• Land and Buildings Transaction Tax: A new 2% higher rate on chargeable consideration over £2m consisting of rent was introduced with effect from 7 February. It does not apply to transactions where the contract was entered into before 6 February.
• Company status: HMRC have updated their guidance on whether a company is active or dormant for corporation tax purposes. The advice also extends to clubs and other unincorporated organisations. The guidance contains a warning that the definitions adopted for corporation tax purposes do not necessarily match those used in various financial reporting standards.
• It is also now known that despite calls for a postponement the roll-out of the off-payroll rules to the private sector will take place as originally planned on 6 April 2020. The various HMRC guidance notes can be found here.
• CIOT, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) and Institute for Government has written to the new Chancellor Rishi Sunak ahead of last month’s Budget, saying more needs to be done to tackle the ‘confusion and burden on businesses and individuals created by the proliferation of tax measures over the previous two decades’.