Developments of interest are outlined.

• The Office of Tax Simplification has written to the Chancellor to outline the timings around the reporting of their current reviews and to set out the date of the formal change in Tax Director
• The list of approved promoters, agents and merchandisers in the middleman scheme for non-resident rock and pop entertainers has been updated
• HMRC has introduced a new online service for making appeals against penalties for late submission of self-assessment tax returns.
• HMRC has published rates and thresholds for employers 2017/2018. These are the rates, thresholds and other information for employers to use when operating a payroll or proving expenses and benefits to employees in tax year 2017/18. Remember that a different threshold may apply to Scottish employees.
• The Institute for Fiscal Studies have published a report entitled ‘Tax, legal form and the gig economy’, which looks at how the UK labour market is changing
• The Patent Box section of HMRC’s Corporate Intangibles Research and Development Manual has been updated to include guidance on the amended patent box regime as a result of the Finance Act
• Use the updated spreadsheet to send HMRC information about rents and other payments arising from land
• Use Tables B to D to manually calculate your payroll if you are exempt from filing online
• An updated notice explaining the VAT Flat Rate Scheme for small businesses is available