STEP has received an unprecedented number of enquiries regarding Mr Steven Long and the companies of which he is a Director, namely Universal Tax Solutions of Dencora House, 34 White House Road, Ipswich, Suffolk, IP1 5LT, which traded as Universal Wealth Preservation. Associated companies include Universal Asset Protection Ltd and Universal Trustees Ltd. Mr Steven… Read More Are you a client of Universal Wealth Preservation?
It’s been a busy few months at STEP. Our public-facing website advisingfamilies.org marked its first birthday on 22 May. Launched as part of a wider campaign to raise public awareness of STEP and TEPs, the site has clocked up over 130,000 visits, and over 700 followers on social media. Members and their firms have done… Read More What’s been happening at STEP in England and Wales?
Update: 4 September 2018 HMRC would like to notify members regarding a mismatch problem with the SA950 Trust and Estates Tax Return Guide and the SA900 2017/18. The original guidance notes indicated that untaxed interest could be declared at boxes 9.2 to 9.4 when in fact, if box 9.3 is populated with ‘0’, automatic capture… Read More The future of the Trust Registration Service
The UK government has accepted an amendment to the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Bill which requires the Overseas Territories to establish public registers showing the beneficial ownership of companies. The amendment, introduced by Labour’s Margaret Hodge and backed by MPs from all the major parties, commits the government to assisting the Overseas Territories in setting up… Read More UK agrees company public registers for Overseas Territories
STEP was invited to attend the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Private Sector Consultative Forum in Vienna on 23-24 April. The event consisted of several breakout sessions relating to FATF’s global priorities for Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Counter Terrorist Financing (CTF) in 2018. As part of the Forum, Cecil Ferguson TEP, Chair of STEP Bahamas… Read More STEP Bahamas reports to the FATF Forum in Vienna
When the European Union announced its blacklist of jurisdictions judged not to be cooperative on tax in December 2017 it granted several nations in the Caribbean extra time to change their tax systems to meet EU standards. That revised deadline has now passed and the EU’s finance ministers have approved a number of changes. The… Read More EU finance ministers approve changes to blacklist
After much debate and scrutiny, an EU blacklist of jurisdictions deemed not to be cooperative on tax matters has been agreed. The announcement came following a meeting of the EU’s Economic and Financial Affairs Council, attended by the finance ministers of each Member State. The list, officially called the Common EU List of Non-Cooperative Jurisdictions,… Read More EU tax haven blacklist confirmed
Three years ago, the UK government’s Autumn Statement 2014 announced a review of the Gift Aid donor benefit rules with the intention of simplifying them. Following a call for evidence, it launched a consultation on 18 February 2016 setting out a range of options. The responses helped develop specific proposals for reform, which were set… Read More The UK Budget and donor benefit rules for charities
Update: 19 October HMRC has asked us to disseminate the following: ‘The new TRS is now available for agents to use. As part of this online process, agents will be taken through the steps to create an Agent Services account before they can register on behalf of trustees. Agents use the link from http://www.gov.uk/trusts-taxes/trustees-tax-responsibilities to… Read More Update: TRS now open to agents
Agents remain unable to access the Trust Registration Service (TRS) after technical errors were identified in the system, HMRC has confirmed. However, the deadline for completing the register of a trust for self-assessment and providing beneficial ownership information remains 5 December 2017. This news comes shortly after HMRC published its comprehensive guidance for the new… Read More Technical hitches remain for access to UK Trust Registration Service
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