George Gillham

1 month ago | taxjournal.com | George Gillham |Benjamin M. Craig |Helen McGhee |David Whiscombe

Disclaimer: This is a ‘think piece’ and should not be presumed to be a reflection of the author’s personal viewpoint nor that of Fieldfisher. But let’s discuss it! I remember my tutor on the Inland Revenue inspector training course saying that any experienced tax professional could draft you a fairer and better tax system than our current one on the back of a cigarette packet. Perhaps now is the time to propose a radical simplification of personal taxation.

Nov 24, 2023 | taxjournal.com | Kate Ison |George Gillham |David Whiscombe |Jonathan Athow

It was a quiet Autumn Statement from the contentious tax perspective but there are a couple of small points of interest. Managing tax debts: Tax compliance is set to remain in the spotlight as the chancellor pledges additional funding to HMRC to ensure that everyone pays the tax that they owe. As the government faces a real need to increase tax revenue, the additional funding pledged by the government will be used to bolster’s HMRC’s resource to manage and collect tax debts.

Nov 24, 2023 | taxjournal.com | Paul Aplin OBE |George Gillham |David Whiscombe |Jonathan Athow

On 19 December 2022, the then financial secretary announced a review to examine ‘whether and how MTD for ITSA could be shaped to meet the needs of smaller businesses’. HMRC has consulted widely and the main conclusions of the review were announced alongside the Autumn Statement. The decision on further mandation of MTD for ITSA will be kept under review to enable HMRC to monitor users’ experience through public beta testing. This strikes me as eminently pragmatic.

Nov 24, 2023 | taxjournal.com | Robert Marchant |George Gillham |David Whiscombe |Jonathan Athow

Many SMEs will probably view the Autumn Statement positively. The chancellor spoke about encouraging growth through ‘supply side reforms’ and the cuts to national insurance and changes to incentivise R&D spend are all positive steps. There were also sector specific measures that will be welcomed by those affected, such as reducing regulation and the planning back log for house-builders.

Nov 24, 2023 | taxjournal.com | Mike Lane |George Gillham |David Whiscombe |Jonathan Athow

Making full expensing – 100% first year capital allowances for investment in qualifying plant and machinery – permanent is the headline corporation tax measure from Autumn Statement 2023. In the chancellor’s own words: ‘Worth over £10 billion a year, full expensing is the biggest business tax cut in modern British history.’But it is only worth over £10bn a year in the short term.