Helpful Tips
• The concession enabling sports clubs to treat affiliation fees as exempt from VAT will be withdrawn by HMRC from 1 April 2018
• HMRC have updated factsheets CC/FS1a and CC/FS1b to highlight that they will review online blogs and social networking sites for information during a compliance check
• More than a quarter of all invoices are still being paid late, despite the introduction of new payment practices reporting regulations.
• Latest HMRC statistics reveal 772,000 people withdrew more than £6.54bn from their pension pots in 2017
• Taxpayers who receive letters from HMRC regarding their self-assessment avoid calling the support number provided due to previous bad experiences with customer service, while others say the letters take too long to ‘get to the point’
• A recent survey has shown a growing number of people are confused about inheritance tax (IHT). More than 2/3 of those liable to IHT did not know the threshold of the Nil Rate Band is £325,000.
• The MD of a company must pay more than a £60,000 fine, after admitting trying to avoid giving staff workplace pensions. This is the first such prosecution by The Pensions Regulator (TPR). Maybe the first of many?
• The average UK small business spends £5,000 and three working weeks every year on tax compliance, according to research from the FSB