What is a tax haven?
We often hear this phrase used on the news with reference to incredibly wealthy individuals. It’s easy to accept it’s meaning in context and not really consider what a tax haven is because we know [...]
April 2019
Welsh Assembly’s New Income Tax Powers
As of April 6th, the Welsh Assembly’s new devolved taxation powers come into effect. This means that a designated amount of the income tax raised in Wales is directly controlled by the Welsh Assembly. The [...]
What is the ‘tampon tax’?
This alliterative, headline grabbing phrase implies that there is a special tax that applies only to tampons. In fact, it refers to the classification of sanitary products in the 5% VAT bracket. For years, women [...]
Google pays higher UK tax bill. But is it enough?
The most recent financial figures released by Google show that they are paying more tax in the UK than in the previous tax year. But is it a true representation of their British income? Google’s [...]
Minimum wage increase comes into effect
From today, the two million taxpayers that are on minimum wage will see their hourly rate go up. There are different rates for people in different age brackets. Any rise in income is good news. [...]
March 2019
Armed Forces Scottish income tax support extended
Last year, we reported on the MoD’s resolution to the problem of military personnel based in Scotland paying more income tax than their counterparts living in other parts of the UK. This is because the [...]
Undercover journalist exposes trade in black market receipts used for tax fraud
The BBC journalist Colin Campbell went undercover as a self employed builder in order to uncover the illegal trade in receipts. These are then used as evidence to defraud HMRC of both VAT and income [...]
Is Lorraine Kelly in trouble with HMRC?
Lorraine Kelly is the most recent in a long line of people in the entertainment industry that have hit the headlines because of HMRC action against them. But has she actually tried to avoid paying [...]
Should social media companies pay additional tax?
There are many reports about the damage social media usage can do to people’s mental health, particularly young people. Online bullying, suicide guides and self harm ‘tips’ are all part of our relatively new online [...]
How HMRC plan to close the ‘tax gap’
In his March 2019 Spring Statement, Chancellor Philip Hammond said: “Since 2010, the government has secured and protected over £200 billion of tax that would otherwise have gone unpaid, introduced over 100 measures to reduce [...]