Recent articles from Harwood Hutton
In 1936 the Consolidation Committee recommended reform of the definition of residence for tax purposes. With unseemly haste, in June 2011 HMRC published the “Statutory Definition of Tax Residence” consultation paper.
For too long there h...Posted on: 06/12/2011
It is generally accepted that the private sector will have to pick up the lion’s share of the burden of producing the new jobs needed if the UK economy is going to pull out of its current difficulties, writes Cormac Marum, Harwood Hutton tax pa...Posted on: 19/10/2011
Don’t delay submitting your tax return this year. The penalties for late filing are rocketing skyward at an alarming rate. Now you will be hit with a penalty even if you have paid all your tax.
Since the introduction of self-assessment it has...Posted on: 26/09/2011
Managing a company always presents challenges, and the forthcoming year while offering opportunity to some business owners will be challenging for many as we face continued public sector cuts and tax increases. Financing and cash flow are already pro...Posted on: 30/08/2011
Speaking on the BBC Radio 4’s Today programme this week, Chancellor George Osborne gave his clearest indication yet that he wants to abolish the 50% top tax rate. Such a move is likely to come into force from April 2012 and would be seen as a w...Posted on: 17/08/2011
It is now being predicted that, with the planned increases in university tuition fees, future students will leave university saddled with more than £50,000 of debt. Even with the higher limits before repayments kick in, few parents will feel ea...Posted on: 16/08/2011
The capital gains tax (CGT) exemption for gains made on the sale of your property is one of the most valuable reliefs from which many individuals benefit during their lifetime. The relief is well known: CGT exemption whatever the level of the capital...Posted on: 11/08/2011
Many people think that the tax rules are written in a secret language unintelligible to any normal human being. In fact the tax code in recent years has been rewritten in an attempt to make it simpler. Whether the exercise has been successful is open...Posted on: 09/08/2011
In the following article, which first appeared in the April 2011 issue of The Business Magazine, Harwood Hutton's Richard Hutton discusses the potential to save large amounts of VAT and SDLT under the Opting to Tax regulations. Click here for the p...Posted on: 08/07/2011
For many owner-managed trading companies the purchase of shares rules are a useful tool to employ when shareholders fall out or one of the owner-managers decides to move on.
Clearly the remaining owner-managers don’t want the dissenting shareh...Posted on: 06/01/2011
There is no more valuable tax break for individuals than EIS relief. Its great if you can qualify, but it is extremely difficult to satisfy all of the conditions and stay qualified throughout the whole qualifying period.
There are three strands to E...Posted on: 06/01/2011
Reforms to the business rate system that are intended to help could actually have an adverse effect on the tax breaks available to small enterprises, the Forum of Private Business (FPB) has argued.
The new Localism Bill will set out plans for ending...Posted on: 08/12/2010
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has published a new consultation document on ways of improving the PAYE system.
It follows on from an initial document issued back in July and forms the second stage of the Government's plans for reforming the PAYE regi...Posted on: 08/12/2010
The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has issued its latest economic forecast and has said that the UK economy should experience an upturn in growth in 2012.
The BCC revised down its growth forecasts for 2011 from 2.2 per cent to 1.9 per cent, larg...Posted on: 08/12/2010
The Chancellor, George Osborne took the opportunity of his autumn statement to outline new government plans for business tax.
He reminded the House of Commons that the June Budget had already introduced a four-year reduction in corporation tax from...Posted on: 01/12/2010
The following article appeared in the November issue of The Business Magazine. Click here for the printed version.
I am not suggesting that, as a nation, we are becoming more dishonest in our tax affairs and sinking to the depth...Posted on: 17/11/2010
The recent announcement by the Government that the Treasury is to target a further 10,000 high net worth individuals for tax investigation represents another stage in the seemingly relentless assault on UK taxpayers.
It is estimated that once these...Posted on: 21/10/2010
This article, by Harwood Hutton's Zoe Peck, first appeared in the October 2010 issue of The Business Magazine. Zoe examines the opportunities presented by the recent rise in entrepreneurs' relief within the commercial property investment market....Posted on: 07/10/2010
We all recall the fuss started by George Osborne in 2007 over the future of Inheritance Tax when he suggested to the Conservative party conference that an incoming Conservative government would increase the Inheritance Tax nil rate band threshold to...Posted on: 14/09/2010
Change, confusion and U-turns characterise the tax treatment of furnished holiday lettings since April 2009. Prior to that, individuals who let property in the UK as furnished holiday accommodation could, provided certain criteria were met, enjoy sig...Posted on: 14/09/2010
It was no real surprise that in his June emergency Budget, George Osborne increased the rate of Capital Gains Tax from 18% to 28%. In fact, many had expected it to be a aligned with income tax and be charged at up to 40 or even 50%; so the new 28% ra...Posted on: 14/09/2010
The government should consider reducing the 50 per cent income tax rate for high earners if the UK economy is to become more productive and competitive, a leading think-tank has argued.
The Paris-based Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Deve...Posted on: 22/07/2010
Mooted plans to introduce a graduate tax as a way of helping to fund higher education could have the effect of increasing the value of apprenticeships.
City & Guilds, the awarding body for vocational qualifications, has argued that employers in...Posted on: 22/07/2010
Good luck to them. The Coalition Government has announced the setting-up of an ‘Office for Tax Simplification’ to streamline the UK tax code, cut the burden on business and attract foreign investment. George Osborne says that his ‘d...Posted on: 20/07/2010
The news on employment taxes was not particularly good from the Budget on 22 June.
Whereas the significant increase in the personal allowance from next April is welcome, it is not going to benefit anyone paying tax at 40% or more as the basic rate l...Posted on: 14/07/2010
Our latest news:
Harry Redknapp found not guilty?
Oh to have been a fly on the wall in the jury room listening to the deliberations over the verdict in the Harry Redknapp tax evasion trial!...