HMRC’s latest schedule of webinars is now available for booking. Spaces are limited, so take a look now and save your place. HMRC has also made available a YouTube video which contains an overview of how to report COVID-19 support payments and grants on Company Tax Returns, what happens if you’ve claimed too much and the records that must be kept.  Making Tax Digital for VAT: register here This webinar will provide some of the basics of Making Tax Digital for VAT. This includes what has changed, using software and keeping digital records, plus an introduction to penalty reform. From April 2022, these requirements apply to all VAT-registered businesses, including those with turnover below the £85,000 VAT registration threshold. If you have any questions, please send them to email HMRC prior to the webinar, including the title of the webinar in the ‘Subject’ line of your email. HMRC will answer as many questions as possible on the day.

HMRC has sent a reminder relevant to anyone coming to the UK from Ukraine so that they are aware of their tax responsibilities to avoid any potential future implications or compliance activity. Read the reminder below. “Everybody has a responsibility to pay tax on their earnings if they earn over a certain amount. Employment status, such as self-employed or agency worker, can also affect the amount of tax paid. If Ukrainian arrivals are employed, their Income Tax will normally be deducted at source from their salary through Pay As You Earn (PAYE). If they are self-employed, they have to declare their income and pay any tax due through the self assessment system. More information on self assessment tax returns and when annual returns need to be sent to us is available on GOV.UK. Ukrainian arrivals who are struggling with their tax responsibilities can contact us directly or take advice from reputable agencies.” The guidance on what you need to do before you travel to the UK and what to do after you arrive has also been updated.

The latest Employer Bulletin: August 2022, a bi-monthly magazine for employers and agents that gives up-to-date information on payroll topics has been published.

The cross-party Treasury Committee has published a call for evidence on the current suite of UK tax reliefs (both personal and business), including on whether they provide value for money and if, among other things, they impact employment, investment and growth in the UK. The Committee is also interested in hearing what potential reforms could be made, as well as whether reliefs are being used in the way that they were intended, or if they can facilitate tax avoidance or evasion. International comparisons of tax reliefs are particularly welcomed. The deadline for submissions of evidence is 5pm Monday 19 September 2022.

Earlier this month HMRC published performance data for quarter one of 2022/23 and monthly performance data for April, May and June 2022. According to HMRC, the first quarter of the tax year is always its busiest period, and in Q1 a number of factors impacted both the demand on services and HMRC’s ability to respond. HMRC apologised that some taxpayers and agents have experienced delays when dealing with them. Chartered Accountants Ireland regularly discusses HMRC performance at forum meetings and can be contacted by email to provide feedback. In the current challenging economic conditions, many taxpayers will continue needing support to pay what they owe, thus HMRC expects to see continuing pressure on its services for some time, “but we are focused on continuing to deliver service improvements for our customers quarter on quarter this year despite these challenges”. Read the full performance update for 2022/2023 quarter one.

As we reminded you last month, 1 September 2022 is the deadline for registering non-taxpaying trusts that existed on 6 October 2020 on HMRC’s Trust Registration Service (“TRS”). This applies even if the trust has since been closed. More clarity is now available on the potential penalty position for failure to register a trust. According to a recent update to the TRS Manual by HMRC, failure to register or keep information up to date on time may lead to a financial penalty. Penalties for failure to register or keep information up to date are imposed under Part 9 of the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017. Trustees will be able to appeal any penalties charged. Details of the appeal process will be set out in any penalty notices issued. The potential penalty for deliberately failing to register a trust is a maximum penalty of £5,000. In practice this means that if HMRC becomes aware of a trust which has not been registered by the relevant deadline, either because that trust has been registered late or because HMRC has identified that trust’s existence by other means, HMRC may issue a warning letter to the trustee or agent. If the trust is not yet registered, the trustee or agent should register it at that point. If the trustee or agent then fails to register the trust within the time period stated within the warning letter, or fails to explain why their trust is not liable to registration, a penalty may be issued to the lead trustee. According to the manual, penalties for deliberate non-compliance will be applied on a case-by-case basis. Examples of the circumstances in which such a penalty might apply include continued failure to register a trust following repeated warnings or providing details on a given trust that are deliberately inaccurate accompanied by continued failure to amend those details. HMRC also recently posted the following on the Agent Forum “We are working hard to ensure customers understand what they need to do with the introduction of the Trust Registration Service. We are regularly communicating with people through our own channels and intermediaries to ensure we reach as many people as possible. We expect registration levels of non-taxable trusts will increase given that the requirement to register is a new one for many trustees, and the deadline is still some months away. The requirement to register with the Trust Registration Service is a new one for many trustees, and we anticipate some trustees will remain unaware of the obligation to register once the deadline has passed. Penalties for failing to register or late registration will only be charged where it can be shown the failure was deliberate.”

Ruth Kennedy, previously Assistant Secretary of Personal Division and Project Manager for PAYE Modernisation, succeeds Michael Gladney as Revenue Commissioner, following his recent retirement.

In June we provided a second update in Chartered Accountants Tax News on delays in processing R&D tax credit claims. HMRC has now provided a further update which confirms that HMRC’s investigation into “concerning” claims which had been identified is ongoing meaning payment of claims continues to be delayed. Read the full update from HMRC below. “As previously mentioned, we are conducting additional checks on each claim and so our aim for processing times is currently 40 days. However, we are looking to return to 28 days as soon as we can. At the R&D Compliance Forum meeting that was held on July 13th, we discussed the ongoing work of Fraud Investigation Service (FIS), who recently issued letters seeking more information on identified claims we had concerns with. These letters are part of our efforts to ensure HMRC is taking appropriate action to protect the relief from abuse. As soon as we are able to, we will share any information we can on FIS’s work. We will shortly be reaching out to our working group to invite representatives to join a sub-working group to take forward ideas that representative bodies have raised with us. There will also be a full working group meeting taking place towards the end of the Summer/early Autumn. Furthermore, we are hoping to send another update when we have more information to share.”

Revenue has updated its guidance on the provision of work related equipment and supplies. The update clarifies the position where personal protective equipment (PPE) is provided.

Revenue has published new guidance on the tax deductibility of Digital Services Taxes (DSTs).

Revenue has published updated guidance notes to the Stamp Duties Consolidation Act 1999, to include all amendments to the 1999 Act by subsequent Acts up to and including the Finance (Covid-19 and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2022.

Revenue has published a new Tax and Duty Manual to provide guidance regarding the VAT treatment of the Special Flat-rate scheme for Farmers. In addition, the Farmers and intra EU Transactions Tax and Duty Manual has been marked as no longer relevant.