Corporate tax - Accountancy Age

2020 Tax Commission calls for single income tax

Mon, 21 May 2012 09:46:41 GMT

THERE SHOULD BE A SINGLE INCOME TAX to create "conditions for stronger economic growth and more jobs", according to the Taxpayers' Alliance's 2020 Tax Commission. In a report published today, the Commission recommends six steps through which it says such a tax can be achieved. These are: - Taxes should be cut to 33% of national income; - Marginal taxes should not exceed 30%, and the personal allowance should...

Opinion split over impact of Tenon's tax de-risking

Mon, 21 May 2012 09:05:00 GMT

Accountancy Age

THERE ARE MANY things in the tax world capable of splitting a room. Chief among these is the general anti-abuse rule (GAAR). The implications arising from Graham Aaronson's proposals are generally welcomed, although as we await consultation, we still are unsure which elements will remain as they and which will be altered. The lack of certainty in what constitutes an egregious tax scheme and what one can legitimately do to mitigate...

Potential Spanish tax liability for Sportingbet

Mon, 21 May 2012 07:35:33 GMT

Accountancy Age

SPORTINGBET is in discussions with Spain's Ministry of Finance over a "potential outstanding tax liability" covering its operations in the region. The period under discussion is between January 2009 and May 2011. A further announcement would be made in due course, Sportingbet stated to the stock exchange. Its share price was down 3.25p, to 25p, in this morning's trading. For more companies and markets information visit the...

No Greece tax comparison, says new CIoT president

Thu, 17 May 2012 08:54:18 GMT

Accountancy Age

THE INCOMING PRESIDENT of the Chartered Institute of Taxation has expressed concerns over tax comparisons between Greece and the UK in both the media and public arena. Speaking at CIoT's annual general meeting in Westminster as he succeeds Anthony Thomas, Patrick Stevens said the tax system in Britain is far from broken and allowing the impression to take hold that it was dangerous. Drawing a contrast between the British and Greek...

Tax: Don't go back in the future

Wed, 16 May 2012 15:12:03 GMT

Accountancy Age

IT HAS BEEN a rather uncertain time for taxpayers in recent months, with changes and new rules seemingly introduced without warning. The crackdown on tax planning structures used by Barclays earlier this year saw tax legislation retrospectively redrawn; however, until the Budget, many in the business world hoped this retrospective approach was a one-off. The Budget earlier this year confirmed that this is not the case, however. In the chancellor's speech the word...

Did Panorama uncover the whole tax truth?

Tue, 15 May 2012 10:09:34 GMT

Accountancy Age

TO WATCH PANORAMA on Monday would suggest to most that big business (one pharmaceutical in particular) wasn't paying its fair share of tax. That Luxembourg is a country of featureless office blocks where fictitious businessmen conspire with a complicit tax authority to steal from the UK taxpayer. And, incidentally, parliament complained that HMRC wasn't accountable to them, so it must all be that big business is too close to the government. ...

Major UK businesses in secret Luxembourg tax deals

Fri, 11 May 2012 10:07:00 GMT

Accountancy Age

SECRET TAX DEALS were struck between large UK-based companies and Luxembourg in order to minimise tax liabilities, according to the BBC's Panorama programme. Documents obtained by the programme show plans were made to shift profits offshore in order to reduce corporation tax, set at 28% at the time. Pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and media company Northern & Shell are believed to be among the companies involved. Both businesses told...

French face billions in tax payout after ECJ ruling

Fri, 11 May 2012 08:55:00 GMT

Accountancy Age

THE EUROPEAN COURT OF JUSTICE has ruled that the French rules exempting domestic investment funds from withholding tax breach EU law. EU and US-based institutional investors argued that such rules contravene EU law and amount to discrimination - particularly of the free movement of capital provisions of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). Various EU states - including France, where the rate is set at 15% -...

HMRC IR35 guidelines draw criticism

Thu, 10 May 2012 10:42:00 GMT

Accountancy Age

THE SERIES OF TESTS and scenarios released by HM Revenue & Customs "fails to take into account key elements of advice" provided by small business representatives invited by the Treasury forum to discuss the issue. HMRC "had missed an opportunity to bring clarity, transparency and fairness in dealing with IR35", stated the group, which included the PCG, Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC), Freelancer & Contractor Services Association (FCSA), Federation of Small Businesses (FSB)...

HMRC sets out IR35 stall with new tests

Thu, 10 May 2012 09:37:00 GMT

Accountancy Age

A SERIES OF TESTS to gauge the status of workers has been released by HM Revenue & Customs. The IR35 legislation is designed to prevent people who use intermediary companies to sell their services from being better off than if their clients employed them directly. The clarifications come in the wake of recent controversy surrounding the status of 2,000 senior public sector staff who were employed in this manner.HMRC has released...

ICAS queries Scotland’s tax devolution in paper

Wed, 09 May 2012 09:34:38 GMT

Accountancy Age

THE CRITERIA for paying tax in Scotland once tax powers are devolved from Westminster to Holyrood has been questioned in a paper entitled Scotland's Future: What tax system would Scotland want? published by ICAS. The Scotland Bill was given Royal assent at the start of May, with the legislation taking force in April 2016. The move will see powers to levy taxes fully devolved to Edinburgh. In the report, ICAS also...

ECJ ruling could set withholding tax precedent

Tue, 08 May 2012 15:32:05 GMT

Accountancy Age

A WITHHOLDING TAX RULING is to be handed down from the European Court of Justice (ECJ) and could lead to investment funds making similar claims against countries across Europe. The ruling concerns the French withholding tax regime, and according to France could see a €4.2bn rebate paid out to thousands of claimants, represented by nine claimants is bringing the case. Similar cases being made against several EU member states by portfolio...

DLA Piper in Royal Mail VAT case against HMRC

Tue, 08 May 2012 13:33:20 GMT

Accountancy Age

DLA PIPER has succeeded in its application to bring a lead case against HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) for value added tax (VAT) levied on Royal Mail's services. If successful, businesses could recover £220m paid in credit for input taxes. Previously, postal services had been treated as exempt by Royal Mail under the Value Added Tax Act 1994. However, it was found that Royal Mail services should, in fact, be chargeable under the...

Study shows tax evasion crackdown has largely failed

Tue, 08 May 2012 13:30:58 GMT

Accountancy Age

THE FLOW OF FUNDS to low-tax jurisdictions has barely changed since 2007, despite significant global efforts to tackle the problem. Deposit data from the Bank of International Settlements (BIS) demonstrates that $2.7trn (£1.7trn) is deposited offshore in spite of unprecedented action taken by worldwide political leaders and a flurry of bi-lateral treaties entered into by offshore banking centres such as the British Virgin Islands and the Cayman Islands, reports The Guardian. ...

Facebook could escape $14bn in US tax

Tue, 08 May 2012 09:33:15 GMT

Accountancy Age

SOCIAL NETWORKING SITE Facebook has acknowledged it could avoid paying $14bn (£8.7bn) is US corporation tax after it floated on the stock market last week, reports The Telegraph. The world's biggest social network will utilise a loophole in the US tax law, allowing it to claim a significant tax credit as its staff and early investors realise millions in share options following its listing on Nasdaq. In its most recent filing...

ECJ in phone card VAT ruling

Fri, 04 May 2012 15:21:33 GMT

Accountancy Age

THE EUROPEAN COURT OF JUSTICE has made a key ruling on when value added tax (VAT) is chargeable on telephone cards and vouchers. The case was between mobile phone network Lebara and HMRC, with the ECJ finding that VAT should be paid when telecommunications service operators sell phone cards to their distributors, but not again when the customer purchases it. The ruling has significant consequences for e-retailers and voucher businesses -...

Colin: Pubs ailing under tax burden

Fri, 04 May 2012 10:52:28 GMT

Accountancy Age

Colin: Pubs ailing under tax burden

Fri, 04 May 2012 10:52:28 GMT

Accountancy Age

HMRC needs top-to-bottom improvement

Fri, 04 May 2012 10:02:23 GMT

Accountancy Age

HMRC HAS MADE HEADLINES for the wrong reasons this week, with a double dose of negative publicity. It was revealed that 12,000 people not had been taken off the register for self assessment tax returns - despite contacting the tax office to arrange for their affairs to be dealt with through PAYE - and sent incorrect penalty warning letters. Adding to the Revenue's catalogue of high profile blunders in recent years, this will not have...

Peers warn transaction tax would hit Britain hard

Fri, 04 May 2012 09:40:33 GMT

Accountancy Age

A HOUSE OF LORDS committee has warned that more than 70% of revenues generated by the European Commission's proposed tax on financial transactions could come from the UK. The Lords EU Committee called for the EC to exercise financial restraint on the financial transaction tax and reflect the austerity currently being experienced in other EU member states. The EU's budget should not rise higher than inflation in the remaining years of...

Wetherspoon’s decries pub tax burden

Thu, 03 May 2012 09:10:52 GMT

Accountancy Age

THE PUB CHAIN JD Wetherspoon has criticised the tax burden the pub industry bears in its third quarter trading update. The main targets for its ire were the charges levied on fruit and slot machines, late-night opening hours and VAT, which it says "increases the tax disparity between supermarkets and pubs". According to Wetherspoon's, the levy on fruit machines and late-night levies will cost it £2m apiece in taxes per annum,...

2,000 senior public staff paid through companies

Thu, 03 May 2012 08:51:00 GMT

Accountancy Age

LONG-SERVING public officials are cutting their tax bills by being paid through their own companies. A leaked review initiated by chief secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander has found that 2,000 senior officials are paid through their own company structures, rather than taxed directly through PAYE. Of those, 800 have worked for their department for more than two years. A further 400 have worked for more than a year. ...

Apple’s low-tax strategy

Tue, 01 May 2012 13:37:09 GMT

Accountancy Age

THE ELECTRONICS GIANT Apple legally avoided paying as much as $2.4bn (£1.5bn) in taxes last year, according to reports. The iPod manufacturers set up offices in US, Netherlands, Luxembourg and The British Virgin Islands in order to guarantee it paid 9.8% tax, according to The New York Times. While Apple is headquartered in Cupertino, California, its subsidiary Braeburn Capital - which invested and managed Apple's money - is also based in...

The tax avoidance cycle

Tue, 01 May 2012 08:52:00 GMT

Accountancy Age

WHEN HMRC claimed victory over the Eclipse 35 film partnership in the courts this week, it was supposedly indicative of a wider trend. The thinking is that in the good times, when the man on the street has more money in his wallet, the general consensus among the populous - and the authorities - is that the rich can plan their affairs as they wish, provided it is lawful. When the...

HMRC clears up senior accountants' tax sign-offs

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 10:20:00 GMT

Accountancy Age

CLARIFICATION around the rules governing sign-offs on taxes by senior accounting officers (SAO) has been provided by HM Revenue & Customs. Greater detail and clarification on penalties levied, procedure surrounding liquidation and administration and qualifying criteria on banks was published in a 160-page document. It outlined HMRC's interpretation of legislation included in the 2009 Finance Act, stating that qualifying companies must be incorporated in the UK and exceed £200m in turnover....