Following the introduction of IR35 legislation in April to the private sector, there has been some concern that fishermen operating through their own personal service companies (PSC’s) would be caught under these new rules. The impact of the legislation for those within the IR35 rules means payments made to the PSC will now be operated via payroll with Income Tax and National Insurance Contributions deducted at source rather than the much lower Corporation Tax rate applying to profits within the PSC. This will also remove the opportunity for contractors to draw dividends from their PSC from inside IR35 income, which would have seen them benefit from lower tax rates. Businesses which engage with PSC’s are responsible for assessing the status under IR35 unless they qualify for the Small Companies Exemption.

HMRC routinely promote the benefits of filing Self Assessment Tax Returns early, and we agree that there are many advantages to doing so. One such benefit is that it enables you to ascertain and manage your tax payments.

Following what has been a very challenging 16 plus months for Energy Sector businesses, along with most other business, the world is starting to settle back into ‘normality’, whatever that may be now.  

Following HMRC’s drive to aid the economic impact of the COVID 19 pandemic and a surge in recent enquiries into tax affairs of individuals and companies alike, HMRC have confirmed that e-money value transfer systems and Crypto assets are on their watchlist of assets they will be looking closely into. This is particularly the case, since it is known such assets are commonly used by organised crime. HMRC now receives information from crypto exchanges on transactions carried out by crypto asset investors based in the UK and may also receive information on crypto asset transactions under the Common Reporting Standard. 

The UK tax year runs to 5 April, however, The Office of Tax Simplification ‘OTS’ recently published a document (June 2021) setting out its intention to review the benefits, costs and wider implications of changing the end of the tax year to either 31 March or 31 December. 

The most recent easing of restrictions across most of the country has resulted in a controlled resumption of travel, return to work, house moves and socialising in homes as we manoeuvre out of the Covid-19 pandemic. This has come as a relief to everybody, and none more so than those in the Construction industry.