Tax First - November 2009

In this issue we look at the impact of recent European Court of Justice decisions and the use of HM Revenue & Customs’ (HMRC) information powers in connection with the personal tax disclosure opportunities. We also examine the clampdown on debt buybacks, as well as the issue of compound interest on VAT.

The proposed changes to the US tax regime are pertinent to US-held UK companies, and could have significant impact for those with defined benefit pension schemes. We outline the proposed changes and the possible issues.

HMRC’s simplification of the 'automatic permission' to opt to tax was introduced on 1 May 2009, a change which could impact on the VAT that companies pay on property portfolios. We highlight this simplification as well as a recent PwC Financial Services Alert and the European Commission’s latest proposal regarding carousel fraud.

The Companies Act 2006 update looks at the key changes that have now come into force, whilst, following on from last month’s overview of the Senior Accounting Officer (SAO) legislation, we bring you an update on the survey results from our recent ICTA seminar on the subject of SAO. 

To round of the issue, we feature the training seminars offered by PwC’s Client Tax Training team and explain the benefits of external training for tax staff.