HMRC have announced a £1 billion tech procurement contract for "a strategic Core SaaS CRM Platform, along with core and additional supplementary products to meet the full range of eCRM capability". The contract comes after continued criticism of HMRC's systems from the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee.
Missed our SME Tax Updates in April? Here is a summary of the month.
Hello,
It is a bumper week for tax news. On Monday, HMRC published a ‘tax update’ for Spring 2025, making several important announcements, focusing on simplification, administration and reform. A number of consultations were also launched.
The Valuation Office Agency (VOA), the arm’s-length body responsible for valuing properties for council tax and business rates, is being scrapped. It will be brought into its parent department, HMRC, by April 2026 as part of the Government's drive "to slash red tape, increase oversight and ministerial accountability and rewire Whitehall to be more productive and agile".
On 28 April 2025, the Government made several tax policy announcements. These included a delay to the introduction of mandatory payrolling of Benefits In Kind until April 2027, simplifications to the VAT Capital Goods Scheme and revisions to the Check Employment Status for Tax (CEST) tool.
HMRC will close both its Agent and Customer Online Forums from 30 June 2025, according to an email sent to agents. The closures were justified by the increased popularity and use of HMRC’s newer digital online channels.
The Government has published a summary of responses to the consultation ‘The Tax Administration Framework Review: New ways to tackle non-compliance’. It explored ways to simplify and modernise HMRC’s approach to correcting taxpayer inaccuracies.
HMRC have launched a consultation on 'Improving HMRC's approach to dispute resolution'. The consultation is aimed at raising awareness of the current process for resolving disputes and improving overall taxpayer satisfaction when disputes are raised.
In Nicole Behenna-Renton v HMRC [2025] TC09477, the First Tier Tribunal (FTT) found that Multiple Dwellings Relief was available on an annexe and main dwelling where each were individually capable of meeting the requirements for being a single dwelling.
HMRC have published their Agent Update for April 2025. We have summarised the key content with links to our detailed guidance on the topics covered. This month's update includes PAYE Settlement Agreement (PSA) determinations for 2023-24 and the latest on reporting company appointments for the Corporate Interest Restriction (CIR).
