SME Tax News

The government has released a consultation addressing the potential VAT implications of recent case law developments on the Private Hire Vehicle (PHV) sector and its passengers.

Loss-making R&D Intensive Small or Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) based in Northern Ireland will not be subject to any restrictions on relief for overseas Research & Development (R&D) up to a limit of £250,000 in any three-year period. 

In Jessica Harjono & Anor v  HMRC [2024] TC09107, another taxpayer failed to persuade the First Tier Tribunal that a paddock let on a market rate rent from the day of completion was non-residential land.

In HMRC v Innovative Bites Limited [2024] UKUT 95 (TCC), the Upper Tribunal (UT) confirmed that Mega Marshmallows are food but not confectionery and should be zero-rated for VAT.

The First Tier Tribunal (FTT) found that an individual who bought a property on behalf of his brother, after the bankruptcy of the latter, was holding it on resulting trust. He was not the beneficial owner of the property and was not subject to tax on its disposal.

The Court of Appeal rejected the argument that there was no requirement to withhold tax on interest payments made to a UK resident company. Viewed realistically the UK resident company was not 'beneficially entitled' to the assigned interest payments.

HMRC has continued to review the data from the Pandora Papers and a further tranche of letters is being issued from 8 April.  These letters will include an extended response time of 60 days.

The Court of Appeal (CoA) has found that an individual, who resigned from a farming partnership in 2010, was entitled to the value of her share of partnership assets at retirement, despite no financial terms of retirement having been agreed.

Accountancy Service Providers (ASPs) and Estate Agent Businesses (EABs) are topping the lists of the types of professions that have received punitive levels of penalties for failure to register their business under the Money Laundering Regulations MLR.