In this blog Emily Deane TEP, Technical Counsel & Head of Government Affairs at STEP, discusses the changes announced in the UK Budget and the impact of STEP’s recommendations on key issues. The UK Budget has delivered some significant developments for the inheritance tax (IHT) regime with measures to be legislated in the Finance Bill… Read More UK government makes major IHT changes that reflect STEP recommendations
The UK government’s incoming reforms to agricultural property relief (APR) and business property relief (BPR) has stunned generational farming families who now face uncertainty as to how the increasing inheritance tax (IHT) burden will impact the long-term viability of their estates. While these reforms aim to refine the tax system, they have sparked significant questions… Read More APR and BPR policy changes – a cause for concern for family estates
It has been a busy start to 2025 for STEP’s UK Technical Committee, which, has diligently articulated several key technical considerations to HMRC regarding the proposed abolition and replacement of the UK’s non-domiciled tax regime. Having carefully considered the content of the Finance Bill 2024-25, STEP’s representations have emphasised the importance of clear guidelines to… Read More STEP representations to HMRC on non-dom changes
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation & Development (OECD) has recently published three new Common Reporting Standards (CRS) Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on its website. The new FAQs were provided by the UK’s HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC). The FAQs relate to the following subjects: Can Reporting Financial Institutions solely rely on the fact that an… Read More OECD adds new questions to CRS FAQs
The Chancellor’s Spring Budget coincided with a challenging set of global circumstances. The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank just days prior emphasised the need for economic confidence, investment and growth here in the United Kingdom. Coined as the ’back-to-work’ Budget, the Chancellor’s focus was on incentivising the skilled workforce to remain in work longer. Among… Read More UK Spring Budget: key updates for STEP’s members
The 1 September deadline has passed for registerable trusts, simplifying the timescale to the same 90 days for all nontaxable trusts. It seems a good time to highlight other simplifications, affecting trusts of insurance policies, which may not be immediately apparent.… Read More How cross-sector collaboration clarified life and health trusts registration protections
The UK’s HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has recently published a review of its powers to tackle poor agent behaviour and uphold standards for its agents. This follows an HMRC call for evidence in 2020 about raising standards in the tax advice market, which STEP responded to. STEP also replied to the consultation through the… Read More HMRC releases report on its review of powers to uphold its standard for agents
The disclosure of cross-border tax planning arrangements under Council Directive (EU) 2018/822 (DAC6) came into force on 1 July 2020 and requires reporting of any persons involved in cross-border arrangements, including loan agreements, payments from a resident of one country to a resident of another, or putting funds in an offshore trust, if one of the… Read More The UK replaces DAC6 with the OECD’s model Mandatory Disclosure Rules (MDR) post-Brexit
Update 11 August 2020: It remains unclear exactly when the proposed Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 will come into force as this is being created by way of a Statutory Instrument, which is subject to the sifting procedure in Parliament. This is a special procedure for EU legislation, and the… Read More STEP welcomes UK government response to Fifth Anti-Money Laundering Directive consultation
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
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