EU and UK: Trade and Cooperation Agreement Approved by EU Ambassadors

28 December, 2020

On 28 December 2020 the EU ambassadors unanimously approved the Trade and Cooperation Agreement between the EU and the UK. The agreement is to be considered by the UK parliament on 28 December and if approved it will take effect provisionally from

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UK: Statistics on Venture Capital Trusts

23 December, 2020

On 17 December 2020 the UK released statistics on Venture Capital Trust (VCT) tax relief for the year 2019/2020. The statistics on VCT tax relief are released annually and are important for monitoring and assessment of the effectiveness of the tax

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UK: Research on Enablers and Facilitators of Tax Evasion

06 December, 2020

On 2 December 2020 HMRC published a research report by IFF Research aiming to reach an improved understanding of the situation of wealth managers, UK goods importers and freight forwarders who may be in a position where they are at risk of

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UK: Evaluation of the Patent Box regime

02 December, 2020

On 17 November 2020 the UK published an evaluation of the patent box regime. The patent box was designed as an incentive for companies to retain and commercialise their intellectual property in the UK. A lower 10% rate of corporation tax is

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UK: Preliminary Estimate of VAT Gap for 2019/20

02 December, 2020

On 25 November 2020 HMRC published the preliminary estimate of the value added tax (VAT) gap for 2019/20. The VAT gap indicates the VAT lost for various reasons and is measured as the difference between the amount of VAT actually collected and

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UK: Draft Legislation on Plastic Packaging Tax

15 November, 2020

On 12 November 2020 the UK issued for consultation draft legislation to introduce a plastic packaging tax. The legislation when finalised would be included in the Finance Bill 2021 and the tax would be implemented from April 2022. The tax

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UK: Changes to the Research and Development Tax Credit for SMEs

14 November, 2020

On 12 November 2020 the UK government published draft legislation aiming to prevent the abuse of research and development (R&D) tax relief by small and medium companies (SMEs). This follows extensive consultation on the issue. The SME

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UK: Further draft legislation published for Finance Bill 2021

14 November, 2020

On 12 November 2020 the UK government published for consultation further draft legislation in relation to the Finance Bill 2021. Comments are invited by 7 January 2020. This follows the publication of draft legislation on 21 July 2020 in

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UK: Updated Statistics on Transfer Pricing and Diverted Profits Tax

14 November, 2020

On 12 November 2020 HMRC published updated statistics relating to transfer pricing and the diverted profits tax for 2019/20 (the year to 31 March 2020). In 2019/20 a total of 125 transfer pricing enquiries were settled, with an average

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UK: Consultation on Making Tax Digital for Corporation Tax

13 November, 2020

On 12 November 2020 HMRC published a consultation document concerning Making Tax Digital (MTD) for corporation tax (CT). The closing date for comments from interested parties is 5 March 2021. Under MTD for CT all entities within the charge

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IMF: Concluding Statement Following a Review of the UK Economy

10 November, 2020

On 29 October 2020 the IMF published a report on the UK economy following the conclusion of the 2020 Article IV consultations. In the UK the pandemic has been more severe than in most other European countries, impacting an economy already

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OECD: Economic Survey of UK

25 October, 2020

On 14 October 2020 the OECD published on its website its economic survey of the UK. The outlook for the UK is uncertain with the combination of Brexit and the COVID-19 crisis. Since July 2020 the UK has begun a new phase of support for business

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UK: Statistics on Research and Development Tax Relief

02 October, 2020

On 30 September 2020 HMRC published the statistics for claims for research and development (R&D) tax relief in the UK. By monitoring tax relief schemes HMRC can examine the level of use of the schemes and gain some insight into the

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UK: Statistics on Patent Box Tax Relief

01 October, 2020

The patent box legislation allows companies in the UK to apply a lower corporation tax rate to profits earned from qualifying patented inventions and specified equivalent types of intellectual property. The relief was first introduced from 1 April

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UK: Winter Economy Plan Released

26 September, 2020

On 24 September 2020 the Chancellor announced measures contained in the UK government’s Winter Economy Plan. The measures include a new Job Support Scheme, extensions to the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme and the loan schemes, deferrals of

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UK: Autumn Budget postponed

23 September, 2020

The UK budget that would normally be announced in the autumn will not take place this year. A government spending review will be carried out to establish the level of spending by government departments, but no long-term tax plans will be

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UK: VAT on Early Termination Fees and Compensation Payments

14 September, 2020

On 2 September 2020 the UK issued Revenue and Customs Brief 12 (2020) in relation to VAT on early termination fees and compensation payments. The previous guidance was that payments charged to withdraw from agreements to receive goods or

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UK: Capital Gains Tax Statistics

19 August, 2020

On 13 August 2020 HMRC released updated statistics on capital gains tax collection. UK capital gains tax (CGT) is charged on gains realised on the disposal of assets. Types of disposal can include sales, gifts, and exchanges but the death of an

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