Entrepreneurs’ Relief

Entrepreneurs’ Relief is available to individuals and some trustees in respect of capital gains made on the disposal of all or part of a business, business assets if the business has stopped trading and in certain cases shares owned in respect of a business. This relief is aimed at the individual and therefore whilst most…

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Business Premises Renovation Allowance – the basics

Business Premises Renovation Allowance (BPRA) was introduced by the Finance Act 2005 as an incentive to bring derelict or unused properties back into life. The BPRA was designed to run for a period of 5 years from 11 April 2007 and therefore only has a few short months left to run. As with many incentive…

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What will the budget have in store for SDLT?

Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) concessions granted to first time buyers in the 2010 budget come to an end on 24 March this year. The concession, which meant that first time buyers wouldn’t have to pay the 1% SDLT on properties costing between £125,000 and £250,000 has had a fairly limited impact on the housing…

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Post Cessation Trade Relief – a consultation

On 12 January the Government via HMRC announced that it was to take immediate steps to counter tax avoidance resulting from post cessation trade relief. This relief arises when costs or bad debts are incurred which directly relate to a trade, profession or vocation which has ceased. Such costs or bad debts may be allowed…

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Beware the one year window

With the deadline for submitting self assessment tax returns rapidly approaching, we have had a timely reminder of the importance of submitting returns on time. Those wanting to submit a paper return had until last October to do so, leaving on line filing as the only option now open. HMRC will issue a £100 fine…

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A fresh look at property

Mention devolution and thoughts inevitably turn to Scotland and the question of a possible referendum. Against this background and almost slipping under the radar, Wales is quietly increasing its own devolved powers. For example, from 31 December 2011, Wales took full responsibility for its own building regulations. One of the first steps announced by the…

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Taxing the perks

According to the Mail on Sunday, HMRC’s high net worth unit has a new target in their sights, the perks enjoyed by some footballers and their families. Whilst the provision of benefits to employees is a practice which has been around since time immemorial, the regulations on taxable and non-taxable benefits can be complex and…

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2011, a taxing time

As we say goodbye to 2011 and start digesting the many hundreds of pages which make up the draft legislation for the 2012 finance bill; it is perhaps worth taking stock of the year just past and reflecting on what this might mean for the future of taxation. For many, 2011 was the year of…

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Property tax evasion taskforce

Earlier this month, HMRC announced the launch of a task force wit the brief of tackling “tax evasion on property transactions in Greater London”. The taskforce is to target cases where there is a deliberate failure to comply with the Option to Tax regime. The Option to Tax regime basically allows the supply of land…

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EU Threatens Swiss deal

At the end of August we reported on the historic Swiss-UK tax deal which was designed to put an end to tax evasion via Swiss investments whilst maintaining the cherished secrecy of such accounts. This deal was structured to include a one-off payment from Swiss banks to the UK followed by a regular collection of…

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