These are tough times and it's no surprise to see tax in the headlines daily. I get the feeling that almost anything could happen but one thing is pretty clear – developed nations are going to be focusing more than ever on protecting revenues and, in particular, countering evasion and structured avoidance via tax havens. The UK government's record here is not good. More on that (and that Christian Aid report) soon, I hope. In the meantime, the current issue of Tolley's Practical Tax newsletter* has this:
HMRC urged to step up efforts to tackle "serious tax avoidance": the House of Commons public accounts committee has called on HMRC to analyse and explain every year variations in the tax bills of the largest UK companies. Simon's experts talk taxes: a report on the Simon's Taxes inaugural conference. Be prepared to be worried: Mark Lee anticipates an increase in negligence claims and warns tax practitioners that now is not the time to be complacent. And in the newsfile, the Low Incomes Tax Reform Group calls on HMRC to do more to return overpaid tax and claims that delays in handling tax credits complaints are 'unprecedented'.
* TPT is published by LexisNexis. Simon's Tax Briefing has the same content and goes out to Simon's Taxes subscribers.
