Welcome to July's Technical newsdesk

Welcome to July’s Technical Newsdesk. Our opening articles summarise the submissions we have made to HMRC about our continuing concerns about the interpretation and application of particular draft Finance Bill clauses. Matthew Brown reports on the changes to the taxation of accommodation, cars and loans benefits in kind, and seeks examples of when an exemption for accommodation should be available as envisaged for cars and loans. Kate Willis reports on the likely problems for interest in possession trusts and personal representatives caused by the restriction in relief for finance costs for residential property businesses. And Sacha Dalton illustrates the unintended consequences we have explained to HMRC about the measures seeking to counteract tax avoidance through hybrid and other mismatch arrangements. Finally, on the Finance Bill (they are in clause order), Kate reports on the welcome reinstatement of entrepreneurs’ relief for commercial arrangements, previously caught by the Finance Act 2015 changes.

We remain indebted to the volunteers on our technical committees, and Matthew reports back on the Joint Forum on Expatriate Tax and NICs, the IR35 Forum, and the pensions sub-group of the expat tax forum, attended by volunteers on the CIOT’s behalf.

Turning to agent-specific matters, Margaret Curran, Will Silsby and Alison Ward give an update on the client notification obligations in Finance (No2) Act 2015 s 50 and on the matters covered in HMRC’s recent Talking Points session on Agent Services.

By the time you read this, the consultation documents on Making Tax Digital should have been, or will soon be, released. Margaret, Alison and Kelly Sizer highlight some key points, with a focus on VAT after the inaugural meeting of the JVCC MTD sub-group (see the main article to decipher the acronyms). Sticking with VAT, Alison and Will seek your input if you have clients who have received penalties for inaccurate DIY housebuilder claims, and Maric Glaser reports the VAT Expert Group’s response to the EC Commission’s VAT Action Plan.

The Low Incomes Tax Reform Group (LITRG), part of the CIOT, does fantastic work helping unrepresented people and those on low incomes. Having recently published its tax guide for armed forces personnel, it has also published a factsheet to help people understand the personal savings allowance and the dividend allowance. Joanne Walker summarises the key elements. Also, further explanation is provided by Gillian Wrigley and Kelly in relation to the marriage allowance. Finally Joanne Walker summarises the CIOT’s recent response to the Scottish Government’s consultation on a Scottish replacement for air passenger duty (APD) ahead of its likely devolution in April 2018.

I hope you find these articles interesting, but if there is something in this Newsdesk that you would like to see featured more (or less), please email me.