The leading accounting firms in the UK have reported record revenues of £15.75bn with average profits up 5%, in this year's Accountancy Daily Top 75 Accounting Firms Survey, despite a year of harsh criticism of the profession, audit failures and the shadow of Brexit. Sara White analyses the state of the market

The ever daunting volume of tax code leaves taxpayers confused and liable to be caught out by ever more arcane tax rules. Yvette Nunn CTA, founder of Berkeley Associates, gives a candid view of some of the more complex tax traps from compliance with non residential CGT to the risks of falling foul of the annual allowance when saving for a pension 

Reforming international taxation to keep up to date with the digital economy is proving harder than first thought when the G20 asked the OECD to review the rules. Bill Dodwell LLB, LLM, CTA (Fellow), ACA, tax director of the Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) explains

Pension saving may soften triple whammy for higher rate Scottish taxpayers with salary sacrifice reducing tax liability while higher pension contributions can offset higher rate child benefit clawback, explains Kay Ingram, director of public policy at LEBC Group     

With the mandatory deadline to digitally report VAT under HMRC’s Making Tax Digital racing down upon us, Bill Dodwell, senior policy adviser at OTS, says this will not mean an immediate end to spreadsheet reporting as HMRC has accepted that some VAT calculations are just too complicated to comply immediately and more work needs to be done

An ageing population and rising public service costs are putting a strain on the Treasury’s coffers. Torsten Bell and Adam Corlett of the Resolution Foundation argue that the Chancellor could generate £7bn a year by 2022-23 with adjustments to five wealth taxes and subsidies

Graham Elliott CTA (Fellow), director at City and Cambridge Consultancy, examines a selection of VAT cases from VAT and hire purchase on secondary sale of cars in VW Financial Services, input VAT evidence in XipVit and retail vouchers under scrutiny

In our monthly roundup of employment tax developments, Jackie Hall, partner at RSM discusses the impact of entrepreneur’s relief on employee share schemes and the uncertainty caused by the lack of a timeframe for the government’s Good Work plan

The increase in probate fees from April 2019 will impose large costs on many people resolving high-value estates. Yvette Nunn CTA, founder of Berkeley Associates, warns that for some it will no longer be as simple as selling a house in a game of Monopoly

The House of Lords economic affairs committee is right to call for a new review of HMRC powers as the tax authority over-reaches itself with spurious tribunals and exhaustive investigations, not to mention the introduction of a 12-year time limit set out in Finance Bill 2018-19, says John Cullinane CTA, tax policy director at the Chartered Institute of Taxation

Kay Ingram, director of public policy at LEBC, argues that an increase in probate fees puts an unfair burden on bereaved families and discusses what they can do to avoid being required to pay probate fees and inheritance tax upfront

Graham Elliott, VAT specialist at City & Cambridge Consultancy, considers partial exemption on car finance in n VW Financial Services (UK) C-153/17)

Bill Dodwell, senior policy adviser at the Office of Tax Simplification (OTS), examines the controversial digital services tax on giant online multinationals and considers what tax other countries will introduce as a result

The announcement of the Structures and Building Allowance in the Budget marks the return of an old tax relief revamped for the modern era, says Yvette Nunn CTA, founder of Berkeley Associates

Jason Collins, partner, and Penny Simmons, senior practice development lawyer at Pinsent Masons, look at what companies are doing to prevent tax evasion and what more can be done