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Lowdown
AccountingWEB

9am Lowdown: Donald Trump’s 2005 tax return leaked

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15th Mar 2017
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Good morning – this morning’s lowdown features Donald Trump’s leaked tax return from 2005 and plenty more. Without a second longer, let’s see what’s shaping today’s headlines.

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Donald Trump’s 2005 tax return leaked

Donald Trump’s tax return from 2005 was revealed by US TV network MSNBC overnight. The US president paid $38m in tax on more than $150m (£123m) income.

But as the Guardian points out, Trump would have paid less tax if it wasn’t for the alternative minimum tax (AMT) that the president wants to abolish. Two pages of Trump’s 2005 tax return show Trump paid $31m in AMT. The leak has garnered media attention because Trump had refused to release his tax returns throughout his presidential campaign.

According to the BBC, the White House accused the TV network of breaking the law. “You know you are desperate for ratings when you are willing to violate the law to push a story about two pages of tax returns from over a decade ago,” a Trump administration official said in a statement.

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Any Answers: The mechanics of MTD

Any Answers has been rife with questions over the implementation of Making Tax Digital. AccountingWEB member Triggle asked the community how the digital regime will work in practice.

“How are the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2019 to be reported?” Triggle queried. “Are we now playing catch up and, while we are filing the quarters under MTD, at the same time we are also compiling the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2019?

“If this is the case, how am I supposed to file figures for the quarter ended 30 June 2019 when I don't yet have accounts for the year ended 31 March 2019?”

The AccountingWEB members were equally as flummoxed. However, Triggle reported back last night from a Rebecca Benneyworth CPD lecture with an answer: “It's bad news in that Rebecca confirmed that there will indeed be a catch-up process as I outlined above,” said Triggle.

 “There will, in fact, be three catch-up periods, the first when unincorporated entities with turnovers above the VAT threshold join MTD, the second when the remainder of the unincorporated businesses join MTD and the third when limited companies join.”

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From the community: Office v home office

Does the practitioner that works from home attract a different kind of client than the one setup in an office?

Jennifer Adams asked this question after being inspired by fellow AccountingWEB blogger Neophyte’s move from a home based office to a “real office”.

 “I am wondering whether the type of client that working from home attracts is only looking for cheapness as they think costs are low,” Adams blogged. “Also that they think you are there at their beck and call... whenever ... and expect an answer immediately.  I know it’s called 'giving a personal service' but sometimes they take it too far.”

Adams also discussed how working from a home office disrupts her work/life balance. “I get up and go straight into the (exbedroom) office and am working there all hours. I do stop at 6pm but find that I am increasingly working at the weekend so there's no 'cut off' point.   

What do you think? Is a virtual office the answer to this? 

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New on AccountingWEB

This is what you missed yesterday on AccountingWEB:

Accountant hid mistakes which led to penalties

Neil Warren discusses whether HMRC was correct to issue penalties for the major errors the company’s accountant made on a series of VAT returns.

‘More to do’ for government on R&D tax credits

The government’s Budget proposal to simplify the administration around research and development (R&D) tax relief has been welcomed by businesses, but some in the industry feel that not enough is being done to capitalise on the success of the reliefs.

Andersen: The brand that won’t give up

The international accountancy newswires have been humming over the past week with stories about the latest incarnation of once grand Big Five firm, Arthur Andersen.

 

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