiming revenues under the system and that the additional revenues raised are worth the costs and unintended consequences in the labour market.

While workers in the gig economy have challenged their work and tax status in the courts, there is no recourse for workers deemed subject to IR35 tax rules despite the confusion and non-compliance that persist even in central government itself."

If a contractor or freelancer believes they have been given the incorrect tax status by a hiring company, they can challenge the decision with the business. The company must respond within 45 days, but if it refuses to change its mind the worker has no further route to appeal. 

HMRC said: 

“These reforms have succeeded in making the tax system fairer, with more people who work like employees paying tax like employees, levelling the playing field for everybody else and bringing in the tax that is due under the law."

In other words HMRC isn't listening!


Tax does have to be taxing.

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Tuesday 24 May 2022

Good Question!

 




Tax does have to be taxing.

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Wednesday 18 May 2022

Farewell Online P11D


 

HMRC’s April Agent Update directed advisers to a section in the February 2022 Employer Bulletin entitled Decommissioning of HMRC’s Online End of Year Expenses and Benefits Service April 2022

This advised that the interactive PDF service, commonly used by small and medium-sized employers, would not be available for use for 2021/22 submissions.

Employers who previously relied on the online End of Year Expenses and Benefits service need to consider their options now that the online form is not available for tax year 2021/22 and onwards. If the news has come as a surprise, it may be worth starting with a summary of what the service allowed:

  • Interactive PDF capability enabling small to medium-sized employers (up to 150 employees) to create P11D forms for their employees
  • The capability to create, send and amend P11D and P11D(b) forms electronically or for printing and posting
  • The facility to create and submit a ‘Nil P11D(b)’, essentially saying to HMRC that there is no Class 1A National Insurance liability.

Payroll managers will know that tax year 2021/22 is not totally complete until employers have completed all of their P11D returns and made submissions to HMRC. This annual process includes the submission of form P11D(b) and payment of Class 1A National Insurance Contributions.

There are now only two ways for employers of any size to report and submit details of expenses and benefits for tax year ending 5 April 2022: via payroll software (depending on functionality) and HMRC’s PAYE Online service (for submissions up to 500 employees).

Good luck!


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Tuesday 17 May 2022

HMRC Admits To Lousy Communications and Service Levels


 

HMRC's poor communication and service level was acknowledged by Melanie Hume, MTD external customer readiness lead at HMRC, who spoke during the roundtable discussion at Accountex in May.

“I think one of the biggest issues was the copying of the client list, which we acknowledged for VAT was our error.

It [agent services account] is a bit of a mystery to those who are perhaps new to being an agent or an accountant, so it’s really important that we get the communications right to help you through the process of registering.”

We do appreciate that there’s still lots of information that you need to know, and this will give you that granular level of detail, and that confidence that it [the ITSA rollout] is going ahead as planned.”

Hume went on to outline a series of other HMRC initiatives due to take place in the build-up to the new regime’s rollout, including a structured communication plan. She noted HMRC was ““trying really hard to listen to the feedback” and act on it.

“One of the things we’re working on is a time-bound communication plan, which is something we’re always asked for."
Well then, by their actions so shall they be judged!

Tax does have to be taxing.

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  • Appeal to the First-tier Tribunal or Upper Tribunal
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Monday 16 May 2022

Tax Investigation Insurance


Tax does have to be taxing.


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Tax Investigation Insurance is an insurance policy that will fully reimburse your accountant's (your tax return agent) fees up to £100,000 if you are subject to enquiry by or dispute with HMRC.

A Solar Protect policy will enable your accountant (your tax return agent) to:


  • Deal with any correspondence from HMRC
  • Attend any meeting with HMRC
  • Appeal to the First-tier Tribunal or Upper Tribunal
  • Having the security of knowing that fees will be met in full will enable your Accountant (your tax return agent) to defend your position robustly

Please click here for details.

HMRC Is Shite (www.hmrcisshite.com), also available via the domain www.hmrconline.com, is brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"

Thursday 12 May 2022

HMRC Doesn't Understand Human Beings



Tax does have to be taxing.

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  • Attend any meeting with HMRC
  • Appeal to the First-tier Tribunal or Upper Tribunal
  • Having the security of knowing that fees will be met in full will enable your Accountant (your tax return agent) to defend your position robustly

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Tuesday 10 May 2022

Who is Lorraine? - HMRC Asks

 


It seems that Boris isn't the only one to ask who is Lorraine, at least in terms of whether she and her fellow "celebs" are employees or self employed artistes.

The Birmingham Mail reports that ITV stars are set to lose a fortune in a tax crackdown - with some paying twice as much.

ITV This Morning stars, ITV Good Morning Britain stars and ITV Loose Women stars are now being treated as staff on PAYE - not employees who pay via service firms. Reports say it could mean tax bills double for some.

A source said to the Sun newspaper: “It’s caused chaos at ITV and meant a total overhaul of the stars’ payment system.” In 2019, Lorraine Kelly escaped a £1.2 million tax bill after winning a legal battle with HMRC.

Lorraine became embroiled in a spat with tax authorities in 2016 after they tried to make her hand almost £900,000 in income tax and more than £300,000 in national insurance. The Scottish TV presenter argued that she's freelance and not an employee of ITV, while HMRC bosses claimed she had signed a contract with the broadcaster back in 2012 to present Daybreak and her Lorraine show.

She won that one then.


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Having a Solar Protect Tax Investigation Insurance policy at your disposal means that should you be one of the many 1000's of businesses or individuals that are selected by HMRC each year to look into your tax affairs your own accountant (your tax return agent) can get on and defend you robustly.

You have the peace of mind knowing that your accountant's (your tax return agent) fees will be paid by the insurance without any Excess for you to find.

Tax Investigation Insurance is an insurance policy that will fully reimburse your accountant's (your tax return agent) fees up to £100,000 if you are subject to enquiry by or dispute with HMRC.

A Solar Protect policy will enable your accountant (your tax return agent) to:

  • Deal with any correspondence from HMRC
  • Attend any meeting with HMRC
  • Appeal to the First-tier Tribunal or Upper Tribunal
  • Having the security of knowing that fees will be met in full will enable your Accountant (your tax return agent) to defend your position robustly

Please click here for details.

HMRC Is Shite (www.hmrcisshite.com), also available via the domain www.hmrconline.com, is brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"