ICB has been updating members with information HMRC published in its Guidelines for Compliance (GfCs) series. These cover some of the areas they regard as ‘complex, widely misunderstood, or novel’.
HMRC have published a fourteenth, GfC14 ‘Help with Freeports’. This details the secondary (employer) National Insurance reliefs for businesses that operate within Freeports. Plus, refers to the fact that there are:
- English Freeport special tax sites (with reliefs available until 2031); and
- Scottish Green Freeport and Welsh Freeport special tax sites (with reliefs available until 2034)
Freeport reliefs extend further than National Insurance and allow for those including Corporation Tax and Stamp Duty. Stamp Duty is devolved to Scotland (as Land and Buildings Transaction Tax) and Wales (as Land Transaction Tax). This is the first in the GfC series that deals with taxes that are devolved and not administered and collected by HMRC. That fact alone makes this one interesting.
The GfC consolidate the links to guidance and we detail all fourteen below which may be of value to you as they:
- Clarify HMRC's stance on uncertain areas, referring to Revenue Scotland and the Welsh Revenue Authority where appropriate;
- Provide examples you and clients can use;
- Indicate HMRC’s likely compliance responses;
- Detail relevant / appropriate documentation and record-keeping to support positions; and
- List contact routes
For Bookkeepers
The usefulness of the GfCs will depend on the services your provide clients. Note that if you are operating a devolved tax, it is necessary to refer to the compliance sections on the Revenue Scotland and Welsh Revenue Authority websites.
