On 17 June, a Public Bill Committee completed its consideration of the Bill, agreeing amendments to cll 212, 222 and Sch 28 (accelerated payments in avoidance cases) and cll 242, 244, 251, 266, 270 and 272, and Schs 31 and 32 (promoters of tax avoidance schemes).
The Bill will now go to Report Stage in the House of Commons on 1 July. The government has tabled new clauses and amendments for Report Stage, as follows:
right to appeal follower penalty (cl 207): amendments set out specific grounds on which a taxpayer may appeal against a penalty for failing to take the necessary action on receipt of a follower notice. They provide that a taxpayer may appeal on the grounds that the follower notice should not have been issued to him in the first place or that it was reasonable for him to continue his dispute rather than settle with HMRC on receipt of a follower notice. They also provide that only a designated officer of HMRC can issue a follower notice removal of limitation period restriction for EU cases (cl 291);
removal of limitation period restriction for EU cases (cl 291): amendment widens the circumstances in which the extended time limit restriction is removed to all cases in which tax was charged contrary to EU law;
APD rates of duty from 1 April 2015 (cl 73): consequential changes to Northern Ireland APD legislation;
employment-related securities (ERS) etc (cl 49, Sch 7): amendments clarify issues around the tax treatment of ERS, such as shares, and ERS options awarded to internationally mobile employees. They also address certain circumstances in which value from these ERS could be subject to tax in both the UK and another country, so as to avoid double taxation;
employee share schemes (cl 48, Sch 6): amendments are designed to ensure that companies establishing tax advantaged employee share schemes can continue to deduct the set-up costs of these schemes when required to calculate their taxable profits for income tax purposes. They follow the implementation from 6 April 2014 of various changes to the rules and processes for the establishment and operation of tax advantaged employee share schemes;
relief for investments in social enterprises (cl 53, Schs 9–10): amendments extend the provisions for the new tax reliefs for social investment (SITR) introduced in the Finance Bill. They give effect to the government’s proposal to introduce relief for social impact bond investment, announced at Autumn Statement 2013, with a further roadmap published on 30 January 2014;
Oil and gas contractors: ring-fenced trade etc (new clause 1 new schedule 1): changes introduce provisions to restrict the use of deductions for leasing payments relating to assets used as part of a composite offshore oil and gas service.
On 17 June, a Public Bill Committee completed its consideration of the Bill, agreeing amendments to cll 212, 222 and Sch 28 (accelerated payments in avoidance cases) and cll 242, 244, 251, 266, 270 and 272, and Schs 31 and 32 (promoters of tax avoidance schemes).
The Bill will now go to Report Stage in the House of Commons on 1 July. The government has tabled new clauses and amendments for Report Stage, as follows:
right to appeal follower penalty (cl 207): amendments set out specific grounds on which a taxpayer may appeal against a penalty for failing to take the necessary action on receipt of a follower notice. They provide that a taxpayer may appeal on the grounds that the follower notice should not have been issued to him in the first place or that it was reasonable for him to continue his dispute rather than settle with HMRC on receipt of a follower notice. They also provide that only a designated officer of HMRC can issue a follower notice removal of limitation period restriction for EU cases (cl 291);
removal of limitation period restriction for EU cases (cl 291): amendment widens the circumstances in which the extended time limit restriction is removed to all cases in which tax was charged contrary to EU law;
APD rates of duty from 1 April 2015 (cl 73): consequential changes to Northern Ireland APD legislation;
employment-related securities (ERS) etc (cl 49, Sch 7): amendments clarify issues around the tax treatment of ERS, such as shares, and ERS options awarded to internationally mobile employees. They also address certain circumstances in which value from these ERS could be subject to tax in both the UK and another country, so as to avoid double taxation;
employee share schemes (cl 48, Sch 6): amendments are designed to ensure that companies establishing tax advantaged employee share schemes can continue to deduct the set-up costs of these schemes when required to calculate their taxable profits for income tax purposes. They follow the implementation from 6 April 2014 of various changes to the rules and processes for the establishment and operation of tax advantaged employee share schemes;
relief for investments in social enterprises (cl 53, Schs 9–10): amendments extend the provisions for the new tax reliefs for social investment (SITR) introduced in the Finance Bill. They give effect to the government’s proposal to introduce relief for social impact bond investment, announced at Autumn Statement 2013, with a further roadmap published on 30 January 2014;
Oil and gas contractors: ring-fenced trade etc (new clause 1 new schedule 1): changes introduce provisions to restrict the use of deductions for leasing payments relating to assets used as part of a composite offshore oil and gas service.
