In the news: November 2023

‘Separated parents claiming child benefit are being advised to check they are not at risk of a hefty bill. The Low Incomes Tax Reform Group (LITRG) is urging couples whose circumstances may have changed to check their original claim.’

The Sun, 31 August

‘Any [Scottish] wealth tax would need to be introduced as a local tax, because the Scottish Parliament does not have the power to introduce new national taxes on its own. Holyrood would need Westminster’s agreement, and that is not a given. Even if a locally focused wealth tax was considered, this in itself could be costly and complex and would not offer a quick-fix solution.’

Christopher Thorpe, CIOT technical officer, Daily Telegraph, 10 September

‘We do not support the introduction of a single, merged R&D scheme, as it will not take into account the very real differences between the activities and needs of smaller and larger companies. We acknowledge that it could be a significant simplification to the existing system. Unfortunately, what is currently being proposed does not represent any simplification.’

Senga Prior, chair of the ATT’s technical steering group, Accountancy Daily, 18 September

‘The fact that council tax remains based on house prices from over 30 years ago means there are lots of inconsistencies in the way homes are valued. There will be a significant proportion of homes that are allocated to the wrong council tax band, meaning that these proposals will not affect all the properties they are intended to, and others that they should not. In that sense, it is hard to think of another tax so detached from reality.’

Joanne Walker, LITRG technical officer, The Herald, 24 September

‘A survey by the Chartered Institute of Taxation found that 94% of its members asked were “somewhat” or “extremely” dissatisfied with HMRC’s service levels, with 95% also claiming that the tax office’s poor service had at least moderately impacted their ability to do business. More than half of the tax agents surveyed said that they have waited for more than thirty minutes for a response from HMRC’s specialist agent helpline, a figure that increased to 85% for other HMRC helplines.’

Daily Telegraph, 25 September