Other news in brief

HMRC Mid-Sized Business posted a new tranche of PDCF nudge letters on or around 1 June 2023. Tax teams at potentially affected businesses should therefore be on the lookout for these arriving particularly those submitting Country-by-Country Reports and those that may be perceived to have the indicators of Profit Diversion risk set out in HMRC’s PDCF guidance. The PDCF was introduced in 2019 to give Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) an opportunity to review the design and implementation of their Transfer Pricing policies and make proposals to bring their UK tax affairs up to date. Recipients of a PDCF nudge letter that do not register within 90 days face a potential HMRC investigation. For more background information please see earlier LinkedIn articles on what the latest available HMRC statistics suggest about the PDCF performance and 10 tips to deliver high quality PDCF reports written by Nick Stevart, Transfer Pricing Director at KPMG in the UK. Please speak to Nick or your usual KPMG contact if you receive a PDCF nudge letter or have questions about the PDCF.

The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) is consulting on proposed Pillar Two amendments to IFRS for SMEs Accounting Standard, which are in line with the IFRS IAS 12 amendment published on 23 May 2023. The Exposure Draft International Tax Reform – Pillar Two Model Rules – Proposed Amendments to the IFRS for SMEs Standard is open for comment until 17 July 2023.

HMRC announced in their latest HMRC Agent Update that for the 2023/24 tax year onwards, the threshold for completing self-assessment returns will change. Currently, individuals who earn more than £100,000 have an obligation to file a tax return, however, this threshold will change to £150,000 where an individual’s only source of income is employment income with tax withheld at source. HMRC will contact individuals who currently file tax returns but will not need to under the updated criteria. Please note, individuals who earn less than £150,000 may still need to complete a tax return if they meet one of the other criteria, for example, if they are liable to the High Income Child Benefit Charge or are in receipt of other sources of income. Details of who needs to file a return are set out on HMRC’s website.

The Government has opened a consultation into new draft regulations implementing business rates improvement relief. The intention of the relief, first announced at Autumn Budget 2021, is to ensure that no rate payer will face higher business rates bills for 12 months as a result of qualifying improvements to a property they occupy. The draft regulations detail when a property is eligible and how to calculate the relief. The relief is due to commence from 1 April 2024 and will apply to works completed by 31 March 2028. The consultation will close on 28 August 2023.

With talent attraction and retention a key focus for many employers, and business succession a concern for some founders, Liz Hunter, Director in KPMG in the UK’s Reward practice, looks at how employee ownership has evolved, highlights some new opportunities that employers might pursue this year and shares insights regarding potential changes ahead in her recent blog post.