MTD deadline and four open consultations: the July JTC Newsline
The latest issue of the Construction Industry Joint Taxation Committee Newsline is out now, and there is plenty in it for scaffolding and access businesses to be aware of, including one deadline coming up quickly.
The first quarterly update under Making Tax Digital for Income Tax is due on 7 August. This applies to those with a qualifying income of more than £50,000. The JTC makes the point that a quarterly update is not a tax return, and there is no need to make accounting or tax adjustments before sending it. You do not need an agent to submit it on your behalf, but you do need suitable software, and HMRC has published a video explaining how to choose it.
Making Tax Digital also features in the annual report of the HMRC Charter Stakeholder Group, which the JTC describes as depressing reading. Feedback from respondents on MTD was overwhelmingly negative, with concerns raised about added cost and administration, reliance on software, the burden of quarterly reporting and confusing processes. There was little confidence in HMRC's ability to cope with the demands of the system given existing service issues, and a general view that it offers little practical value to smaller businesses and their agents.
Four consultations are currently open. HMRC is consulting on predevelopment costs following the Orsted West of Duddon Sands case, in which survey and study costs incurred before an offshore windfarm could be built were disallowed for capital allowances purposes. HMRC is asking what kind of expenditure should be allowable, and the consultation closes on 21 September.
There is also a consultation on a proposed new criminal offence of making reckless untrue statements or declarations in direct tax, which would bring direct taxes into line with the existing regime for indirect taxes such as VAT. That one runs until 16 August.
On building safety, a new consultation is looking at proportionality and safety outcomes in repairs to high risk buildings. It asks whether the definition of emergency repairs should be widened to cover more types of work, whether a separate route is needed for critical works, what further guidance would help, and which emergency works might be suitable for self-certification through a Competent Person Scheme. It covers England only and is open until 3 September.
Elsewhere, the government has published its response to the consultation on a single Construction Regulator, the post-Grenfell proposal put forward by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. The JTC notes that the response carries the disclaimer that it was published under the previous administration, and that with Angela Rayner having replaced Steve Reed as housing minister, priorities may now differ. The response to the Land Remediation Relief consultation, which looked at whether the Corporation Tax relief still encourages brownfield redevelopment, carries the same disclaimer.
Finally, anyone still caught up in the loan charge dispute should be aware that an updated settlement scheme is in place following the review by Ray McCann. Those affected should be contacted by HMRC and allocated a personal caseworker, and there is an email address to use for anyone who has not heard.
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