Past Issues Archive
This archive covers all the articles that appeared in the magazine at least 6 months ago. Enjoy.
June / July 2025
What’s up with Making Tax Digital for Income Tax? by Robyn Milstead
No group affected by the proposed changes to the tax regime is properly prepared: not advisors, not taxpayers – and not even HMRC themselves,...
Welcome to Robyn and a different take on MTD by Tony Margaritelli
We hope you enjoy this issue, packed with features hand-picked to help you do your job better, writes Tony Margaritelli.
Welcome to the latest edition...
Time to blow the whistle? by Nicholas McLeman
Nicholas McLeman considers HM Treasury’s new incentive scheme to tackle tax evasion.
In March 2025, the UK Treasury unveiled a package of new initiatives, including...
Red letter days by Paul Rosser
How fair to claimants and advisors is HMRC’s seemingly scattergun approach to issuing FIS letters? Here Paul Rosser shares some thoughts.
Back in 2022, it...
Proceed with care by Andrew Hopkins
Andrew Hopkins explains the changes to how HMRC views VAT grouping within the care sector.
On 24 April 2025, HMRC published Revenue and Customs Brief...
IHT alert: are you in HMRC’s crosshairs? by Danielle Ford
Danielle Ford explains the raft of recent changes to the inheritance tax regime, set to be rolled out in the coming months and years.
HMRC...
Going for broke by Elliot Green
Elliot Green explains what happens when the voluntary liquidator investigates directors of insolvent companies.
The relationship between liquidator and director does not always finish up...
Funding matters by Matthew Sharp
Matthew Sharp asks: is it possible to get funding for tax disputes?
The familiar problem is this: a tax disputes adviser – solicitor or accountant...
Fighting the good fight by Sarah Scala
Sarah Scala explains the ethos behind the Contentious Tax Group, and describes its modus operandi
I have been a regular contributor to HMRC EIP magazine...
Are they really listening? by Richard Edwards
Richard Edwards highlights the human cost of HMRC tightening access to R&D tax relief.
Over the past 18 months, much has been written about HMRC’s...
ADR: tips for success by Gary Brothers
In this final instalment of his trilogy on the Alternative Dispute Resolution process, Gary Brothers provides some practical tips on how to achieve a...
April / May 2025
The good, the bad and the ugly by Gary Brothers
In the second of a three-part series, Gary Brothers talks through some of the cases his firm has taken through the Alternative Dispute Resolution...
Taming the future by Fiona Campbell
Fiona Campbell outlines the path for a future of responsible AI deployment in the UK Artificial intelligence (AI) is no longer a vision of...
Tackling the schemers by Amanda Perrotton
HMRC is finally fighting back against the promoters of anti-avoidance schemes. Amanda Perrotton explains all.Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT), introduced in the Finance Act...
Mind the tax gap by Nicola Kelleher
Nicola Kelleher explains the ways by which HMRC can close the tax gap.The tax gap was estimated at £39.8 billion or 4.8% of tax...
Is this the best HMRC can do? by Tony Margaritelli
Tony Margaritelli highlights a case where the tax authority consistently failed a taxpayer – then simply recommended she complain.In March I came across a...
Is HMRC really closing in on promoters? by Mala Kapacee
Mala Kapacee runs the rule over HMRC’s latest move to tackle tax avoidance. So will it really tackle the deep-lying issues?HMRC has (finally) had...
How small is small? by Dave Chaplin
How do the changes to small business thresholds affect IR35/off-payroll? Dave Chaplin explains all.The government’s recent changes to the ‘small company’ thresholds are designed...
Gino’s Contraband: a sorry tale by Tony Margaritelli
Tony Margaritelli reviews a tale of HMRC failing an honest person (sorry ‘customer’).I picked up the book ‘Gino’s Contraband’ following a posting by Dave...
Future perfect? by Paul Rosser
Paul Rosser charts the rise and rise of AI in the tax consultancy space.Like most advances in technology, people don’t really pay much attention...
A question of Control by Seb Maley
Seb Maley explains how the impact of a long-running and undecided employment status case is already playing out.The issue of employment status never seems...
A load of junk by Nick Davies
Nick Davies comments on the recent case of Rohit Kotecha v HMRC, in which an application to reinstate an appeal was successful despite the...
February / March 2025
An inspirational poll by Gary Brothers
In a three-part series, Gary Brothers examines the Alternative Dispute Resolution process, starting with an overview of what ADR is.I recently ran a poll...
Softly, softly… by Sarah Mawson
Nudge letters are a powerful tool for tax compliance, says Sarah Mawson.It’s no secret that HMRC’s use of nudge letters has become a key...
It’s good to talk by Waqar Shah
Waqar Shah explains why mediation is very often the best course to take to resolve a contentious tax matter with HMRC.In a perfect world...
Out in the cold by Paul Rosser
Paul Rosser explains how a fridge landed an R&D advisor in hot water.It was back in August 2021 when a Robert Paterson, MD of...
Employment Rights Bill: the lowdown by Rhiannon Davies
Rhiannon Davies outlines the implications of the ERB and explains what organisations need to do to comply with it.The Employment Rights Bill (ERB), announced...
Disguised Remuneration: a possible resolution by Matt Hall
Matt Hall focuses on what he hopes will be the denouement of the Loan Charge ‘scandal’.In the 2024 Autumn Budget, the government promised to...
The Loan Charge scandal: what next? by Matt Hall
Matt Hall explains the part HMRC had to play in the so-called Loan Charge scandal.The announcement on 23 January 2025 of the Loan Charge...
Expat-ily ever after? by Andy Wood
Andy Wood asks: are the changes announced in the Autumn Budget 2024 a fairy tale for long-term expats?Once upon a time – so the...
PAC pulling no punches by Simon Watkins
The Public Accounts Committee has slammed HMRC’s ‘kid gloves’ approach to tax gap and criminal prosecutions, writes Simon Watkins of TaxWatch.A political scuffle has...
Cryptocurrency: the UK tax implications by David Conway
HMRC is taking a greater interest in the tax affairs of crypto investors, so make sure clients know the rules, says David Conway.
From talk...
Choose one! by Mark McLaughlin
Mark McLaughlin looks at HMRC discovery assessments issued on an alternative basis.
Some years ago, there was a sketch on the satirical television show Spitting...
December / January 2025
‘Baseless’ concerns – or not? by Tony Margaritelli
HMRC needs to take a long, hard look at how it manages the nation’s tax affairs and how it deals with taxpayers, says Tony...
You told me to do it… didn’t you? by Mark McLaughlin
Mark McLaughlin looks at whether an innocent misunderstanding of advice given by HMRC can represent a reasonable excuse for penalty purposes.
Tax practitioners of a...
Why HMRC is part of the R&D problem by Paul Rosser
Paul Rosser explains the true cost of the R&D tax relief scandal and reveals who is to blame.
As I’ve written about previously, those behind...
The CIS: some cautionary tales by David Brindley and Jas Jhooty
David Brindley and Jas Jhooty set out some of the common pitfalls in the Construction Industry Scheme (CIS), including examples of where things can...
New ways to tackle non-compliance by Mala Kapacee
Mala Kapacee runs the rule over the Tax Administration Framework Review, and questions whether it will make tax collection more efficient and fairer.
As often...
IR35 and intermediaries: have we lost the plot? by Peter Vaines
Peter Vaines bemoans the lack of clarity and uniformity when it comes to decisions around individual’s tax bills – particularly when it comes to...
How’s your luck? by Andrew Park
Data shows a huge variation in success rates in challenging decisions across HMRC departments, writes Andrew Park.
Decisions taken against taxpayers by HMRC vary considerably...
Gone but not forgotten? by Gary Brothers
Gary Brothers probes HMRC’s ongoing pursuit of ‘rogue’ company directors by lifting the ‘corporate veil’.
In what seems like forever ago now, Schedule 13 Finance...
Fast forward by Sara Scala
The Contentious Tax Group’s Sarah Scala explains the steps to take to speed up an HMRC enquiry.
There is no limit on how long HMRC...
Budget buzz: unpacking tax disputes by Sarah Mawson
The farmers may have hogged the spotlight, but there were plenty of other matters arising from Rachel Reeves’ first Budget, writes Sarah Mawson.
The recent...