Finance Bill 2014 (formally, Finance (No. 2) Bill of the current parliamentary session) was published on 27 March. The House of Commons second reading of the Bill took place on 1 April, with debate led by Danny Alexander, who said: ‘The Bill is certainly substantial – 602 pages, 295 clauses and 34 schedules – but it is packed with measures that will help British businesses invest and create jobs, help British households work and save, and help ensure that everyone in Britain pays their fair share of tax.’ Debates in the Commons are provisionally scheduled for 8 and 9 April.
Consultation on theatre tax relief
Following the Budget 2014 announcement, the government is consulting until 8 May 2014 on a new tax relief for theatre productions and intends to introduce legislation in Finance Bill 2014 at report stage. The relief will be given at 25% for touring productions and 20% for other theatre productions and will support plays, musicals, opera, ballet and dance. It will be available from September 2014. The proposed relief follows the model of the current film tax relief and provides for the payment of a tax credit in specific circumstances.
Aggregates levy
The Aggregates Levy (Registration and Miscellaneous Provisions) (Amendment) Regulations, SI 2014/836, which came into force on 1 April 2014, amends the registration regulations (SI 2001/4027) to take account of the removal of certain exemptions from the aggregates levy provided for in FA 2001 s 17(3), (4).
Environmental taxes
HM Treasury has issued a statement on progress made against its commitment to increase the proportion of tax revenue accounted for by environmental taxes. Using new OBR scoring methodology, the forecast of total revenue raised by environment taxes in 2014/15 is £4.6bn, representing 0.7% of the forecast of total tax receipts. The taxes which qualify as environmental taxes are the climate change levy, the aggregates levy, landfill tax, the EU emissions trading system (EU ETS), the carbon reduction commitment energy efficiency scheme, and the carbon price floor
Meeting of the global forum on transfer pricing
More than 330 senior tax officials from more than 110 jurisdictions and international organisations met in Paris on 26–28 March 2014 during the 3rd Annual Meeting of the Global Forum on Transfer Pricing. The meeting was especially targeted at discussing solutions to BEPS. In his opening address, Pascal Saint-Amans, Director of OECD’s Centre for Tax Policy and Administration, said: ‘Global standards are needed, both to attract investment and to be able to tax the fruits of that investment.’
HMRC guidance
HMRC has issued updated guidance on its website, including:
a revised technical note on salaried members of limited liability partnerships. The note updates the February 2014 version under legislation in the Finance Bill 2014, treating such members as employees when certain conditions are met;
a revised technical note on mixed-membership partnership profit/loss allocation, transfers of assets and alternative investment fund management partnerships. This note updates the version published in December 2013 and will form the basis of guidance on three strands of the partnerships legislation in Finance Bill 2014: tax-motivated allocation of profits and losses in mixed membership partnerships; collection mechanism for AIFM partnerships; and transfers of assets or income streams through partnerships; and
draft guidance on the social investment tax relief, setting out HMRC’s view of the relief, which will come into effect when the Finance Bill receives royal assent. The guidance covers, in particular, the requirements for investment, investors and social enterprise and the procedure to claim the relief.
Finance Bill 2014 (formally, Finance (No. 2) Bill of the current parliamentary session) was published on 27 March. The House of Commons second reading of the Bill took place on 1 April, with debate led by Danny Alexander, who said: ‘The Bill is certainly substantial – 602 pages, 295 clauses and 34 schedules – but it is packed with measures that will help British businesses invest and create jobs, help British households work and save, and help ensure that everyone in Britain pays their fair share of tax.’ Debates in the Commons are provisionally scheduled for 8 and 9 April.
Consultation on theatre tax relief
Following the Budget 2014 announcement, the government is consulting until 8 May 2014 on a new tax relief for theatre productions and intends to introduce legislation in Finance Bill 2014 at report stage. The relief will be given at 25% for touring productions and 20% for other theatre productions and will support plays, musicals, opera, ballet and dance. It will be available from September 2014. The proposed relief follows the model of the current film tax relief and provides for the payment of a tax credit in specific circumstances.
Aggregates levy
The Aggregates Levy (Registration and Miscellaneous Provisions) (Amendment) Regulations, SI 2014/836, which came into force on 1 April 2014, amends the registration regulations (SI 2001/4027) to take account of the removal of certain exemptions from the aggregates levy provided for in FA 2001 s 17(3), (4).
Environmental taxes
HM Treasury has issued a statement on progress made against its commitment to increase the proportion of tax revenue accounted for by environmental taxes. Using new OBR scoring methodology, the forecast of total revenue raised by environment taxes in 2014/15 is £4.6bn, representing 0.7% of the forecast of total tax receipts. The taxes which qualify as environmental taxes are the climate change levy, the aggregates levy, landfill tax, the EU emissions trading system (EU ETS), the carbon reduction commitment energy efficiency scheme, and the carbon price floor
Meeting of the global forum on transfer pricing
More than 330 senior tax officials from more than 110 jurisdictions and international organisations met in Paris on 26–28 March 2014 during the 3rd Annual Meeting of the Global Forum on Transfer Pricing. The meeting was especially targeted at discussing solutions to BEPS. In his opening address, Pascal Saint-Amans, Director of OECD’s Centre for Tax Policy and Administration, said: ‘Global standards are needed, both to attract investment and to be able to tax the fruits of that investment.’
HMRC guidance
HMRC has issued updated guidance on its website, including:
a revised technical note on salaried members of limited liability partnerships. The note updates the February 2014 version under legislation in the Finance Bill 2014, treating such members as employees when certain conditions are met;
a revised technical note on mixed-membership partnership profit/loss allocation, transfers of assets and alternative investment fund management partnerships. This note updates the version published in December 2013 and will form the basis of guidance on three strands of the partnerships legislation in Finance Bill 2014: tax-motivated allocation of profits and losses in mixed membership partnerships; collection mechanism for AIFM partnerships; and transfers of assets or income streams through partnerships; and
draft guidance on the social investment tax relief, setting out HMRC’s view of the relief, which will come into effect when the Finance Bill receives royal assent. The guidance covers, in particular, the requirements for investment, investors and social enterprise and the procedure to claim the relief.
