Lawandtax-news.com favicon LAWANDTAX-NEWS.COM
HOME | CONTACT | RECRUITMENT | ABOUT | LEGAL     
   NETWORK SITES:
   LOWTAX   
   TAX-NEWS   
  PBTG  
   

Country Home Pages

Australia
Bahamas
Barbados
Bermuda
British Virgin Islands
Canada
Cyprus
Dubai
Gibraltar
Guernsey
Hong Kong
Isle of Man
Ireland
Jersey
Labuan
Liechtenstein
Luxembourg
South Africa
UK
US

Daily Tax Quote

New On The Network Today

This feed is published daily with selected new or updated content from across our network. For a list of network sites, many of which feature daily news, see below.

 
06/09 German Cabinet Agrees 'Future Package', Tax-News.com
03/09 South Africa Rejects Mining Tax, Tax-News.com
02/09 New Lowtax Editor Column, by Kitty Miv
01/09 International Privacy and Security, Investors Offshore special feature
31/08 Lowtax Belize, annual update
27/08 IRS To Drop UBS Lawsuit, Tax-News.com
26/08 New Lowtax Editor Column, by Kitty Miv
25/08 New PBTG Editor Column, Caroline, PBTG editor
24/08 Uruguay Stays On OECD Grey List, Tax-News.com
23/08 Don't Forget Doha, And I Don't Mean The Tennis, Jeremy Hetherington-Gore blog entry
20/08 Ireland Plans Social Security Overhaul, Tax-News.com
19/08 New Lowtax Editor Column, by Kitty Miv
18/08 New PBTG Editor Column, Caroline, PBTG editor
17/06 Lowtax Cayman Islands, annual update
16/08 Germany's Fiscal Court Seeks Property Tax Reform, Tax-News.com
13/08 Jurisdiction Special Focus: Antigua and Barbuda, Investors Offshore special feature
12/08 New Lowtax Editor Column, by Kitty Miv
11/08 New PBTG Editor Column, Caroline, PBTG editor
10/08 Brazil Cuts Import Tariffs, Tax-News.com
09/08 Ukraine Tax Code Published, Tax-News.com
06/08 France Plans Reform Of Property Tax Credit, Tax-News.com
04/08 New PBTG Editor Column, Caroline, PBTG editor
02/08 Islamic Finance - The New Mainstream Alternative, Investors Offshore special feature
28/07 New PBTG Editor Column, Caroline, PBTG editor
27/07 UK Launches Raft Of Tax Consultations, Tax-News.com
26/07 Fat Tax On The Menu , Jeremy Hetherington-Gore blog entry
23/07 Sarkozy Seeks 'Fiscal Convergence' With Germany, Tax-News.com
20/07 Singapore Base For Tuvalu OIFC, Tax-News.com
15/07 St Vincent & The Grenadines, Investors Offshore special feature
13/07 Tax- News.com Jersey Review 2010-2011
12/07 Goodbye To All That, Jeremy Hetherington-Gore blog entry
06/07 Hong Kong Full PBTG Guide, added to Personal Business Tax Guide
28/06 Lowtax Dubai, annual update
18/06 Singapore - Another Hong Kong?, Investors Offshore special feature
15/06 Swiss Parliament Approves UBS Agreement, Tax-News.com
08/06 Dubai Full PBTG Guide, added to Personal Business Tax Guide
04/06 Lowtax Panama, annual update
01/06 Lowtax Luxembourg, annual update
03/03 Personal Business Tax Guide, PBTG, has launched!
Providing essential tax news and information for globally mobile artists, contractors, entrepreneurs, professionals, small businesses, sportspersons and entertainers.
 

 
Lowtax Network Sites
Lowtax Network Portal: 'Low-tax' business and investment in the top 50 jurisdictions covered in exceptional detail.
Tax News: Global tax news, continuously updated through the day.
Investors Offshore: The independent offshore and alternative investment guide for expatriates and the globally aware investor. Sponsored by HSBC Bank International.
Law & Tax News: Daily news and background data on tax and legal developments for international business.
Offshore-e-com: A topical guide to offshore e-commerce focused on tax and regulation.
Lowtax Library: One of the web's largest and most authoritative business and investment information sources.
US Tax Network: The resource for free online US taxation information, covering: corporate tax, individual tax, international tax, expatriates, sales and e-commerce tax, investment tax.
NEW! Personal Business Tax Guide: Providing essential tax news and information on business for contractors, entrepreneurs, professionals, small businesses, artists, sportspersons and entertainers.
 
HMRC Criticised Over Tax Case Backlog

by Amanda Banks, Tax-News.com, London Friday, July 23, 2010

The National Audit Office (NAO) has criticised Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs (HMRC) for failing to clear a substantial backlog of tax cases which involve either tax overpayments or underpayments. In a report on the 2009-10 accounts of HMRC, the NAO states that HMRC has not made significant progress in clearing the backlog of tax cases during the last three years.

As of March this year, 18.2m cases were unresolved with as much as GBP3bn in tax refunds likely to be involved. Cases of underpayments, where HMRC may have to recover tax, could amount to GBP1.4bn.

The Head of the NAO said: “The Department has not made enough progress in reducing the backlog of 18.2 million income tax cases where there is potentially overpaid or underpaid tax. It also needs to improve its collection rate for tax credits debt, which is substantially lower than that for tax debts.

Problems with a new IT system are partly to blame for the delays, with the cost of the new system now reaching GBP389m.

"The administration of tax in 2009-2010 by HM Revenue and Customs has been influenced by three broader issues: the recession, which has increased the value of tax debt to be recovered; the pressure on the Department to streamline its processes; and the effectiveness of its information systems," the NAO said.

"Those systems need to be developed so they improve the Department's ability to monitor and assess the targeting and performance of its debt collection campaigns and to design future interventions in the areas of greatest risk," the Audit Office added.

A spokesperson for the Chartered Institute of Taxation claimed that cuts in HMRC’s resources were responsible for the delay in clearing unresolved cases, saying that the cuts have "stretched HMRC to the limit."

Members of the UK2000 Group of independent accountancy and law firms have commented on the Revenue's backlog. One member, Alan Boby, tax partner, Ellacotts, said:

"Yesterday’s report from the National Audit Office suggests that each of the 18 million taxpayers who are part of the backlog are owed an average of GBP150 in overpaid income tax by HM Revenue & Customs."

"These statistics are surprising in two ways. Firstly, government statistics say that the total UK workforce consists of 29 million people which means that a large proportion of them (more than half?) are in the backlog. Secondly, the apparent overpayments of tax averaging GBP150 per person are greater than the increase individuals will face in income tax following the latest Budget!"

“Our experience as accountants is that the efficiency with which HMRC process tax returns and pay tax refunds is extremely variable. In general, self-employed and employed taxpayers are dealt with promptly if they have a tax agent acting on their behalf. However, repayment tax cases (using tax forms R40) are often delayed and if the repayment claim forms are submitted on paper it is often six months before a tax repayment is received by our clients. There is clearly a Luddite penalty for those taxpayers filing repayment claims on paper but these are often the very people that do not easily convert to new technology and cannot afford it anyway! In addition, much of the proprietary software used by tax agents does not cater for online filing of forms R40."

“Recent encounters with tax overpayments show that once tax cases fall into the backlog they take much longer to get resolved and more up-to-date cases are given priority. Furthermore, there is clear evidence that particular tax offices are struggling with resources (for example those dealing with non-residents) and so anything out of the ‘main fairway’ is much more likely to sit in the ‘long grass’.”

The report comes in the same week as the government announced the creation of the new Office for Tax Simplification.

.

THE LOWTAX LIBRARY

One of the web's largest and most authoritative business and investment information sources. Alongside topical, daily news on worldwide tax developments, you can receive weekly newswires or access up-to-date intelligence reports on a range of legal, tax and investment subjects.

FREE TRIAL NEWS SUBSCRIPTION

Our 16 constantly updated intelligence reports cover every important aspect of 'offshore' and international tax-planning in depth, including banking secrecy, the EU's savings tax directive, offshore funds, e-commerce, offshore gaming and transfer pricing. Reports are available for immediate downloading or as subscription services with news pages.

Advertising & Marketing

With over 50,000 qualified readers every month our web-sites offer a number of cost effective, targeted advertising, sponsorship and marketing opportunities:

Display advertising - from 'skyscrapers' to 'buttons'
Content/article submission and sponsorship
Opt-in email marketing
On-line Services Directory listings

Click here to learn more or contact Peter Wiggins on +44 (0)1424 813852 or email him at peter@lowtax.net

News & Content Solutions

Could your corporate web-site or newsletter benefit from incorporating regularly updated news and content tailored to serve your clients' interests? We can provide a variety of maintenance-free news and content solutions that can be seamlessly integrated and dynamically delivered:

Customised, personalised 'own-brand' news services
Newsletter content and management
News Headlines Tickers

Click here to learn more or contact Peter Wiggins on +44 (0)1424 813852 or email him at peter@lowtax.net

IMPORTANT NOTICE: THE LOWTAX NETWORK has taken reasonable care in sourcing and presenting the information contained on this site, but accepts no responsibility for any financial or other loss or damage that may result from its use. In particular, users of the site are advised to take appropriate professional advice before committing themselves to involvement in offshore jurisdictions, offshore trusts or offshore investments. All materials on this site copyright THE LOWTAX NETWORK 1999 to 2010.


All content on this site has been provided by BSIRN.