Finance Bill 2024 cleared the House of Commons ‘Committee of Whole House’ stage on 10 January 2024.
The House approved clauses/schedules on the following subject areas, all without amendment. The CIOT has issued briefings on a number of those clauses:
Permanent full expensing: The CIOT notes two principal limitations: (1) restricted to expenditure on plant and machinery, and (2) available only for companies.
New, single R&D regime: Current proposals will result in two R&D schemes rather than a genuine single scheme; the CIOT also highlights concerns around the treatment of subcontracting and implementation from April 2024.
Amendments to the UK’s Pillar Two rules: The CIOT comments on the complexity of the legislation, and also notes the potential difficulty of reaching international consensus on implementation of the related Pillar One rules.
Rebate on heavy oil and bioblends used for heating.
Interpretation of VAT and excise law (following Brexit): The CIOT maintains concerns around complexity and whether the legislation will have the intended effect of providing legal certainty.
Increase in maximum prison terms for tax offences: The CIOT suggests that the doubled maximum prison term may not, in itself, act as a deterrent.
Disqualification of directors of companies involved in promoting tax avoidance: The measure must be properly targeted, says the CIOT, to make sure the power targets the ‘controlling minds’ behind the avoidance scheme (which are not necessarily the company directors themselves).
Offence of failure to comply with a stop notice: The CIOT maintains its position that, without judicial oversight, this effectively allows HMRC to decide whether a criminal offence has been committed (HMRC has rejected this contention).
Construction Industry Scheme gross payment status changes: Adding VAT compliance to the requirements for gross payment status will strengthen the GPS test, but GPS should not be removed for genuine and minor VAT errors, and the CIOT suggests that draft regulations on this point ‘are likely to be of limited application’. The CIOT has commented separately on the draft regulations in some detail.
The Bill will next be scrutinised by the Public Bill Committee which, in a change to the original schedule, is now expected to conclude its proceedings by 30 January 2024 at the latest (although it could finish sooner), rather than 18 January as originally announced. Written evidence can be submitted to the Public Bill Committee before it finishes its consideration of the Bill.
Finance Bill 2024 cleared the House of Commons ‘Committee of Whole House’ stage on 10 January 2024.
The House approved clauses/schedules on the following subject areas, all without amendment. The CIOT has issued briefings on a number of those clauses:
Permanent full expensing: The CIOT notes two principal limitations: (1) restricted to expenditure on plant and machinery, and (2) available only for companies.
New, single R&D regime: Current proposals will result in two R&D schemes rather than a genuine single scheme; the CIOT also highlights concerns around the treatment of subcontracting and implementation from April 2024.
Amendments to the UK’s Pillar Two rules: The CIOT comments on the complexity of the legislation, and also notes the potential difficulty of reaching international consensus on implementation of the related Pillar One rules.
Rebate on heavy oil and bioblends used for heating.
Interpretation of VAT and excise law (following Brexit): The CIOT maintains concerns around complexity and whether the legislation will have the intended effect of providing legal certainty.
Increase in maximum prison terms for tax offences: The CIOT suggests that the doubled maximum prison term may not, in itself, act as a deterrent.
Disqualification of directors of companies involved in promoting tax avoidance: The measure must be properly targeted, says the CIOT, to make sure the power targets the ‘controlling minds’ behind the avoidance scheme (which are not necessarily the company directors themselves).
Offence of failure to comply with a stop notice: The CIOT maintains its position that, without judicial oversight, this effectively allows HMRC to decide whether a criminal offence has been committed (HMRC has rejected this contention).
Construction Industry Scheme gross payment status changes: Adding VAT compliance to the requirements for gross payment status will strengthen the GPS test, but GPS should not be removed for genuine and minor VAT errors, and the CIOT suggests that draft regulations on this point ‘are likely to be of limited application’. The CIOT has commented separately on the draft regulations in some detail.
The Bill will next be scrutinised by the Public Bill Committee which, in a change to the original schedule, is now expected to conclude its proceedings by 30 January 2024 at the latest (although it could finish sooner), rather than 18 January as originally announced. Written evidence can be submitted to the Public Bill Committee before it finishes its consideration of the Bill.
