DTA between Bulgaria and United Kingdom approved by Bulgaria
The Income tax Treaty (DTA; 2015) between Bulgaria and United Kingdom has been approved on 10th July 2015 by the Bulgarian Council of Ministers. After it is in force and effective, this new treaty will replace the previous Income Tax Treaty
See MoreUK: HMRC issues updated guidance on accelerated payments
On 20 August 2015 the UK tax authority HMRC published on its website a fact sheet containing updated information on the requirement to make accelerated payments in connection with tax avoidance schemes. A tax avoidance scheme is defined for this
See MoreUK: Film tax credit gains EU approval
The UK’s enhanced tax relief for film production has gained EU approval under its State aid rules. This enhanced 25% film tax credit was announced in the pre-election budget in March 2015 subject to approval by the EU. A film can claim the tax
See MoreUK: taxation of dividend income of individuals
On 17 August 2015 the UK tax authority HMRC issued a fact sheet explaining the new rules for taxation of dividends received by individuals. With effect from April 2016 the current dividend tax credit is to be scrapped and a dividend allowance of
See MoreUK: Increase in tax cases going to litigation
The number of tax disputes going to litigation in the UK has hit record levels, with the number of tax cases waiting to go to a tribunal more than doubling over the last five years. The statistics for 2014 show that there were 29.566 appeals to the
See MoreUK: Capital gains tax treatment of carried interest
Legislation was included in the Summer Finance Bill 2015 published on 15 July 2015 to make technical changes to the capital gains tax treatment of carried interest. A summary of the changes was issued by the UK tax authority HMRC on 20 July
See MoreUK Summer Budget 2015 Reduces Corporate Tax Rate for Future
UK summer budget 2015 announced on 7 July 2015 has reduced corporate tax rate from the current rate of 20% to 19%, effective from 1 April 2017, and to 18% effective from 1 April 2020. The rate reductions will be included as part of Finance Bill
See MoreUK: HMRC comments on reduced VAT rate for installation of energy saving materials
On 31 July 2015 the UK tax authority HMRC published Revenue and Customs Brief 13 (2015) on the reduced rate of VAT on the installation of energy saving materials. The European Commission commenced proceedings in the European Court of Justice as in
See MoreUK: Research report on SME interaction with UK Customs
On 20 July 2015 the UK government published the results of research into the challenges faced by small and medium enterprises (SMEs) from interaction with Customs when importing from and exporting to countries outside the European Union. The
See MoreUK: Statistics on funds raised through the EIS and SEIS
The Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) and the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS) are two of the tax advantaged venture capital schemes in the UK, the other being the tax relief for investment in venture capital trusts. Owing to demand for
See MoreUK: Changes to EIS and venture capital trusts
In the UK the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS), the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS) and the venture capital trust (VCT) rules allow companies to raise capital by providing income tax relief on a percentage of the investment in shares of
See MoreUK: Consultation on the taxation of termination payments
On 24 July 2015 the UK issued a consultation document in respect of the reform of income tax and national insurance on termination payments by employers. This follows a report from the Office of Tax Simplification on ways in which the complexity of
See MoreUK ratifies DTAs with Algeria, Brazil, Bulgaria, Croatia, Senegal, and Sweden
The UK has recently released draft legislation to ratify Double Taxation Agreements (DTAs) signed with Algeria, Brazil, Bulgaria, Croatia, Senegal, and
See MoreUK: Consultation on extension of HMRC data gathering powers
On 22 July 2015 the UK tax authority HMRC issued a consultation document entitled “Tackling the Hidden Economy: Extension of Data Gathering Powers”. HMRC estimated that in 2012/13 the element of the tax gap caused by the hidden economy amounted
See MoreUK: Consultation on strengthening sanctions for tax avoidance
On 22 July 2015 the UK government issued a consultation document containing detailed proposals for strengthening the penalties for tax avoidance. The closing date for comments on this consultation document is 14 October 2015. Serial avoiders’
See MoreUK: Consultation on improving large business tax compliance
On 22 July 2015 the UK tax authority HMRC launched a consultation on improving large business tax compliance. In the 2015 budget the UK government stated its intention to open a consultation on the measures that could be taken to improve tax
See MoreUK: HMRC issues consultation document on intermediaries legislation
On 17 July 2015 HMRC issued a consultation document on the intermediaries legislation (IR35). The intermediaries legislation was first introduced in 2000 to combat tax avoidance through intermediaries such as personal service companies. The
See MoreUK: HMRC launches consultations on penalties for offshore non-compliance
On 16 July 2015 the UK tax authority HMRC launched consultations on penalties for non-compliance in relation to offshore income and assets. The consultation papers consider options for strengthening civil penalties for tax evasion involving hiding
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