The tax treatment of cars and vans is quite different, with van classification far more beneficial from both an employer and employee perspective. However, the distinction is not always clear-cut, especially where vans have been…
HMRC targets employers over CJRS claims
With reports of two-thirds of furloughed employees continuing to work during the Covid-19 lockdown, despite the initial prohibition of work as an explicit condition of furlough, it is no surprise that HMRC has already written…
Defining ‘adversely affected’ for the self-employed
Many self-employed workers will have already claimed their second, and final, Self-Employment Income Support Scheme grant, but otherwise have until 19 October to do so. A key condition is that the business must have been…
Coping With Brown Envelope Syndrome
It's estimated roughly 100,000 people a year enter one form of formal personal insolvency or another and Covid-19 is likely to significantly increase this figure. This article is written in the hope that it may…
Expanding digital tax strategy
Details of an ambitious ten-year strategy to create a tax system fit for the 21st century have been released alongside Finance Bill legislation. With the rapid growth of information and communications technologies, the aim is…
Remote witnessing of Wills in the era of COVID-19
At a point during the early days of the pandemic, this author, being of a certain age, weight, and ethnic group, took the decision to get his affairs in order – the Coronavirus intensely on…
Insolvency Bill To Help COVID-19 Affected Businesses
A new Corporate Insolvency and Governance Bill, introduced on 20 May, will amend insolvency and company law to support businesses in distress from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Bill, to be fast-tracked through…
HMRC Pauses Inheritance Tax Investigations
HMRC’s recent suspension of IHT investigations during the Covid-19 crisis opens up a brief opportunity for executors to get their IHT accounts in order. HMRC normally investigates around 5,500 IHT cases every year, around 25%…
EAT Announces New Practice Direction on Remote Hearings
Etiquette on the conduct of remote hearings during the current lockdown has necessitated the need for the President of the Employment Appeal Tribunal to revisit the rules. In an announcement made today, 12 June 2020,…