The government has stopped controversial plans to collect information about the exact hours worked by every employee in PAYE returns. The data collection on employee hours was meant to start from April 2026, but the plan has been scrapped as part of the government’s attempts to reduce red tape and regulatory burden for business. The… Read more…

An increasingly complex tax system is costing UK businesses an estimated £15.4 billion a year in compliance, according to a report from the National Audit Office (NAO). HMRC’s cost of collecting tax has risen by £563 million over the past five years due to added complexity in the system plus investments in staff and IT.… Read more…

The government has introduced a package of support that it says will help the alcohol sector to grow. From 1 February, draught relief has increased to knock 1p off duty on draught products whilst small producer relief – a measure to encourage craft brewers to innovate – is becoming more generous. Together these tax cuts… Read more…

The overwhelming majority of businesses say the rise in employers’ NICs will force them to change their plans, according to research by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC). With under six weeks until the NICs rise comes in, 82% of firms say the tax hike will cause them to rethink. In addition, 58% of surveyed… Read more…

HMRC will reduce late payment and repayment interest rates from 25 February following the cut in the base rate. The Bank of England cut the base rate to 4.5% on 6 February, triggering a 0.25% cut in HMRC interest rates which are pegged to the base rate. From 25 February, the late payment interest rate… Read more…

Parliament’s spending watchdog has accused HMRC of deliberately running down its phone services to force people to go online, according to a report. The Public Accounts Committee’s (PAC) report into HMRC’s customer service levels found that the average call waiting time has passed 23 minutes. It also found that 44,000 customers were cut off without… Read more…

The government has commissioned an independent review of the Loan Charge. The Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury made a Written Ministerial Statement announcing that Ray McCann, a former President of the Chartered Institute of Taxation, would lead the review. The review will examine the barriers preventing those who are subject to the Loan Charge but… Read more…

The Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT) is calling on the government to address unfair tax rules as interest rates on late payments rise. The CIOT is urging the government to reintroduce rules which enable HMRC to waive interest on underpaid VAT when no actual tax loss to the Exchequer occurs. This power was omitted from… Read more…

New rules that will give more flexibility over how occupational defined benefit pension schemes are managed, according to the government. The government said this will remove blockages that are inhibiting its growth agenda. Approximately 75% of schemes are currently in surplus, worth £160 billion, but restrictions have meant that businesses have struggled to invest them.… Read more…

UK firms are expecting to reduce both output and hiring this quarter, according to a survey conducted by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI). Activity has been flat or falling since the middle of 2022, reflecting a prolonged period of stagnation. The survey suggested that sentiment among businesses dipped in the aftermath of the Government’s… Read more…