Blog

In his Budget of 6 March 2024, the Chancellor announced that the government will be prospectively abolishing the remittance basis of taxation for non-UK domiciled individuals with effect from April 2025. This note explains what is proposed.

Tax measures in the Finance Bill will “reward work” and protect families, insists the Government, but critics say frozen thresholds mean the tax burden will continue to rise.

Parliamentarians have launched a paper urging the Government to go ‘further and faster’ in its efforts to tackle economic crime, including legislating to require tax advisers and accountants to be members of a professional body.

Experts warn in this guest blog that some claims being made by firms offering help with SDLT refunds are too good to be true, and urge property buyers to exercise independent judgement before making a claim.

The Labour Party have set out proposals to fund additional HMRC compliance officers, invest more in HMRC digital services and close what it calls ‘major loopholes’ in the current government’s proposed replacement for the non-dom tax regime. They have also appointed an expert panel to advise on tax compliance and modernising HMRC.

Labour’s plans to charge VAT on private school fees will affect smaller, specialist schools as well as prestigious institutions such as Eton, said speakers at a joint Chartered Institute of Taxation and Institute for Fiscal Studies online debate. However, panellists thought the state was likely to be able to absorb any students who may leave private education as a result of the proposals.

Three committees of the Welsh Senedd have published reports calling on the Welsh Government to amend legislation currently going through the Senedd on business rates and council tax. Two of the committees draw on CIOT evidence to criticise the wide powers being granted to ministers to make future changes through subordinate legislation.

The House of Lords has discussed the tax measures introduced in the Spring Budget, backing the abolition of the non-dom tax regime and changes to child benefit but raising concerns over the overall UK tax burden.

The IFS’s Tax Law Review Committee has published a paper exploring the impact of tax thresholds. In this guest blog, one of the report’s authors, Bill Dodwell, former director of the Office of Tax Simplification and a former CIOT President, sets out some of the findings and recommendations.

The House of Commons debated the government's ‘U-turn’ on plans to close the self-assessment helpline for six months a year. The debate featured criticisms and concerns from various MPs, highlighting the impact on taxpayers, especially the vulnerable, and questioning the Treasury's involvement and communication regarding the decision.