The tax and national insurance contribution (NIC) treatment of termination payments has always been an area which employers have struggled to deal with correctly, and over recent years HMRC has looked to simplify the rules, but the latest changes have made the process even more complicated, says Lee Knight is employer solutions director at RSM

The OECD is inviting feedback on a draft practice note designed to help tax authorities in developing countries address profit shifting from their mining sectors via excessive interest deductions by multinationals

The Irish government has reached a deal with tech giant Apple to collect the €13bn (£11.4bn) of disputed back taxes from next month, after the European Commission previously found that Ireland granted the company illegal tax benefits

HMRC is reminding soft drinks businesses that they have only a few days left to meet the 30 April 2018 registration deadline for the soft drinks industry levy (SDIL) or ‘sugar tax’

The number of outstanding tax disputes waiting to be heard by the UK tribunals has continued to rise, as the high profile crackdown on tax avoidance by HMRC continues

HMRC has issued factsheet CC/FS9 on the individual rights of taxpayers who are facing penalties for non-compliance with tax rules, focusing on article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights

HMRC has issued an update to the notice explaining how to import inherited goods into the UK free of duty and VAT, with changes to the section detailing what to do if an individual does not agree with a HMRC decision

Stephen Relf CTA FCA, lead tax writer at Croner-i, examines the pros and cons of dividend payments versus bonuses for owner managed businesses including the implications of cash flow, potential tax savings and profit extraction options

The Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) is calling for an urgent overhaul of what it calls ‘the complex patchwork’ of tax charges and reliefs which apply at various points in the business lifecycle to reduce complexity, make reliefs more accessible and to encourage UK businesses to fulfil their potential

Two out of three MPs believe that government should be clearer on its tax strategy, while three-quarters have called for increased investment in HMRC, according to research from the Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) and ACCA

HMRC has launched a technical consultation seeking comments on workplace charging tax exemptions for electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles which were announced at Autumn Budget 2017

HMRC is exploring ways to tackle those who deliberately abuse the insolvency regime in trying to avoid or evade their tax liabilities, including through the use of phoenixism, and is seeking feedback on a discussion document

Transitional protections from tax which had applied to benefits provided under optional remuneration arrangements (OpRA), such as salary sacrifice schemes, have now ended following the introduction on the 2018/19 tax year, with the ATT warning employers to consider if they need to recalculate the value of benefits for tax purposes

HMRC is inviting views on proposals first announced at Autumn Budget 2017 to tackle avoidance schemes where profits of trades or professions are moved outside the UK tax charge, often using offshore trusts and companies

The amount of tax to be raised via the new soft drinks industry levy, in force from today, has been slashed, with the government claiming the threat of the ‘sugar tax’ has resulted in over 50% of manufacturers reformulating their products in order to avoid the charge, which is now predicted to bring in £240m rather than £520m in its first year