The first STEP Virtual STEP UK Annual Tax Conference was held on 26 June with over 800 people attending online. The day was a radical departure for STEP, with conventional meetings postponed or cancelled due to COVID-19. While it did include some glitches, attendees have the opportunity to catch up on any material they missed,… Read More STEP’s first Virtual UK Annual Tax Conference
HM Revenue & Custom’s (HMRC) compliance team has identified the five most common errors made by UK administered trusts which are Financial Institutions (FIs) when fulfilling their obligations under the International Tax Compliance Regulations 2015. These obligations relate to Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI) which includes the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) and the Foreign Account… Read More The five most common reporting errors for trusts to avoid
HMRC’s Trusts and Estates team met with the Agents Advisory Group and Capital Taxes Liaison Group in May and provided the following updates: Operational update Despite the unique challenges presented by the current COVID-19 situation, inheritance tax and trusts operational areas are currently meeting all key targets and processing post and new accounts within published… Read More Update from HMRC’s Trusts and Estates team
Update 25 August 2020: HM Courts & Tribunal Service (HMCTS) has provided some further guidance in relation to submitting England and Wales probate applications in the correct format: If you have lodged an application through the online portal using your registered account you do not need to send any application forms, when you send in… Read More HMCTS announces interim operational arrangements
This week we publish a short report reflecting on the use of PCRT (Professional Conduct in Relation to Taxation) by the professional bodies since the Standards for Tax Planning were added in March 2017. STEP became a signatory to PCRT in 2011 following its inception 25 years ago by the other UK tax bodies. PCRT… Read More PCRT: Continuing to raise professional standards
Following a query raised on the Trusts Discussion Forum, STEP’s UK Technical Committee has been considering the capital gains tax consequences of a deed of variation of a will in circumstances where the asset which is the subject of the variation has already been disposed of by the original beneficiary. The specific issue raised was… Read More Update on HMRC’s Capital Gains Tax Manual
The UK government laid a statutory instrument on 15 January 2020, which increases the net sum that a surviving spouse or civil partner is entitled to receive in England and Wales where a person dies intestate leaving issue (children). The new legacy has been increased from GBP250,000 to GBP270,000, and will come into force on… Read More UK government raises statutory legacy in England and Wales
STEP is aware that many members are looking for clarification as to how GDPR should be interpreted in the context of trusts and estates. STEP’s Data Protection Working Group has made submissions to, and had discussions with, the Information Commissioner’s Office on this topic, and intends to publish guidance early next year (most likely in… Read More GDPR and trusts and estates: new guidance coming
Updated 24 March 2020: HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) has launched new standard application forms for professional practitioners. Three of the grant of representation forms have been redesigned for the professional sector. These are the PA1A (applying for grant of letters of administration), PA1P (applying for a grant of probate) and PA8A (applying for… Read More Progress on UK probate delays
I passed a busy few days in Sao Paulo last week at the STEP LatAm Conference, where I was representing STEP, together with our Chair, Simon Morgan TEP. The regional committee meeting and first networking reception set the tone for meeting many of our professional members, and it was a great pleasure to meet so… Read More Meeting new friends and old at the STEP LatAm Conference in Sao Paulo
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