Other news in brief

KPMG in the UK’s tax policy experts, Tim Sarson and Sharon Baynham, and Deputy Head of External Affairs, Stuart Burt, recently met with former adviser to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Director General in HM Treasury, and Executive Chair and Permanent Secretary at HMRC, Edward Troup. In this video the four discuss the tax policy landscape at, what was then, two weeks on from the UK 2024 General Election.

On 30 July 2024, HMRC published their annual report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2024. The accounts show total tax revenue collected of £843.4 billion with £41.8 billion of tax “protected by tackling avoidance, evasion and error”. Alongside this was published the HMRC Charter annual report for 2023 to 2024. The HMRC Charter sets out the relationship between HMRC and taxpayers, what taxpayers can expect from HMRC and the behaviours HMRC expect of them. This latest report acknowledges that HMRC “faced serious challenges in delivering our customer services because of financial pressures and the need to manage a growing number of customers with complex tax affairs. This meant customers who needed to speak to us sometimes struggled to get the help they needed.” Also published on the same day were three of HMRC’s most important annual research studies: the Large Business Customer Survey 2023, the Mid-sized business customer survey 2023 and the Individuals, Small Businesses and Agents Customer Survey 2023.

HMRC have published new guidance on their view of the conditions that must be met for workplace nurseries provided by an employer in partnership with a commercial provider to be exempt from income tax as a benefit-in-kind. Where relevant, employers should ensure that any arrangements they operate in partnership with a commercial nursery provider comply with the conditions for income relief.

Following successive reductions to the annual dividend and capital gains tax (CGT) allowances in 2023/24 and 2024/25, more employees than before will be required to report and pay tax on dividends and capital gains associated with shares acquired through employee share plans. HMRC have published new employee guidance on these personal tax reporting obligations. We will look at what employers might consider doing as part of their employee share plan communications to support affected employees in a future edition of Tax Matters Digest.