HMRC is investing more resources in technology, artificial intelligence (AI) and ground-breaking technology with the creation of the first innovation team at the tax authority briefed to collaborate with external IT specialists to develop innovative software to improve tax collection and close the tax gap.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond, has announced that the government will publish its next Spring Statement on Wednesday 13 March 2019
The UK’s small business community is collectively spending 15% more on taxes, levies and employment obligations compared to 2011
According to the ICAEW, 40% of businesses with annual taxable turnover of more than £85,000 and about to be affected by MTD are still not aware of it.
The public has greater trust in professionals, including accountants and tax advisers, than in politicians and non-government organisations (NGOs), when it comes to tax systems, according to the G20
HMRC repaid over £30m to pension savers who had been taxed incorrectly on lump sum withdrawals in the last quarter of 2018, while the total paid back since the start of pension freedoms in April 2015 now tops £400m, prompting calls for a change in approach
HMRC is to take immediate action to improve its workplace culture, after a highly critical independent report found widespread examples of unacceptable behaviour, and said many of the processes designed to support employees require urgent improvement
HMRC is making use of powers to deduct tax debts owed directly from the earnings of individuals, with 428 people having cash taken straight from their pay packets in 2017/18
The head of the audit regulator, the Financial Reporting Council (FRC), is calling for a significant overhaul of the 2006 Companies Act as a way to reform the audit market, raise standards and restore public confidence in audit firms, which MPs described as ‘tantalising’. Here we go again comes to mind!
KPMG has confirmed that it will close its small business accounting venture after just five years in the market.
Probate fees are set to be hiked up to £6,000 for the largest estates as the government plans to overhaul the death tax from April 2019, a measure delayed from 2017 due to the early general election