Business and Other Briefings
HMRC: HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has announced a cut in the interest rates charged on late payments and paid on overpayments. The reduced rates cover quarterly instalment payments and early payments of corporation tax not due by instalments. The new rates took effect from 19 January 2009.
LPC: In its current remit, issued in March 2008, the Government asked the Low Pay Commission to report to the Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) by the end of February 2009.
On 14 January 2009, the Commission wrote to the Secretary of State for Business asking for an extension to this deadline. The Secretary of State has agreed to this request and the Commission will now report to the Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Business by 1 May 2009.
HMRC: A podcast looking at how the new tax tribunal system will affect agents is now available to download free from the HMRC website.
Richard Mannion of the Chartered Institute of Taxation and Smith & Williamson questions HMRC's Brian Redford about what changes agents will see, what HMRC has done to get its staff ready and the cost implications for agents, their customers and unrepresented taxpayers.
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