In a landmark 2005 House of Lords case (commonly referred to as the Wilkinson case), the UK courts considered a significant number of Extra Statutory Concessions (ESCs) published by HMRC. The decision by the House of Lords, questioned the ability of HMRC to make use of certain administrative discretions (such as an ESC). An ESC

There are special rules that govern how official custom’s seals are used and how to recognize them and also how authorised traders can use their own seals in place of official custom’s seals. HMRC has recently updated the applicable Notice 205 entitled Official Customs seals and trader sealing. The notice cancels and replaces the previous

The latest figures published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that the average number of sickness absence days that workers are taking has almost halved since 1993, which is the year that records began. The figures show that workers took an average of 4.1 sickness absence days in 2017, compared with 7.2 days

HMRC Spotlights identify specific tax avoidance schemes and which HMRC consider are not likely to have the legal effect desired by those thinking of using them. According to HMRC, the Spotlights series is designed to help taxpayers avoid unwittingly entering into arrangements that HMRC are likely to see as tax avoidance. In the Spotlights series HMRC: Provides information on

The Home Office has launched a new toolkit to enable employers to increase awareness amongst their EU employees about the EU Settlement Scheme and what they need to know and do to apply for “settled status”, which is the new immigration status that EU nationals must obtain to stay in the UK after Brexit. The

The Shares and Assets Valuations (SAV) section of HMRC deals with enquiries in respect of the valuations of unquoted shares: shares of companies which are not quoted, listed or traded on the stock exchange for taxation purposes. The office also deals with other valuations including copyrights, goodwill, bloodstock, livestock and underwriting interests. The most common

The Lifetime ISA has been designed to help those aged between 18 and 40 to save for a new home or for their retirement. Under the scheme, the government provides a 25% bonus on yearly savings of up to £4,000, and once you start saving before you are 40, you can continue using the scheme

The government has launched a multi-million pound challenge fund to help tackle the disability employment gap. The fund is the latest in a range of government measures that aims to see one million more disabled people in work by 2027. The £4.2 million challenge fund will help support people with mental health or musculoskeletal conditions

Companies that are insolvent in any form of winding up or administration procedure, are exempted from the requirement to file online. However, the exemption does not apply to companies moving towards informal striking off or during a solvent Members’ Voluntary Liquidation (MVL). There may be particular risks as a result of the cessation and striking off

Public Health England (PHE) and Business in the Community have published a new toolkit to help employers support workers who are affected by domestic abuse. One in four women and one in six men suffer from domestic abuse in their lifetime and domestic abuse apparently costs businesses £1.9 billion every year due to decreased productivity,