TaxSource Total

Here you can access summary of the key current tax developments in Ireland, the UK and internationally as reported by Chartered Accountants Ireland

The report of key tax developments are displayed per year, per month, by Ireland, the UK or International and by report title

Workshop with the Office of Tax Simplification

Last month, the Northern Ireland Tax Committee met with the Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) to discuss UK tax complexity in four specific areas: stamp duty land tax, income tax, capital gains tax and reporting and paying tax for the self-employed. Read our position papers, which were discussed in detail at the meeting.

The meeting also discussed the recommendations made in the recent OTS initial review titled ‘Tax reporting and payment: simplifying tax for self-employed people and residential landlords’.

The Committee’s recommendations and proposals also focused on ensuring agents have access to the information held in business and personal tax accounts. In addition, HMRC needs to also develop enhanced online services for agents, in tandem with any developed for taxpayers and businesses.

In the income tax position paper, the Committee recommends that the UK Government tasks the OTS with carrying out a review of the complexities of UK income tax legislation. The UK Government should also task the OTS with carrying out a review of the UK CGT regime, which should examine the following specific matters:

  • An evaluation of the CGT reliefs targeted at entrepreneurial behaviour with a specific focus on entrepreneurs’ relief; and
  • A review of the rates and calculation of CGT to also consider the merits of returning to one single rate for all transactions.

The Government should also undertake a more thorough annual review of tax reliefs in the UK, and HMRC should launch a widespread education campaign in respect of both the non-residents CGT regimes and the 6 April 2020 changes for UK residents.

Any options or recommendations presented by the OTS should be seriously considered by the Government.

The latest work of the OTS is set out:

The Chancellor of the Exchequer has also responded to the OTS report on simplifying everyday tax for smaller businesses. According to the letter, the Government has accepted most the report’s core recommendations. The letter also contains a table setting out the Government’s response to each of the recommendations.