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One of the motivations for setting up a limited company is that the risk for the shareholders is limited to the investment they have made in the company's shares. A quietly launched consultation document issued by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), which...

Unless they can show that they would suffer hardship as a result, traders who wish to challenge assessments to VAT are first required to pay, or at least deposit, the tax demanded before they can mount an appeal. That requirement has long been highly...

Tax changes that affect residential landlords have sparked a massive sell-off, with 133,000 rental properties likely to be sold in the next year according to a survey by the Residential Landlords Association. In the year ended 31 March 2017, 46,000 let...

Collecting debts is often a long and arduous process, but the use of bankruptcy proceedings can be an effective means of bringing matters to a head. That was certainly so in one case in which a businessman tried, but failed, to avoid bankruptcy in respect of...

There are all sorts of things one can do with trading losses under Corporation Tax (CT), but the fall-back position is that losses can be carried forward and set against the next available profits 'of the same trade'. That sounds very simple...and...

The additional rate of Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) is payable on purchases of 'additional dwellings' such as buy-to-let properties. A recent case dealt with the SDLT implications of the 2015 purchase of a house which the purchaser (a company) intended to...

The rules governing the taxation of termination payments have been tightened with effect from 6 April 2018 by means of legislation to amend Chapter 3, Part 6 of the Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003 . Hitherto, where the employee's contract of...

When HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) suspect serious tax evasion, they will normally launch a full-scale tax investigation into the person they suspect. They use many tools in such investigations and one of the more common ones is to compare the cost of a...

The various VAT 'flat-rate' schemes were originally set up with the ostensible purpose of simplifying the VAT process for those using them, while being essentially revenue neutral for HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). A recent case dealt with a situation in...

One area in which problems may not be anticipated is when a family member's status as a 'genuine' employee is disputed by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). For any expenditure to be deductible for tax purposes, it must be 'wholly and exclusively' made for...