UK: Corporate tax rate in Northern Ireland to be reduced
As part of a political agreement reached on 17 November 2015 the corporation tax rate in Northern Ireland is to be reduced to 12.5% on trading profits by 2018. The power to set the corporation tax rate has been devolved to Northern Ireland by the
See MoreUK: Corporation tax and large companies
A report published by a UK accounting firm indicates that 85 of the companies in the FTSE 350 index paid corporation tax at a rate of less than 5% on their accounting profits; a further 8 companies paid less than 10% of their profits in corporation
See MoreUK: HMRC to reorganize into regional centers
The UK tax authority HMRC has announced a reorganization of its offices that will result in the replacement of 170 local offices by 13 new regional centers. The regional centers will support the necessary digital infrastructure and contain a mix of
See MoreUK: Planned tax treaties and protocols
On 13 November 2015 the UK published a policy paper on planned tax treaty developments. The paper states that negotiations are to begin on double tax treaties with Nepal, Romania, Trinidad and Tobago and Uzbekistan. Work is also to be done on tax
See MoreGhana and United Kingdom sign MoU regarding automatic exchange of information
Ghana and the United Kingdom signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on automatic exchange of information on 6 August 2015. Further details will be reported when they are
See MoreUK: Updated guidance on the Scottish rate of income tax
On 27 October 2015 the UK published updated guidance on the Scottish rate of income tax that becomes effective from 6 April 2016. The Scottish Parliament is empowered to set a tax rate that is different from the rate applicable in the rest of the
See MoreUK publishes statistics on employment allowance
The UK has published statistics on employers taking up the employment allowance for the first six months of the 2015/16 tax year (6 April 2015 to 5 October 2015). The Employment Allowance was introduced from 2014 and gives up to GBP 2,000 relief
See MoreUK Explains VAT Changes Following the Skandia Decision
The UK has issued Revenue and Customs Brief 18 (2005) explaining VAT grouping rules and the Skandia judgment. The VAT changes in the UK effective from 1 January 2016 result from the Skandia decision of the European Court of Justice (ECJ). The
See MoreUK: Two year plan to increase SME awareness of R&D tax relief
Following a consultation on research and development tax relief the UK government has announced a two-year plan to make it easier for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) conducting research and development (R&D) to claim the tax relief. The
See MoreUK: Tax Gap Still Decreasing
According to statistics released this week by HMRC the tax gap in the UK decreased to 6.4% of the tax due in 2013/14. This represents a figure of around GBP 34 billion. The tax gap is the difference between the tax that should be collected and the
See MoreUK: Consultation on draft Regulations on country by country reporting
On 5 October 2015 the UK issued draft Regulations in relation to country by country reporting, along the lines of the recommendations made in the OECD action plan on base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS). The aim is to require multinational groups
See MoreUK: Summary of responses to penalties discussion document
On 17 September 2015 HMRC issued a summary of responses to a discussion document on penalties. The original discussion document published on 2 February 2015 put forward five principles that should be the basis for any tax penalty regime. These are
See MoreUK: Research Report on Effect of the Annual Tax on Enveloped Dwellings
Although most residential property in the UK is owned directly by individuals in some cases the property is owned by a company or other corporate structure. The property can then be said to be enveloped in a corporate wrapper. Until 1 April 2013
See MoreUK: Research Report on Employment Related Securities
On 17 September 2015 HMRC published on its website a research report on employment related securities. The research report is the product of a series of hour-long in-depth interviews with advisers, employee benefit consultants and
See MoreUK: Research into company investment decisions
A research report on profit distribution and investment patterns of unlisted companies was published on the HMRC website on 17 September 2015. The quantitative and qualitative research looks at the reasons for company behaviour including tax
See MoreUK: Research into motivators and incentives for voluntary disclosure
HMRC has published a report on the findings of a research project on drivers for taxpayer participation in voluntary disclosure opportunities. The project involved 38 interviews with taxpayers who had either disclosed voluntarily; been investigated
See MoreUK: HMRC research into business cycles and tax reporting
On 8 September 2015 HMRC published on its website research on understanding the impact of reporting cycles. This examined the business experience and compliance behaviour of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and asked for information on the
See MoreUK: HMRC Publishes Results of Large Business Panel Survey 2014
The results of the Large Business Panel Survey for 2014 have been published on HMRC’s website. The survey of large businesses was performed in late 2014 and early 2015. The aim was to track and assess the views of businesses on the services
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