As the title of Alexei Sayle’s acclaimed autobiography reminds us, school teachers are used to feeble excuses. So is HMRC. Each year on its website, we are entertained by examples of excuses offered...
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Robin Williamson
Robin Williamson MBE CTA (Fellow) is an author and commentator on tax and welfare issues. He was formerly a senior policy adviser at the Office of Tax Simplification and technical director of the Low Incomes Tax Reform Group of the Chartered Institute of Taxation.
Recent Posts
The PAYE underpayment conundrum
By Robin Williamson
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Tax
17th January 2020
The PAYE underpayment conundrum The recent case of Goldsmith looked at how HMRC collects PAYE underpayments, with some interesting points on when they can validly issue a notice to file a tax return.
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New government, new pension fixes?
By Robin Williamson
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Tax
6th January 2020
‘A number of workers, disproportionately women, who earn between £10,000 and £12,500 have been missing out on pension benefits because of a loophole affecting people with net pay pension schemes....
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Tax on pension savings: Not what the doctor ordered
By Robin Williamson
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Tax
12th November 2019
One of the many tax stories to stir strong feelings in recent months is the high marginal tax rates borne by higher-paid public servants whose pension contributions exceed their annual allowance....
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Auto-enrolment: Caught in the net?
By Robin Williamson
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Tax
22nd October 2019
As many of us are living longer than our forebears and enjoying more years of leisure after our working lives, getting the right pension provision for ourselves becomes ever more important. Yet...
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Tooth: Court of Appeal decision cuts two ways
5th September 2019
In HMRC Commrs v Tooth [2019] EWCA Civ 826 (heard on 2 April 2019), the Court of Appeal reaffirmed that, in order for there to be a ‘discovery’ under TMA 1970 s 29, HMRC had to reach a conclusion...
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Tax powers and taxpayer safeguards: Lords quiz Government Minister
9th August 2019
Ever since the Parliament Act 1911 which ended the House of Lords’ ability to amend or block fiscal legislation, finance bills and raising taxes have been the exclusive preserve of the House of...
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HMRC urged to learn from complaints
By Robin Williamson
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HMRC
2nd July 2019
In her Annual Report for 2019, the Adjudicator Helen Megarry describes improvements in her Office, both in how complaints from the public are handled and in the time taken to deal with them. She...
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Simplifying tax for smaller businesses
10th June 2019
In May, the Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) published its report Simplifying everyday tax for smaller businesses, the second of two reports requested by the Chancellor of the Exchequer to...
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Chargeable event gains: A ‘just and reasonable’ remedy?
26th March 2019
When an individual surrenders part of a life policy, a chargeable gain is triggered equal to the surrender proceeds less 5% of the premium for each year that the policy has been held. This method...
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