Antony Seely

In December 2015 HM Revenue & Customs published Making Tax Digital - its strategy to implement a new system of digital tax accounts to be used by businesses, the self-employed and landlords. Following a consultation exercise, in July 2017 the Government confirmed its plans to roll-out digital tax returns, but with an amended timetable in light of concerns about the potential impact on businesses. This paper discusses the background to this reform.

This briefing looks in detail at the Withdrawal Agreement negotiated between the EU and UK and finalised on 14 November 2018. It was endorsed by EU Member State leaders at a special European Council summit on 25 November and the UK Prime Minister promoted it in the UK Parliament and around the country. The Agreement was debated at length in Parliament on several occasions and has been voted on three times. But the House of Commons has not endorsed it. A second extension of Article 50 took exit day to 31 October 2019, but once again the UK is faced with the possibility of leaving the EU without an agreement if this agreement or another one is not ratified by the UK and the EU.

This paper gives a brief summary of the structure of inheritance tax before looking at the debates there have been about the tax in recent years.

In the 2017 Budget the Government confirmed that it would introduce legislation to amend the tax treatment of termination payments. Provision to this effect is made by s5 of the Finance (No.2) Act 2017. This note discusses the background to this reform.

A Westminster Hall debate on IR35 Tax Reforms was held on Thursday 4 April 2019. The subject for debate was selected by the Backbench Business Committee. The Member leading the debate was Ged Killen MP.

On Thursday 4 April the House debated a motion relating to the introduction of the 2019 Loan Charge. The subject for the debate had been selected by the Backbench Business Committee.

This paper sets out direct tax rates and principal tax allowances for the 2019/20 tax year, as announced in the 2018 Budget on 29 October 2018. The paper outlines the conditions necessary for eligibility for these tax allowances, and provides a summary of the general tax position in straightforward cases.

This note looks at the way that landlords have been able to offset their finance costs against tax, the changes made to these rules by s24 of Finance (No.2) Act 2015, and the debate there has been over their likely impact. It looks briefly at the introduction from April 2016 of higher rates of stamp duty on the purchase of additional residential properties, as the Government has explicitly linked these two measures as being targeted to help first time buyers.

The Chancellor Philip Hammond presented the 2018 Budget on 29 October. The Finance (No.3) Bill 2017-19 was published on 7 November, and the Bill's Second Reading was on 12 November. It completed its consideration in the House of Commons on 8 January 2019, and the Finance Act 2019 received Royal Assent on 12 February 2019.

This paper looks at the recent debate on taxing aviation, in the context of concerns about the structure of air passenger duty, the rates of tax, and the reform to the structure of APD in the 2014 Budget. The development of APD since its introduction is set out in two other Commons Briefing papers (CBP413 & CBP6426).

Concerns about the impact of aviation on carbon emissions lead the Labour Government to review air passenger duty (APD) in 2008. A number of changes were made to the structure of the tax from November 2009. This historical note discusses this reform.

Air passenger duty (APD) is charged on all passenger flights from UK airports. It was introduced in the November 1993 Budget and came into effect on 1 November 1994. This note discusses the introduction of APD, and the first years of its operation.

In the 2012 Budget the Government announced proposals to introduce a new scheme, to be introduced from April 2013, to allow charities to claim additional payments on small donations - equivalent to the way they may claim tax relief on donations made under Gift Aid. This note gives some background to the scheme and the changes that have been made to it since it was introduced.