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AccountingWEB.co.uk's Top Ten Hit Parade

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15th Dec 2008
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2008 tax highlights and Accountingweb.co.uk Top Ten Hits with Nichola Ross Martin, Editor Practical Law Company.

It is the end of the year, and time to dust down the motley collection of neglected sherry glasses which have been lurking in the grease of the top cupboard. Gather round the office Christmas tree and turn on the monitor for the Accountingweb.co.uk Top Ten Hit Parade.

It is not unexpected to find that most of the top stories are all about…tax. In the last 12 months we have seen a lot of changes. These changes came about in the 2007 and 2008 Pre-Budget Reports and the 2008 Budget:

  • A new CGT regime which created winners and losers: by abolishing taper, complicating transfers for spouses and then at the last minute delivering entrepreneurs relief.
  • A new tax on non-domiciled individuals who continue to use the remittance basis. Last minute tweaks to the proposals were still being made just before the Finance Bill was debated, so it is safe to say that many people are still in the dark over the small print of the new rules.
  • New capital allowances: do you know your integral features from your fixed fixtures, should you even care? How will you ever work out what is what when you come to buy or sell a property?
  • The Income Tax Act: this was actually put through in 2007, but who knows where all those bits of ICTA 1988 are now hiding: They could be in ITTOIA 2005, ITA 2007 or even the new Corporation Tax Act…
  • Income Shifting: no changes but it was possibly the most talked about consultation. Then of course it was postponed and now postponed indefinitely, for the moment...
  • Small company tax: first up and then down, then what?
  • That 10p band (need anyone say more?).
  • Get Chartered: another consultation proved positive, a new charter for HMRC, and of course us lot, and it will have statutory effect. All that campaigning certainly paid off!
  • VAT: yes well, the less said about that the better. Very costly, not just in terms of the UK’s budget deficit, but trying to fiddle around with all those tills?
  • The strange affair of trading stock: the rule in Sharkey v. Wernher got enacted into legislation, but why? Who asked for this, not the tax bodies, not the accountancy bodies, not the trade associations (although the Treasury tried to suggest otherwise). Shame on it that it will not publish the Freedom Of Information requests on this topic.

Top hits

Aside from new announcements from parliament tax evolves in other ways, often when HMRC unexpectedly change its views on things and, of course also when the court passes judgment and another point is resolved. The most read, top topics with the biggest hits this year were:

  • What expenses can I claim...Working from home? walked it for the second year running, accumulating a massive 19,642 hits to come in at Number 1.
  • Always looking like a strong contender, subsistence has the form to maybe do it next year, but until then it made second place in 2008 with 18,031 hits.
  • In 3rd place was the new CGT regime:Where are we now?
  • Cis remains a favourite for the nation! So popular that we have had to create a library of Rebecca's articles! These received 13977 hits.
  • IR35: Responses to a various articles on IR35 this year reveal that it is a bit of a favourite for readers. The case of Dragonfly Consulting caused us all to ponder the idiosyncracies of the intermediaries legislation
  • To P11D or not to P11D? an article, who bothers? was an unexpected winner. It turns out that a lot of you just don't...
  • Self Assessment: that service company question, and why does it matter? Oh dear, does anyone understand the new discovery rules?

Moments of madness?

Accountingweb would not be anything without its members who from time to enter into ludicrous debates in the Any Answers forum...we have had one or two (too many?) this year some involving the lunatic fringe, who appear to be populated by genuine nutters, geniuses (disguised as basket cases?), and accountants who seem to have been driven to madness by bad information, bad helplines and online services ...

Personal favourites

Tax writing doesn't always have to be serious, especially when VAT cases hit the headlines:

Silly headlines:

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Replies (4)

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By User deleted
18th Dec 2008 10:32

CORRECTED LINK
Thank you for alerting us to the incorrect link in this article; we have now fixed this.

Regards

The AccountingWEB.co.uk team

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By User deleted
17th Dec 2008 18:50

To Tax Zone. Error.
The working from home link in top hits does not work.
It takes you to the subsistence area.
Please correct.

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By User deleted
16th Dec 2008 18:19

Thank you
That was a very nice thing to say. I will miss you all too, but I will be back to visit from time to time!

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By carnmores
15th Dec 2008 15:37

thanks Nichola
you may not miss us but we shall miss you!

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