This week we bring you HM Treasury’s response to the Institute’s letter on changes to the geographical scope of agricultural property relief and the latest report from the Administrative Burdens Advisory Board (“ABAB”) has been published. At a recent meeting HMRC advised that although the marriage allowance online form is not currently mandatory, using the form may mean that claims are processed quicker. HMRC has also issued another reminder email on the recent alcohol duty changes which took effect from 1 August 2023 and a detailed update has been published on the actions identified at the February 2023 HMRC Stakeholder Conference. And finally, the latest news and information bulletin from HMRC is available.
HM Treasury responds to letter on changes to the geographical scope of agricultural property relief
At end of August, the Institute’s Northern Ireland Tax Committee wrote to the Financial Secretary to the Treasury to express its concerns in respect of the proposal to restrict the geographical scope of agricultural property relief (“APR”) and woodlands relief (“WR”) from April 2024. HM Treasury has now responded to that letter which you can read on our website.
The Institute recently submitted evidence to the House of Lords Finance Bill Sub-Committee inquiry into Finance Bill 2023-24 and once again raised its concerns in relation to the APR and WR draft legislation, in addition to the proposal to merge the UK’s R&D tax relief schemes from April 2024. Members will be able to read this submission when the Committee confirms it has accepted the submission as evidence.
Latest report of the Administrative Burdens Advisory Board (“ABAB”)
The Tell ABAB Survey report was recently published and details responses to April’s ‘Tell ABAB Survey’, which this year had a record 7,500 responses. In previous years, responses have averaged around 3,000. Of the responses, 86.9 percent came from businesses and 12.7 percent from tax agents. This represents a significant shift from 2022 when 67.8 percent of responses were from businesses and 32.2 percent from agents.
Board members come from a range of businesses and professions, with their goal being to make “a noticeable difference for small business by supporting HMRC in:-
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helping to reduce administrative burdens; and
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ensuring that the tax system is easier, quicker, and simpler.”
The key findings from the survey reveal that burdens on business remain a significant concern and they continue to increase year on year. Off-payroll working rules, Making Tax Digital and changes in importing and exporting procedures have contributed to increasing burdens during the survey period. Additionally, businesses state that they have not witnessed benefits of digitalisation yet.
The shift to nomadic working poses challenges. According to the survey, 59.5 percent of those who worked from home or had employees working from home or as nomadic workers, were familiar with HMRC’s working from home guidance. Whilst this percentage might look relatively high, these workers now form a significant part of the workforce, with over 63 percent of respondents stating that they were working from home or as nomadic workers.
There is definite evidence from the survey that guidance to business is improving. Many respondents rated the ease of understanding written correspondence and the information on YouTube videos highly. Whilst there are still problematic HMRC forms, the numbers here are relatively low and although there are remaining frustrations with GOV.UK, these are also relatively low.
Another important message is that respondents continue to express a strong desire to speak to a human advisor. Satisfaction levels on response times for telephone calls remains low, with respondents being dissatisfied with this service for that reason.
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