Readers may be aware that the wealth team is a newly created team within HMRC comprising the amalgamation of the former High Net Worth Unit and Affluent teams which are together part of the newly formed HMRC Customer Compliance Group. The Institute has regular contact with the Wealth team in HMRC.

Recently the Northern Ireland Tax Committee had a catch up with the head of the East Kilbride Wealth team. Matters on the agenda ranged from accelerated payment and follower notices to the new trusts registration service. Below are some highlights which may be of interest.

• Operational strategy for the amalgamated team is under consideration
• The Wealth Unit remains keen that transactions/issues are discussed with the relevant customer relationship manager (CRM) in real time, as far as is practical.
• Whilst the number of accelerated payment notices (APNs) is slowing down, agents/taxpayers are still encouraged to contact the relevant CRM early to discuss if an acceptable payment plan can be reached. Some hints and tips for dealing with APNs were covered previously in Chartered Accountants Tax News; these are still relevant.
• Follower notices are increasing in number. The practical implications of addressing these (particularly in the context of amending returns) were highlighted as being potentially problematic for agents/taxpayers. In such cases, HMRC encourage early dialogue with the relevant CRM.
• The requirement to correct legislation in Finance Bill 2017–19 schedule 18 was discussed at a preliminary level. This proposed legislation could have far reaching consequences. The timespan for correcting returns with issues at 5 April 2017 remains at 30 September 2018, despite the legislation having been dropped from the Finance Act 2017. This will be extremely challenging in practice.

The Northern Ireland Tax Committee plans to continue its contact with HMRC’s Wealth Team with many of the issues recently discussed remaining on the agenda in the future.