Business groups, including the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) and the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), have commented on the six-month ‘flexible’ extension of Article 50, granted to the UK by EU leaders.

The extension potentially pushes ‘Brexit Day’, the day when the UK officially leaves the EU, to 31 October 2019.

Reacting to the news, the BCC stated that the flexible extension is ‘preferable’ for most businesses. It said:

‘Politicians must urgently agree on a way forward. It would be a disaster for business confidence and investment if a similar late-night drama is played out yet again in October.’

The CBI said that UK businesses will now ‘adjust their no-deal plans’ instead of cancelling them. Carolyn Fairbairn, Director General of the CBI, said:

‘For the good of jobs and communities across the country, all political leaders must use the time well. Sincere cross-party collaboration must happen now to end this crisis.’

Internet links: BCC news CBI article

HMRC has published a list of businesses that have not met their obligations under the Money Laundering Regulations.

As a supervisor of the Money Laundering Regulations HMRC has a duty to publish details of businesses that have been penalised for not complying with the regulations.

HMRC advises that it considers cases individually to decide whether to publish details in full, anonymously, or not at all. Where a decision is made to publish in full, the following information may be published:

• the name and address of the business owner or business
• the nature of the breach or breaches
• the penalty issued by HMRC
• the status of any appeal against the penalty

HMRC publishes anonymously if it considers that the effect of publishing details about an individual or business would be disproportionate.

Internet link: GOV.UK money laundering

The government has confirmed that the initiative to introduce a pensions dashboard will go ahead.

Pensions dashboards will allow those saving for retirement to view information from multiple pensions in one place stating that the dashboard will ‘open up pensions to millions’, and ‘provide an easy-to-access online view of a saver’s pensions’.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) will bring forward legislation that will require pension scheme providers to make consumers’ data available to them through their chosen dashboard. The plan is to include State pension information as well.

Mike Cherry, National Chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), said:

‘The government’s commitment to compel pension schemes to share data with platforms through primary legislation is particularly welcome. Some urgency is now required, and we question the three to four-year timeframe for schemes to prepare data for dashboards.’

Internet links: GOV.UK Pensions dashboard fsb press release

HMRC has warned young people in the UK to ‘stay vigilant’ in order to avoid falling victim to ‘Springtime’ tax refund scams.

Criminals often target young individuals or the elderly as these groups of people are likely to be less familiar with the UK tax system. During the months of April and May, criminals often bombard taxpayers with tax refund scams at the same time as genuine rebates are processed by HMRC.

In the Spring of 2018, approximately 250,000 reports of tax scams were received by HMRC.

Individuals have been warned to be wary of text messages, calls and voicemails purporting to be from HMRC. These are often designed to extract personal or financial information from the taxpayer.

Angela MacDonald, Head of Customer Services at HMRC, said:

‘We are determined to protect honest people from these fraudsters who will stop at nothing to make their phishing scams appear legitimate.

‘HMRC is currently shutting down hundreds of phishing sites a month. If you receive one of these emails or texts, don’t respond and report it to HMRC so that more online criminals are stopped in their tracks.‘

Internet links: Action Fraud

HMRC has published guidance on the extension of the off-payroll working rules (also known as IR35) to the private sector, a year ahead of its implementation on 6 April 2020.

In the guidance, HMRC state that the responsibility to determine whether the off-payroll working rules apply will fall on the organisation receiving the individual’s service. It outlines a four-step process which can be used to prepare for the changes, starting with identifying any individuals who are supplying their services through PSCs.

The consultation closes on 28 May and asks for responses on several matters, including the scope of the reform and its impact on non-corporate engagers; information requirements for engagers, fee payers and personal service companies (PSCs); and how to address disagreements on an individual’s employment status.

The consultation also sets out HMRC’s plans to provide education and support for those businesses that are affected.

Internet links: HMRC guidance and HMRC consultation