A Weekly Round Up Of Tax Stories From The Press

BUSINESS

Property companies are preparing to turn top earners into self - employed partners to minimise the impact of the government's impending higher tax regime.

Times

Anyone thinking about following this route will need to ensure the status of their employment when they change to self-employed. Getting this wrong could result in substantial PAYE arrears.

The Government has changed its rules on research and development (R&D) tax credits, allowing small businesses to claim the relief even if they do not own all the intellectual property rights arising from their work.

Financial Times

Bring it on - any possible tax saving is greatly welcomed.

A Celebrity-backed campaign for a "Robin Hood" tax on banking transactions has been condemned by the director of the Centre for Business Taxation at Oxford University, Mike Devereux, for promoting a "stealth tax" that would hit unintended targets while leaving the banks unscathed.

The "Robin Hood" tax is effectively the Tobin tax that has support among some politicians, including Gordon Brown, but none from the USA. Therefore it is unlikely to go anywhere. It is difficult to take seriously a celebrity-backed drive when it comes to taxation though!!!

Around 600 independent filling stations could be put out of business by Government tax changes, according to their trade body RMI Petrol.

This is in relation to the rules covering the rateable value of properties, which are being revised to better reflect the current rental value of petrol stations.

GENERAL

Only 4% of taxpayers are likely to be deliberate tax dodgers, according to a study commissioned by HMRC, which also shows that 26% of people fail to meet their tax liabilities because they do not understand the tax system well enough, or are genuinely unaware of their obligations.

Financial Times

This study was published last September with the aim of helping HMRC understand what problems need to be addressed to encourage compliance. Given the complexity of tax legislation and individuals' natural antipathy to dealing with the Revenue, it is no surprise that such a large percentage of individuals are non compliant because of ignorance.

INCOME TAX

Nearly one in three families will loose their tax credits under plans by the Coservative Party to save £400million from the annual credits bill.

Mirror

Under the Tories' plan, families on incomes of more than £50,000 will not receive the credits - Does this mean Jeremy Kyle will be screened in the evenings too??

INVESTIGATIONS

German tax dodgers have been rushing to declare money that they have hidden in Switzerland after the Government warned that it would buy a stolen disc containing details of secret bank accounts.

The Times

UK tax avoiders be aware. Information purchased by the Germans relating to accounts in Liechtenstein was subsequently purchased by our very own. Leading the way as ever!!!

HMRC are investigating a fund called Inside Track, which brought tax benefits to the film industry on suspicion of tax avoidance.

Mail

The rules relating to film taper tax relief have been tightened up over recent years to ensure that it is applied as intended. As this investigation is on going, it is not clear how the scrutiny works yet.