In the news: December 2022

‘We urge HMRC to keep this issue as a priority and review all repayment agents’ practices, not just in relation to assignments, but other areas of consumer protection. Where agents fall short, HMRC should use all existing powers open to them to take immediate action to protect taxpayers.’

Victoria Todd, Head of LITRG, quoted in the Daily Mail after HMRC’s announcement it will refund people who lost money to one refund company, 4 Oct

‘What is needed is a more strategic review of the taxation of labour to address the factors which make this so contentious. The aim should be to minimise the differences between being taxed as an employee, as self-employed and contracting via a company, or at least making the distinctions clearer.’

John Cullinane, CIOT Director of Public Policy, quoted in The Times on changes to off-payroll working, 17 Oct. ATT’s Emma Rawson was quoted in the Financial Times, 21 Oct, on the same topic.

‘The government is limited on tax changes by the Conservative manifesto. The government may just create new taxes to get around it or even a possible freeze on thresholds.’

Emma Rawson, ATT Technical Officer, BBC News Channel, 1 Nov. Additionally Emma’s colleague, Helen Thornley, appeared as a guest on Radio 4’s Money Box, 19 Oct.

‘We are contacted by people saying they have received three or four letters from different reclaim agents and they want to ask for our opinion. Sometimes they are a complete non-starter. These agents are often just firing off letters on the off chance.’

Marc Selby, Chair of CIOT Property Taxes Committee, quoted in the Daily Telegraph on a surge in falsely claimed SDLT relief, 23 Oct

‘Susan Ball, President of the Chartered Institute of Taxation, has written to Kwarteng’s successor Jeremy Hunt, arguing that keeping the OTS as an independent organisation would help prevent the risk of in-house tax simplification efforts retreating to “group-think”.’

Financial Times, 2 Nov