The main topics from January’s tax update include the news that The Chancellor of the Exchequer has announced that the first spring statement, where the government will respond to the forecast from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), will be held on Tuesday 13 March.

If any business is unable to pay tax on time (because money due to the business has not been received) then HMRC must be contacted before the due date to ask for permission to pay late. HMRC will grant this if permission is sought BEFORE the due date.

Ahead of the reverse charge VAT – which will start in October 2019 – businesses should begin to focus on improving their cashflow control.

In 2017-18 Scottish taxpayers will pay the higher rate of tax (40%) when they earn £43,000 as opposed to £45,000 in the rest of the UK. HMRC is now trying to establish who Scottish taxpayers are and employers are asked to check and maintain a careful record of all changes of address for employees.

For more information, download the latest edition of the Joint Taxation Committee’s Newsline for January here.