In the news: February 2023

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‘There is a strong case for wider use of prosecutions but the obstacles to this are genuine and serious. It could easily result in HMRC bringing in less revenue, at least in the short-term.’

John Cullinane, CIOT director of public policy, quoted in the Daily Telegraph on proposals from MPs that HMRC should criminally prosecute aggressive tax avoidance, 8 Nov

‘Tom Henderson, a technical officer for the Low Incomes Tax Reform Group, said self-assessment taxpayers “quite often forget something”, such as money earned through a hobby or selling things online, when earnings exceeded the £1,000 trading allowance.’

Financial Times, 9 Nov

HMRC should ensure they do not launch any new IT services until they are confident they are fit for purpose and have been robustly tested.’

Emma Rawson, ATT technical officer, quoted in the Financial Times on 14 Nov on a new digital platform for companies to register to pay VAT. Richard Wild of CIOT was also quoted.

‘John Cullinane, director of public policy at the Chartered Institute of Taxation, raised concerns that [cuts to tax-free allowances] meant HMRC could find it difficult to process the extra tax returns, which “will increase their administrative burden significantly at a time when they are already struggling with demands on them”.’

Financial Times, 18 Nov

‘The Government has not raised the VAT threshold since 2017… If it had been uprated by inflation each year since 2017 it would have hit £122,000 in April 2026, according to the Association of Taxation Technicians.’

The Times, 18 Nov

‘The CIOT said those with earnings that fall between the Scottish and UK higher rate tax thresholds of £43,662 and £50,270 will be taxed at a marginal rate of 54 per cent on that slice of income, compared with 32 per cent in the rest of the UK.’

The Scotsman, 15 Dec. The CIOT analysis was widely reported across the Scottish media.