| Enews - July 2007 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Arctic Systems - the verdict
The long running saga of Geoff and Diana Jones and their company, Arctic Systems Limited, has recently been back to the courts for the final time to the House of Lords. Just in case you need a reminder, the case concerned a company owned by a husband and wife, Geoff and Diana Jones, and hinged on whether dividends paid by the company to Mrs Jones (who was not a higher rate taxpayer) should be shown on her husband self assessment return and taxed as his income at a higher rate of tax. You may recall that the case went to the Court of Appeal where the taxpayer won. The 33 page final judgment delivered a resounding victory for Mr and Mrs Jones with all five of the judges unanimously agreeing that HMRC’s appeal against the previous judgment should be dismissed. We have included a link to the full judgment at the bottom of this article. Anne Redston, who is the Chartered Institute of Tax (CIOT) spokesperson, said: “The CIOT is delighted that, after such a long battle, the House of Lords has confirmed that HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) were wrong to attack husband and wife businesses in this manner. The CIOT has always considered that HMRC were wrong to use this obscure legislation against small businesses like the Jones’s, and the House of Lords has now agreed with us.” If the case had gone in favour of HMRC then this may have resulted in many husband and wife businesses being liable to additional tax charges going back up to six years.
HSE reveals myths The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) publish a series of myths of the month for businesses. The myth for July, which businesses need to be aware of, is that all office equipment must be tested annually by a qualified electrician. The HSE states that in reality employers are required to assess risks and take appropriate action. In order to satisfy this requirement equipment could be checked visually by a competent employee for obvious signs of damage. The employee does not need to be a qualified electrician.
HMRC to target bank accounts HMRC have started a consultation on the way in which they pursue individuals who do not pay their tax liabilities on time. The proposal, which would result in HMRC taking money owed directly from an individual’s bank accounts, would aim to tackle the problem of approximately 200,000 people who are pursued through the courts each year for outstanding tax. If the proposals become law then HMRC will no longer be required to obtain a court order to seize money. Under the proposals issued by HMRC they would only use the court system as a last resort to deal with what they regard as ‘chronic defaulters’. A public consultation has been launched, which will run until September. To read the full consultation document use the link below.
Phishing scams HMRC have been made aware of certain so-called 'Phishing' scams targeting taxpayers in an effort to fraudulently obtain personal information from them. In an effort to address this problem and increase awareness of taxpayers to the scam, HMRC has set-up a 'Phishing' section on its website. The page can be found by visiting the link below. The way in which the fraudsters operate vary and the website details recent scams which include the issue of ‘fake’ forms and payment demands. If you receive any correspondence which you believe is suspicious, please do get in touch.
Advisory fuel rates HMRC have issued advisory fuel rates for company car drivers. These take effect for all journeys undertaken from 1 August so employers should advise affected employees and update any expense forms as soon as possible.
Other points to be aware of about the advisory fuel rates:
Offshore disclosure - HMRC follow up Recently in enews we reported what has been widely reported in the press as HMRC’s ‘Tax Amnesty’. As previously explained the term amnesty is misleading as it only applies to the penalty that would be charged on undeclared tax relating to the offshore accounts, which HMRC have promised to cap at 10% if a voluntary disclosure is made. HMRC could in theory impose a 100% penalty. The tax and penalties due will need to be paid by 26 November 2007. The deadline for notifying an intention to disclose passed on the 22 June. HMRC say they had some 70,000 disclosures by that date. They apparently hold 400,000 pieces of information, so HMRC believe that a number of individuals may still have things to discuss. HMRC suggest they will seek punitive penalties if they discover non-disclosure and, in some cases, prosecute. However, if an individual has something to disclose there is considerable merit in meeting the November reporting deadline. It will be very difficult to sustain an argument for higher penalties if the report and payment is made by the end of November. To minimise any liabilities it is important that anyone who is concerned that they may have something to disclose gets in touch with us as soon as possible.
Business disruption - postal dispute HMRC have announced that VAT returns and payments that were delayed by postal disputes will be viewed sympathetically. There will be no liability to a surcharge where the postal strike has caused a delay in the returns or payment being received. The postal workers union, the Communication Workers Union (CWU), are planning more postal disputes. To keep abreast of planned disruptions use the link below.
Refund of voluntary NICs As previously reported in enews in some limited circumstances individuals who have paid voluntary national insurance contributions (NICs) may be entitled to a refund. HMRC have now issued further guidance on the refund of voluntary NICs, following the Paymaster General’s announcement on 16 January 2007. When the Pensions Bill becomes law, the number of qualifying years needed to qualify for a full basic State Pension will be reduced, from 39 years for women and 44 years for men, to 30 years for those reaching State Pension age on or after 6 April 2010. The Paymaster General issued a statement on 16 January 2007 concerning refunds of voluntary NICs. HMRC have now provided more details about the administrative arrangements for making refunds following this statement. HMRC will make refunds to people who apply for a refund and satisfy the following conditions:
Delays in VAT registration According to HMRC’s website it is currently taking an average of 38 days to process new VAT registration applications. The reason given for the delay is that HMRC have to carry out anti fraud checks in some cases and this leads to significant delays. The additional checks are being carried out in response to ‘carousel’ or ‘Missing Trader’ fraud. You may remember that we have previously written about this type of fraud in enews. The fraud occurs through contrived transaction chains involving supplies of high value goods. The tax loss occurs when the VAT charged by the supplier is not paid to HMRC but can be reclaimed by the recipient. The current VAT registration threshold is turnover of £64,000. If your business is approaching this annual threshold or is likely to make supplies of £64,000 in the next month please do get in touch.
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