Archive:April 2024

Please find below all the articles from April 2024.

Online live funerals receive VAT exemption

Monday, April 1, 2024

Funerals that are broadcast online for well-wishers unable to attend in person are
becoming exempt from VAT. During the COVID pandemic, streaming funerals became commonplace due to restrictions on the number of people
gathering. Now, there has been an update to the rules around VAT which means any funerals shown live over the web will not face the charge.

The update
also includes live streaming of a cremation or burial. If VAT has been charged in the past, then an adjustment can be made on future VAT returns.

This…

Bumper IHT receipts set to be new record high

Monday, April 1, 2024

We‘ve seen plenty of speculation before the last two Budgets that Inheritance
Tax would see major reforms. Yet nothing materialised. And the latest figures released by the Treasury show perhaps why there might be
some reluctance to change the rules, with the amount of tax received hitting a record high.

The latest stats have shown that the Treasury looks set to collect £7.54bn in the 2023/24 tax year. That‘s higher than the previous record
of £7.1bn, which was recorded in the 2022/23 tax year.

The Treasury has brought in £6.8bn…

Plans to close HMRC helpline for half a year halted

Monday, April 1, 2024

You may have seen somewhat of a furore breaking out in the media towards the end of the month,
as HMRC announced its tax helpline would shut down for half of the year. Rather than use the phone line, anyone seeking help from HMRC officials would
be faced with using online services such as a chatbot instead. The proposal meant the Self-Assessment line would be closed from 8 April to 30 September.
It follows a trial last year.

However, the Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, appeared to step in and order…

Spring Finance Bill sets shape for tax changes to come

Monday, April 1, 2024

You‘ve probably digested the main news by now from the Spring Budget. Now comes the next
stage:the Spring Finance Bill. The bill was published on 14 March, ensuring that
the measures announced in the Budget take their next steps towards becoming reality.

Whenever a government announces new taxation in a Budget or Spring or Autumn Statement, these plans require statutory (or legislative) authority.
A number of tax changes will now be enshrined into law if the bill passes as expected.

Cuts to National Insurance contributions and the abolition of…