Accountancy Daily

Tax / Chancellor sets out radical employment support package to protect jobs

The Chancellor Rishi Sunak has set out a multibillion pound package to protect jobs with a government commitment to pay 80% of salaries for private sector employees who are furloughed during the coronavirus crisis, a three-month deferral of VAT payments until the end of June and self employed will be eligible for statutory sick pay (SSP). Sara White reports
20 Mar 2020

Tax / HMRC needs to ramp up covid-19 time to pay guidance

With monthly PAYE payments deadlines falling due, HMRC is facing calls for more detailed guidance on the time to pay arrangements for taxpayers who are unable to pay their tax due to coronavirus, reports Pat Sweet
20 Mar 2020

Accounting / Bank of England advice on liquidity reporting under IFRS 9

The Bank of England and Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) has issued initial guidance on reporting expected credit loss (ECL) estimates under IFRS 9 Financial Instruments in wake of covid-19
20 Mar 2020

Insight / Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme hiked to £5m

The government has released details about how the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) will work, increasing the maximum value of a facility under the scheme to £5m, up from £1.2m, and said it would be available to businesses with a maximum £45m turnover, reports Sara White 
20 Mar 2020

Insight / Rail services cut in response to covid-19

Following on from a restriction of transport services in London, the government has agreed with rail operators to reduce national rail service levels to help tackle the spread of covid-19
20 Mar 2020

Tax / HMRC pledges ‘step change’ in tackling tax avoidance schemes

HMRC has published details of its strategy to tackle the promoters and enablers of mass-marketed tax avoidance schemes, which includes proactively contacting individuals who enter into such arrangements
20 Mar 2020

Accounting / IASB seeks detailed disclosures on business acquisitions

The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) is seeking views on potential changes to IFRS standards regarding business acquisitions, to make it easier for investors to assess the performance of any acquisitions
20 Mar 2020

Tax / Taxpayer loses 120k expenses claim

A taxpayer who claimed self employment expenses of £120,000 against income of £5,000 has lost a First Tier Tribunal (FTT) appeal against HMRC’s refusal to allow the deductions
20 Mar 2020

Tax / Making Tax Digital serviceability levels too low

HMRC has released a slew of research reports on progress with its flagship Making Tax Digital (MTD) online reporting regime, suggesting that businesses which have fully automated are seeing some benefits, but those with a hybrid approach are finding the transition more challenging
20 Mar 2020

Technical Alerts

Accountancy & Audit / IFRS 17 effective date deferred

19 Mar 2020

Tax / Chancellor tells MPs business loans effective 'beginning of next week'

Chancellor Rishi Sunak told MPs at a Treasury committee hearing the justifications for the government's decision to provide loans not grants for businesses and stressed that detailed guidance would be available from the start of next week, reports Zak Jakubowski
19 Mar 2020

Insight / London’s transport network cut back in face of coronavirus

Transport for London (TfL) has announced major changes to the capital’s transport network which will see Tube and bus services cut back to enable London's critical workers to make essential journeys during the current coronavirus crisis
19 Mar 2020

Audit / Going concern and the revised ISA (UK) 570

The importance of going concern cannot be underestimated when auditors review the financial viability of a business and complete the annual audit. David Duvall, senior technical writer at Croner-i, examines the key issues in the revised going concern audit standard
19 Mar 2020

Insight / Schools to close from Friday

Schools across the UK will be closed from end of play on Friday 20 March due to coronavirus, but children of vital workforce will resume school time
19 Mar 2020

Tax / Chancellor convenes emergency meeting with business groups and unions

Representatives of business groups and the unions attended an emergency roundtable on coronavirus this afternoon hosted by the Chancellor, Rishi Sunak
19 Mar 2020

Tax / Bank of England cuts base rate to 0.1%

The Bank of England has cut the base rate 0.1% and increased its holdings of UK government and corporate bonds by £200bn
19 Mar 2020

Tax / Q&A: coronavirus and statutory sick pay

Statutory sick pay (SSP) is now payable from day one of a sickness absence for qualifying staff due to the coronavirus crisis. Croner Taxwise employment experts explain
19 Mar 2020

Insight / ITV loses eight-year battle over pension scheme deficit

ITV has lost a long-running legal battle with The Pensions Regulator (TPR) and has been given six months to put in place financial support for a pension scheme with a deficit of around £115m
19 Mar 2020

Accounting / Additional postponement for IFRS 17 insurance contracts

The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) has announced a further one-year deferment of the implementation date for IFRS 17 Insurance Contracts, so the effective date for the standard will now be 2023
19 Mar 2020

Tax / Taxman cans paper self assessment forms

HMRC is to stop automatically sending taxpayers paper self assessment forms except for exempt individuals who cannot file digitally
19 Mar 2020

Tax / HMRC consultation aims to improve standards of tax advice

HMRC is seeking views on how to raise and maintain high standards of competence and behaviour in the tax advice market in order to protect consumers and improve compliance
19 Mar 2020

Tax / Consultation on tightening construction industry scheme (CIS) rules

HMRC has launched a 10-week consultation on ways to tackle abuse of the Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) to prevent tax loss, including new powers to correct deductions
19 Mar 2020

Audit / Thomas Cook collapse depletes travellers’ compensation fund

The collapse of Thomas Cook cost the government at least £156m, and has severely compromised the ability of the travel industry’s own compensation fund to cope with another operator’s failure, the National Audit Office (NAO) warns
19 Mar 2020

Tax / HMRC wants large businesses to notify if tax arrangements legally questionable

HMRC is consulting on proposals, first advanced in the Budget, that the UK’s largest businesses will be required to notify HMRC where they have adopted an uncertain tax treatment, in a bid to close the £6.2bn legal interpretation tax gap
19 Mar 2020

Technical Alerts

18 Mar 2020

Tax / IR35 private sector reforms delayed until 2021

The government has announced a one year delay to controversial changes to the off payroll working rules, due to be enacted next month, amid concerns about their potential impact during the coronavirus pandemic, reports Pat Sweet
18 Mar 2020

Tax / HMRC ramps up ethanol approvals for scarce hand sanitiser

Manufacturers of hand sanitisers and gels will have their applications for denatured alcohol – ethanol – fast tracked during the coronavirus outbreak, HMRC has confirmed
18 Mar 2020

Insight / Travelex owner moves towards insolvency

Finablr, the FTSE 250 listed owner of foreign exchange firm Travelex, is in discussions with an unnamed accounting firm with a view to going into insolvency 
18 Mar 2020

Tax / FTT refuses vegan truffle VAT appeal

The manufacturer of a range of vegan truffle balls has failed in a bid to have the product zero rated for VAT as food, with the First Tier Tribunal (FTT) ruling they are a sweet treat for occasional enjoyment rather than a meal replacement
18 Mar 2020

Tax / AAT cancels June conferences

The Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) has cancelled two upcoming conferences due to covid-19 outbreak and closed its London HQ as all staff go to remote working
18 Mar 2020

Tax / Employee counselling added to non-taxable benefit list

Specialist counselling, such as cognitive behavioural therapy, is to be added to the list of non-taxable occupational health services provided by employers, in a bid to support improvements in individuals’ health
18 Mar 2020

Insight / HMRC postpones north east office closures

HMRC has made changes in its office closure plans by extending the life of hubs in Washington and Bradford on a transitional basis
18 Mar 2020

Insight / Covid-19 sees companies develop AGM contingency plans

Guidance on how to arrange and conduct AGMs during the current coronavirus epidemic has been published by ICSA (The Chartered Governance Institute) in conjunction with the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) and law firm Slaughter & May
18 Mar 2020

Tax / £330bn ‘unprecedented’ coronavirus emergency fund

The government has announced a £330bn package of measures to support businesses through the coronavirus crisis from extensive loans and guarantees to business rates relief
18 Mar 2020

Technical Alerts

Accountancy & Audit / IAASB consults on EER Assurance

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