HMRC has increased the tax on property income, savings & dividends
On the 25th November 2025, HMRC quietly published a guidance document on their website which, by and large, went unnoticed by the general public and initially by many in the accountancy profession. This document, not mentioned by Rchel Reeves in her Budget speech just a few weeks earlier, was a tax bombshell which I’m guessing […]
Government to ditch tax consultations
Last week our wonderful government announced plans to scrap consultations for most changes to UK tax policy and the associated law. I’m surprised that the media didn’t pick up on this, bearing in mind the potential risks it could create for public trust. The announcement was made on one of the daily press releases (most […]
Do tattoos put off customers?
According to a recent YouGov survey, 40% of individuals in the 25 to 49 age range, have at least one tattoo and the percentage has been steadily increasing in recent years. But alongside the growth of individuals having a tattoo, is there also greater public acceptance? The answer most commonly is ‘it depends’. So, the […]
HMRC’s DDM plans to raid your bank account are getting closer
HMRC are planning to introduce mandatory direct debits for VAT and PAYE liabilities, but is this really proportionate? Their proposal is intended to reduce late payments and administrative errors, but the question is whether such deductions are really needed, given the relatively modest scale of late payments. Also, have they really considered what the unintended […]
HMRC to compulsory register MTD laggards
HMRC have just announced that they are starting a mandatory signing-up campaign aimed at those taxpayers who should have joined MTD (Making Tax Digital) in April 2026, but haven’t yet done so. The question is, what this means in practice, and what, if anything, do taxpayers need to do right now. The news on registrations […]
The law on working during a heatwave
Today’s Blog for once is not directly about tax and was prompted by a spate of recent of questions I’ve had from clients, regarding the responsibilities of employers to their staff during a heatwave. We are now at the end of the fifth heatwave of the summer with temperatures in many places topping 35C for […]
Council tax reform – what are the options?
Our new Prime Minister first suggested that he might change the Labour Party policy on Council Tax reform during his election campaign for the Makerfield parliamentary seat in June. Whilst on the stump, Andy Burnham made it clear that if elected he would campaign for a fairer method of raising local taxes. Council tax, introduced […]
HMRC, the self-employed and the state pension
In my Blog ‘Millions of workers have inadequate pension provisions’ posted June 18th, 2026, I bemoaned the fact that the vast majority of the UK’s 4.5 million self-employed (SE), are currently making inadequate or no contributions into a private pension scheme for their retirement. Not only are the SE workforce not paying remotely enough for […]
Andy Burnham’s tax options
Today I’ve decided to look into my crystal ball to explore the tax options potentially available to Andy Burnham and his Chancellor John Healey, ahead of the budget scheduled for Wednesday 28th October. Since moving into Number 10, Andy Burnham is clearly a man on a mission. The good news is that on first impressions, […]
How to challenge HMRC
If you have a complaint or any other issue with HMRC, it very much depends on what the problem is, before you attempt to challenge our wonderful tax office, as there a variety of ways to do so. It goes without saying, that choosing the best course of action, very much depends on what exactly […]
