Highlights from the broader tax news for the week ending 12 January 2022, including: an updated process for HMRC’s Employer Helpline; HMRC’s review of input tax recovery for charging electric vehicles; the cessation of two temporary COVID-related measures; and a consultation launched on pillar two.
HMRC updates Employer Helpline process
HMRC has stated that callers to its Employer Helpline must be able to confirm either their PAYE reference or their Accounts Office reference. Without this information, HMRC will be able to provide general advice only. If the caller asks HMRC to provide their references, this will be sent by post to the address held on HMRC’s records and will not be provided over the phone. Read more.
HMRC reviewing input tax recovery for charging electric vehicles
In Revenue & Customs Brief 1 (2021), HMRC has confirmed that it is reviewing how to claim VAT when charging electric vehicles for business purposes where an employee is reimbursed by the employer for the actual cost of electricity used in charging an electric vehicle for business purposes alongside other simplification measures that may reduce administrative burdens in terms of accounting for VAT on private use. Read HMRC’s current guidance on input tax recovery for charging electric vehicles.
Two temporary measures come to an end
Applications for stamp duty and stamp duty reserve tax (SDRT) transfer schemes of arrangement and restructuring plans and SDRT refunds could temporarily only be made by email due to COVID-19. The ability to make applications by post has been reintroduced from 7 January 2022.
HM Treasury launches consultation on pillar two
The consultation, which runs until 4 April 2022, considers how new international tax rules, intended to come into effect from 2023, should be implemented and applied in the UK. The pillar two rules are designed to ensure large multinational firms pay tax of at least 15% on profits in each country in which they operate and will be operated on a country-by-country basis.
As the pillar two model rules were agreed at an international level by over 130 countries in October 2021, this consultation seeks views on its application in the UK, as well as a series of wider implementation matters, including who the rules apply to, transition rules and how firms within scope should report and pay. The consultation also seeks views on the introduction of a UK domestic minimum tax and wider reforms to existing UK BEPS measures. Read more.
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