LITRG welcome the introduction of new trading and property income allowances of up to £1,000, both of which can be claimed by individuals from 6 April 2017. We consider these allowances will be helpful for low-earners who may be discouraged from earning a small amount of additional income because of their tax obligations or who are in-between ‘hobby-trading’ and starting a new self-employed busine...
The LITRG welcomes the opportunity to respond to some of the questions in this Financial Conduct Authority consultation on handbook changes to reflect the introduction of the Lifetime ISA. Our main concerns centre around the tax differences between saving in ISAs and saving in pensions, presenting t...
LITRG are concerned that the provisions in clause 91 are drawn far too widely and that they may unintentionally catch unrepresented taxpayers, who have not engaged in the type of tax avoidance that HMRC intend to target. We are strongly opposed to and do not agree with the proposal to reverse the burden of proof, meaning that HMRC will presume the taxpayer has been careless unless they can prove t...
The LITRG welcomes this initiative by HMRC to encourage taxpayers to review their offshore affairs and put them back onto a compliant footing where necessary. The “requirement to correct” requires taxpayers to correct their offshore tax affairs without specific prompting from HMRC. In order for thes...
The LITRG welcomes the broad definition of ‘relevant pensions advice’ under the proposed regulations so that it might include ‘tax issues relating to pensions’ but are concerned that the qualifying £500 exemption sum is too limited and will not go very far in paying for expert advice. We strongly recommend the Government consider increasing the exemption to £1,000 in order to fully cover the cost ...
While LITRG recognises that removing the '90% rule' for taxing foreign pension income in the UK is intended to be a fairness measure and simplify the system, we wish to highlight that those in receipt of a foreign pension are unlikely to view it as such, imposing as it would an additional tax cost o...