OUR PICK
According to HMRC statistics released last week, HMRC recovered £1.1bn tax from transfer pricing enquiries during 2013/14, which HMRC said was double the tax take of the previous year.
HMRC is to run a trial version of its agent online self-serve (AOSS) tool during April 2015. Agent volunteers are invited to sign up for the AOSS trial by 20 March 2015 via an online questionnaire.
Following consultation, the government has now put in place the final set of regulations made under powers in FA 2014 regarding promoters of high risk tax avoidance schemes.
The PAC continued its inquiry over the role of HSBC’s private Swiss bank in facilitating tax avoidance and evasion with a heated two-hour hearing on Monday 9 March.
Richard Jeens (Slaughter and May) gives an overview of the significant changes in the rules governing tax disputes in the last year or two and considers where this leaves taxpayers now, whether as part of active disputes, an M&A transaction or day to day business.
HMRC’s chief executive, Lin Homer, announced last week in a Treasury Select Committee hearing that the French authorities have formally agreed that HMRC can share stolen HSBC Suisse customer account data with other law enforcement agencies and regulators, for the purposes of pursuing criminal off
HMRC updated its registration guidance to remind filers of the need to wait approximately 24 hours after registering before filing a FATCA return.
Anti-avoidance legislation having immediate effect from 26 February 2015 will restrict to nil the expenditure qualifying for plant and machinery allowances in a sale and leaseback or connected-party transaction, where the person disposing of the asset, or a person connected with them, acquired it
Criticism of HMRC’s failure to prosecute HSBC Swiss tax evaders has been quite unfair, writes Jonathan Fisher QC (Devereux Chambers). There are problems with criminal prosecution and the decision to focus on tax collection through civil settlement is the right one. It makes little sense to criminally prosecute these cases.