Happy New Year! To celebrate the start of a productive year ahead here are some news stories to usher in 2015.
HMRC helpline waiting times double
Average waiting times for HMRC contact centre telephone queues reached 10 minutes and 53 seconds in September – twice as long compared with the previous year.
The Revenue said it will move an extra 1,500 staff to answer its phones in January as the self assessment deadline approaches, the BBC reports.
A suggestion by HMRC that people can submit tax queries via Twitter has also been criticised by MPs, but HMRC said Twitter would complement, not replace existing services.
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VAT MOSS rules come into play
From yesterday, all companies selling digital products must navigate a complicated new VAT system.
The new tax law requires firms to charge VAT based on the country where the buyer lives, rather than where the seller is based.
According to the Daily Mail, some experts have claimed that thousands of micro-entrepreneurs could be forced out of business by the new law.
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City Link administrators reveal 2,356 job losses
EY, acting as administrator of collapsed delivery firm City Link, has announced 2,356 job losses after a bid to buy the company failed.
The administrators said an unnamed consortium's offer was not acceptable, reports the BBC.
The buyer “offered no money up front and significantly undervalued the assets to be acquired” EY added.
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Payday loan charges cap kick in
The BBC also reports that a cap on the cost of payday loans enforced by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has now come into effect.
Loan rates will be capped at 0.8% per day of the amount borrowed, and no-one will have to pay back more than twice the amount they borrowed.
The FCA said those unable to repay should be prevented from taking out such loans.