HM Revenue and Customs has been criticised for guidance it has released to assist homosexual and transgender taxpayers.

The 20-page document has been labelled by critics an unnecessary use of taxpayers’ money. It advises people in civil partnerships about their tax allowance and inheritance tax thresholds. For example, a man who would normally be eligible for a pension at 65, would, after a sex change, be entitled to a pension at 60 under their new gender.

Matthew Elliott, chief executive of the pressure group TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: ‘HMRC is meant to produce simple, clear guidance for everyone, not spend extra money going out of their way to target particular minorities.’

However, other groups have praised the HMRC for what they see as a useful publication. Steve Bee, head of pensions strategy at the Royal London Group, said: “Most of the information in the booklet is very useful, though I am doubtful that the people it is aimed at will ever get to see it. Do you really go to Pride to fine out about your tax status?”

5,000 copies of the booklet were printed at a cost of £1,536, and will be distributed at Pride London, the gay festival and march that takes place on July 4.

Water footprinting should be taken more seriously by businesses.

Carbon emissions accounting and reporting is a practice already underway, or at least under discussion, in most entities. But how about water footprint accounting? It seems the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) wants to get a jump on things and is calling for accountants to brush up on methodologies for water consumption.

Water accountability is every bit as important to the environment as carbon accountability, and it is in both companies’ and the planet’s best interest to get on top of accounting practices now.

The report states that not accounting for water footprints puts businesses at risk not only for physical issues associated with water scarcity, but also financial, regulatory and reputational. It’s encouraging to see a major industry association taking a proactive role in water issues. The report is short and well worth a read.

Water Accounting

Judith Tydd, Accountancy Age, Thursday 18 June 2009 at 18:27:00

HMRC CEO admits the collection of smaller tax debts is not a top priority, as redundancies have resulted in a revision of debt collection and staff are now being redeployed into debt management

The CEO of HM Revenue & Customs has admitted that collecting tax debts of less than £10,000 is not a top priority for the taxman….

I see from today’s papers that the tax payers alliance are trying to get MPs prosecuted.
http://www.taxpayersalliance.com/campaign/2009/06/private-prosecution-ge…
Shouldn’t HMRC start with prosecutions and fines on the Fees office staff who failed to submit P11Ds?

There have been a lot of headlines recently highlighting the spending habits of our Honorable MP’s. With this in mind, we thought we would help those of us not blessed with such a loosely managed expenses system, with a brief outline of exactly what you can claim.

It is impossible to list all the expenses that can be deducted but, generally speaking, allowable expenditure relates to day to day running costs of your business. It includes such items as wages, rent, lighting and heating of business premises, running costs of vehicles used in the business, purchase of goods for resale and the cost of replacing tools used in the business.

Examples of non allowable expenditure are your own wages, premiums on personal insurance policies, income tax and National Insurance contributions.

Where expenditure relates to both business and private use, only the part that relates to the business will be allowed, examples are lighting, heating, and telephone expenditure. If a vehicle is used for both business and private purposes then the capital allowances and the total running expenses will be split in proportion to the business and private mileage. You will need to keep records of your total mileage and the number of miles travelled on business to calculate the correct split.

Capital expenditure is expenditure on such items as the purchase or alteration of business premises, purchase of plant, machinery, and vehicles, or the initial cost of tools.

You cannot deduct ‘Capital expenditure’ in working out your taxable profits, but some relief may be due on this type of expenditure in the form of Capital Allowances.

If you are in any doubt about your expenses, please use our contact form on the Contact Us page and we will be happy to discuss your concerns and where necessary, arrange for a site visit. Remember, if in doubt KEEP THE RECEIPT! – it wont hurt