HMRC has published details on its refund scheme for taxpayers who made voluntary payments of income tax or national insurance prior to a change in the rules regarding the loan charge. The loan charge, which came into effect on 6 April this year, applies to anyone who used ‘disguised remuneration’ schemes. The legislation added a […]

The UK economy is ‘still stuck in first gear’, with many businesses operating at half their pre-coronavirus (COVID-19) capacity, according to the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC). The BCC’s Coronavirus Impact Tracker found that over half of businesses were suffering from reduced demand. In fact, customer demand and possible future local lockdowns were rated the […]

Confidence in the UK’s small business sector is starting to bounce back, according to a quarterly survey conducted by Hitachi Capital Business Finance (HCBF). The HCBF survey reported that the number of UK small businesses predicting growth has almost doubled in just three months, from 14% to 27%. Following last quarter’s report, which saw the […]

UK businesses have now borrowed over £46 billion through the government-backed schemes that are helping firms during the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis, according to the latest figures from the Treasury. In total, £46.3 billion has now been lent to over 1.1 million businesses through either the Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS), the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan […]

The UK economy shrank by 19.1% in the three months to the end of May as the country struggled under the coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown, according to the latest data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The UK economy began to bounce back in May, growing by 1.8% as lockdown restrictions began to ease. However, […]

The tax gap fell to an estimated 4.7% for the 2018/19 fiscal year, its lowest recorded rate, according to the latest data from HMRC. The tax gap is the difference between tax that should be paid and what is actually paid. HMRC said there is a long-term downwards trend from the figure of 7.5% estimated […]

The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has warned that the government will need to raise taxes in order to pay for the economic support measures announced by Chancellor Rishi Sunak in the Summer Economic Update. The cost of the Chancellor’s economic support measures has risen to £190 billion, according to recent data. The Summer Economic […]