Author Archives: bwmwp

The stamp duty land tax-free threshold in England and Northern Ireland reduced last month, as the tax holiday introduced in July 2020 began to be phased out.  The first cliff edge for residential property buyers came and went on 30 June 2021, marking the end of a three-month extension announced on 3 March 2021. Buyers … Continued

The UK’s research and development (R&D) tax credit system is failing to prompt companies to increase spending and could prove a “costly failure”, a report claims.  The Centre for Business Research (CBR) said aggregate business expenditure on R&D in the UK is as much as 15% lower than it was before the scheme was introduced … Continued

The Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) is to explore changing the end of the tax year from 5 April to either 31 March or the end of the calendar year. The OTS published a document last month setting out the scope of a review into the benefits, costs and wider implications of changing the date. … Continued

Almost 2,000 people who thought they’d reduced the values of their estates by making gifts have seen an inheritance tax break stripped away.  Inheritance tax is charged at 40% on individual estates worth more than £325,000, and this can double for married couples. Other allowances and exemptions are available to increase this threshold or taper … Continued

The 5% VAT repayment supplement is set to be replaced with the 0.5% repayment interest rate for accounting periods beginning on or after 1 April 2022.  VAT repayments are usually made within 30 days of HMRC receiving a business’s VAT return, but the tax authority can enquire into the VAT return before processing the repayment. … Continued