In this week’s miscellaneous updates, the latest Stakeholder Digest from HMRC confirms that it’s new Permanent Secretary and CEO has taken up his office and the expected reductions in HMRC’s interest rates have been announced after the Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee reduced the base rate last week from 4.5 percent to 4.25 percent. The first changes in four years have been made to HMRC’s CEST (check employment status for tax) tool and HMRC has updated their genuine communication guidance to add information about ongoing research into agent and professional standards which means that some tax agents may receive an email or phone call from HMRC inviting them to participate. The latest newsletter from the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) says that the ‘taxi tax’ must be stopped and small business employers are invited to take part in FSB’s latest survey on the National Living Wage by 19 May. And finally, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has published a report on the cost of the tax system which not surprisingly concludes that the cost of administering taxes is increasing for HMRC and taxpayers. New HMRC Permanent Secretary and CEO After the retirement last month of Sir Jim Harra, John Paul (JP) Marks joined HMRC as its new First Permanent Secretary and Chief Executive. JP has been a civil servant for over two decades and previously served as Permanent Secretary of the Scottish Government for three years. In a You Tube video to mark the occasion, JP introduces himself and sets out his key priorities. CEST updated On 30 April 2025 HMRC updated this tool which is used to find out if a worker on a specific engagement should be classed as employed or self-employed for tax purposes. According to HMRC, CEST has been updated to simplify its language; useful links have also been added. The update also features a  new mutuality of obligation question (the obligation on the employer to provide work and the employee to accept the work) which is often key to many decisions at tax tribunal. HMRC has reaffirmed its ongoing commitment to the tool saying it will stand ‘behind the outcomes of this tool where it has been used correctly.’ Updated guidance is therefore expected to be published on how to answer the questions in the tool which have changed. PAC reports on cost of the tax system The House of Commons PAC report on the cost of the tax system concludes that the cost of administering taxes is increasing for HMRC and taxpayers and as a result calls for HMRC to “publish realistic plans to simplify the tax system and establish robust metrics for reporting the impact on its costs, and on taxpayers’ costs, in its annual reports”. The report also says that taxpayers’ trust in HMRC is falling and recommends that HMRC should work with taxpayers and their representatives to understand why this is the case and what it can do to quickly address the decline. HMRC should publish the concerns it has heard and the actions it is taking to address these, as a first step to improving trust.

The Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) will meet on 13 May 2025. At the meeting, the group will be invited to reach a general approach on the directive on VAT rules for distance sales of imported goods and import VAT. The draft directive seeks to improve the collection of VAT on imported goods by making suppliers liable for the VAT paid on import.

HMRC has contacted us to advise that as of 6 May, Unique Taxpayer References (UTRs) are no longer being provided when requested by either agents or taxpayers over the phone. This change is being made for security reasons.   HMRC has asked us to remind taxpayers that they can source this information from the top of the home page of their Personal Tax Account (PTA). If they do not have a PTA, they can find their UTR at the top of any Self-Assessment letter HMRC may have sent. If neither of these methods is available, HMRC will instead send this to them by post after they have successfully answered a series of security questions.   Agents that call on behalf of their client will also be advised of where the client’s UTR can be found. If it’s not possible to retrieve the UTR from one of those sources, then HMRC will issue a letter direct to the agent’s client. This can take up to two weeks to arrive.    

That’s according to the Institute’s Northern Ireland Tax Committee chaired by Janette Burns. The Committee responded last week to the UK Government’s consultation ‘Electronic invoicing: promoting e-invoicing across UK businesses and the public sector’. A series of recommendations featured in the submission including the need to ensure that businesses in Northern Ireland (NI) are not subject to different standards compared to the rest of the UK. Any UK e-invoicing regime should be decentralised and should also be aligned with what is ultimately agreed at EU-level in respect of the Digital Reporting Requirement (DRR) aspect of the VAT in the Digital Age (ViDA) package. The submission also considers the impact on smaller businesses and recommends that grants/tax incentives be introduced to encourage and help fund voluntary uptake. In summary, the key recommendations are as follows: An appropriate lead-in time and extensive testing by and consultation with various stakeholders will be essential in order to successfully implement a UK wide e-invoicing policy, This should begin by encouraging a voluntary approach, in particular for small and micro businesses, by educating taxpayers on the advantages cited in the consultation and by providing grant incentives/tax reliefs to encourage and help fund uptake, Mandatory e-invoicing and real-time reporting should only be introduced in a phased format based on the size of the business, The Government should establish a dedicated e-invoicing support team, A review should be undertaken of the UK’s VAT regime to identify opportunities for simplification ahead of introducing any e-invoicing policy in the UK, Any UK wide e-invoicing system will need to consider the potential impact in the NI context in order to avoid adding further complexity or different standards for different regions within the UK, The UK’s e-invoicing regime should be decentralised and should be aligned with what is ultimately agreed at EU-level in respect of the DRR aspect of ViDA, and Continued open, transparent and broad consultation will be needed with stakeholders to resolve and identify challenges/issues on the journey to a UK wide e-invoicing policy.

The OECD has published its consolidated commentary on Pillar Two. This consolidated commentary incorporates agreed administrative guidance which was released by the Inclusive Framework from March 2022 to March 2025. It also includes guidance on the interpretation and application of the GloBE rules.

In Irish news this week, Revenue has published its Annual Report for 2024 and the rescheduled commencement date for auto-enrolment has been announced. In UK news, last week’s Spring tax update announced a range of measures including a one year delay to mandatory payrolling of benefits-in-kind and HMRC has announced the closure of a range of online forums. In International news, the OECD has published its annual report of taxes paid on wages in OECD countries. Ireland 1. Revenue has released its Annual Report for 2024 together with relevant research and statistical papers.  2. The new start date for auto-enrolment has been confirmed as 1 January 2026. UK 3. Read about the tax announcements in last week’s Spring 2025 tax update including the one year delay to April 2027 for mandatory payrolling of benefits in kind. 4. HMRC has announced the closure of its agent and taxpayer online forums. International 5. The OECD has published its annual report of taxes levied on wages in member countries. Keep up to date with all the latest Irish, UK, and international tax developments through Chartered Accountants Ireland’s Tax Newsletter. Subscribe to the Tax News by updating your preferences in MyAccount. You can also read this week’s EU exit corner here.  

Revenue has updated the its guidance on Section 31D - Cancellation schemes of arrangement to reflect the increase provided by Finance Act 2024 in the Stamp Duty rates relating to the acquisition of residential property.

Revenue has updated its guidance on investment undertakings to confirm that a refund of tax is available where the income arises or is derived from the investment of a relevant payment by a relevant woman as defined in section 2 of Cervical Check Tribunal Act 2019. The manual has also been updated to include reference to the guidance on the Tax Treatment of CervicalCheck Payments.

Last week’s Spring 2025 tax update, badged by HMRC as the TUSAR (‘Tax Update on Simplification, Administration and Reform’), included a range of measures and also announced that the mandatory payrolling of benefits-in-kind (BIKs) is being delayed one year to commence from the revised date of April 2027. This follows concerns expressed by stakeholders, including this Institute, that there was insufficient time to prepare. Chartered Accountants Ireland is represented on the HMRC Employer and Payroll stakeholder forum which discusses such matters. Below we outline some of what was announced last week in the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury’s Written Ministerial Statement. Information on all the TUSAR measures announced can also be found in the Tax update 2025 page on GOV.UK.   Mandatory payrolling of BIKs HMRC has published an updated technical note which provides more operational information on how employers can work towards adapting to these changes in time for April 2027.  Valuation Office Agency   Functions of the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) will be integrated with HMRC by April 2026. According to the Government, moving the VOA’s functions into HMRC will help to improve the experience of taxpayers. This change also aims to deliver change more quickly and effectively, by combining the expertise and experience of both organisations in policy, valuations and programme delivery.   Income Tax Self-Assessment (ITSA) criteria changes As previously announced, the Government intends to change ITSA income reporting thresholds within this parliament. This will change how taxpayers report income below the thresholds to HMRC. The £1,000 tax-free trading income allowance will remain the same. This change will align three ITSA reporting thresholds for income at £3,000 (gross) each by:  increasing the ITSA reporting threshold for gross trading income from £1,000 to £3,000, increasing the reporting threshold for other taxable income from £2,500 to £3,000, and creating a single reporting threshold for property income at £3,000 gross (currently £2,500 profit or £10,000 gross income). The Capital Goods Scheme (CGS) Legislation will be introduced to increase the VAT CGS threshold for land, buildings and civil engineering works from £250,000 to £600,000 (exclusive of VAT). Computers will no longer be CGS assets. These changes will take effect at a later date within this parliament. Tax Administration Framework Review (TAFR) As part of the TAFR, the Government also published a summary of responses to the October 2024 consultation on new ways to tackle non-compliance which the Institute responded to in January 2025. This consultation explores ways to simplify and modernise HMRC’s approach to correcting taxpayer inaccuracies. The response document sets out the government response and next steps for HMRC which includes further considering reform of revenue correction powers, approaches to taxpayer self-correction and longer-term work to develop and test policy options to harmonise and simplify compliance powers across tax regimes. Combined with the newly launched consultation on improving HMRC’s approach to dispute resolution, the Governments says that the publication of these documents, along with other announced last week, represent a significant milestone in TAFR policy development. HMRC is holding a launch event for the above two documents at 10:00 – 10:45 on Thursday 15 May. This will provide a brief overview of the contents of the documents, how you can get involved and provide feedback. If you would like to attend, please email tafrcompliance@hmrc.gov.uk. HMRC will also be holding two online workshops on improving HMRC’s approach to dispute resolution, over the consultation period. Dates and further details about the workshops will be available soon. A range of consultation outcomes, new consultations and reviews were also announced details of which are summarised here (the information herein is taken verbatim from HMRC email and publications).

Revenue has published a new Stamp Duty manual Section 8C – Expression of Doubt which provides guidance on the expression of doubt facility. An expression of doubt can be submitted where there is a genuine doubt about the Stamp Duty treatment of an instrument. Where an expression of doubt is considered valid and genuine, and it subsequently transpires that Stamp Duty was underpaid in relation to the matter to which the expression of doubt relates, interest will not be applied to the underpaid taxes. The guidance outlines the steps involved in making a valid expression of doubt and the circumstances in which an expression of doubt will not be considered genuine by Revenue.

The Tax Appeals Commission (TAC) published its Annual Report for 2024, which provides details of the appeals processed in 2024. The TAC closed 1,711 appeals last year, valued at €355 million, noting that for the sixth year running the Commission closed more appeals than it received, reducing the number of appeals on hand from 1,141 to 711. Of the 1,711 appeals closed during 2024, 595 were settled, 628 were withdrawn by the appellant and 268 cases were either refused, dismissed or merged. 180 determinations were issued in relation to the remaining cases with a value of €34 million. Income tax appeal cases gave rise to 45 percent of the total appeal cases, with capital gains tax and VAT accounting for 13 percent and 11 percent respectively. The duration of the hearings ranged from a half day to three weeks, with 59 hearings scheduled remotely in 2024 compared to 162 in the previous year. During 2024 the Appeal Commissioners signed 11 cases stated pursuant to section 949AQ TCA 1997 to enable determinations to be appealed to the High Court. Of these 11 cases, 8 were requested by Appellants and 3 by the Revenue Commissioners. Commenting on the report, Minister for Finance, Paschal Donohoe welcomed its publication and acknowledged the vital service provided by the TAC as providers of a fair and accessible alternative to the courts for tax appeals.

From 30 June 2025, HMRC will be closing its online forums for both agents and taxpayers. Following discussions with stakeholders, including this Institute, and a review of both the agent and taxpayer online forums, HMRC has taken the decision to close both with effect from this date. According to HMRC, this decision reflects the increasing popularity of “newer, superior digital support channels and a move to modernise and improve the online services we offer”. In preparation for the closure, the forums will stop accepting new queries from early June 2025. Agent online forum As an alternative to the agent online forum, HMRC is reminding agents that a range of digital support channels are available which aim to offer tailored support to agents: Webchat - an agent only channel which aims to offer a faster alternative to phoning, @HMRCCustomers on ‘X’ (formerly twitter) - for help with general queries, Talking Points webinars - for information on a range of subjects with opportunities for participants to submit questions, The tax agents’ handbook – contains information to help tax agents and advisers find guidance, use HMRC services and contact HMRC, The HMRC service dashboard – provides information on current service levels for post and online queries, and The Agent Update - a monthly online publication of information specifically for the agent community. Taxpayer online forum Taxpayers can direct queries to the alternative digital support channels listed below. These also aim to offer a range of tailored support for queries. To ask a question: Visit contact HMRC, select the area you would like to contact and click ‘Ask HMRC online’. HMRC’s digital assistant can help with a variety of self-assessment and tax payment queries. If your query cannot be answered by the digital assistant, it will be escalated to an advisor, Contact @HMRCcustomers on X. For guidance and information: GOV.UK provides comprehensive written guidance and interactive products and guides, Access a range of recorded webinars and signup to receive notification of future webinars, Use the HMRC App as a quick and easy way to get information about your tax, and National Insurance, and Watch HMRC’s YouTube videos. According to HMRC, the closure of the forums aligns with HMRC's Digital Channel Strategy and will also allow HMRC to redirect resource to support its most popular channels and develop technologies that meet current and future needs.