Small businesses will get a refund on statutory sick pay (SSP) during the covid-19 crisis, health minister tells parliament

The Chancellor has set out plans for a Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme to underwrite 80% of the salaries of workers if they have to be temporarily laid off, but the system could be open to abuse and details are limited, reports Sara White

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

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

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

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

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

Members of the House of Lords are not buying into IR35 confusion as ‘suddenly they did not understand it when more tax is being collected’

Some recruitment agencies are passing on the costs of IR35 assessments to contractors even though liability for the decision will legally remain with the original engager

The Budget saw the maximum employment allowance increase by £1,000 to £4,000 from April 2020, but the government has held firm on plans to restrict the relief to employers with a NICs' bill of under £100,000

Mark Cawthron LLB CTA examines a series of recent case decisions from celebrity TV presenters to IT contractors to understand the reasoning behind the rulings on use of personal service companies, and HMRC’s one in three success rate

HMRC has won a First Tier Tribunal (FTT) against an IT contractor who contested almost £75,000 in taxes and national insurance contributions (NICs) due under off-payroll rules

The government has confirmed that it will waive the three-day rule for statutory sick pay to kick in for workers self-isolating due to coronavirus

The key HMRC filing deadlines including payment of outstanding income and capital gains tax for 2018-19 personal tax returns and corporation tax fourth quarterly instalment payment

In this month’s round up of tax news, TV presenter Eamonn Holmes loses IR35 appeal, accountant loses goodwill dispute with HMRC, Vodafone faces £5.4bn Indian tax bill, Sports Direct swerves Belgian VAT charge and IR35 soft landing penalties