Back to the drawing board
The government wants to step up the fight against enablers of tax abuse (again). New powers and better information can help. But HMRC is barely using the powers and penalties it already has.
Late filing penalties where no tax is due: time for a different approach?
HMRC levy over £100m of penalties for late filing on 1.1 million individuals many of whom won’t owe any income tax. Such a policy is bad for our tax regime overall and undermines trust, it needs to change.
Labour’s softening on non-doms: interest groups over evidence or principle?
Rachel Reeves gives ground in replacement for the ‘non-dom’ rules in response to fearmongering ‘research’ claiming exodus of wealthy from the UK
Private equity scores a huge Labour tax climbdown
Rachel Reeves gives unprecedented new tax discount to a few thousand fund managers worth nearly £500m a year by 2028-29 by moving, rather than closing, the ‘carried interest’ loophole
Declaring an interest – why HMRC’s hike in charges on late paid tax is so concerning
Autumn Budget increases interest charge on late paid tax debt, exacerbating problems with those struggling to pay. Interest seems to be used to raise revenue and drive compliance, a concerning development.
TaxWatch’s summary of the UK General Election party manifestos
TaxWatch reflects on the party manifestos for the upcoming General Election
New age related Personal Allowance – rolling back the years?
Conservative Party to re-introduce age related allowances: TaxWatch’s thoughts on the proposal
Can’t or won’t? HMRC’s lack of openness with recent FOI requests
HMRC is being elusive about the amounts due on specific offshore compliance penalties, providing confusing answers to Freedom of Information requests.
Are we nearly there yet? In search of the elusive offshore tax gap
HMRC now says offshore tax gap data will be published in June 2024, two years after the government announced it and a year after the information was due.