Tax Matters Digest

Party Conference season is in full swing, and all eyes have been on Labour in Liverpool this week. The only party game in town is musical chairs, with the Prime Minister, the Chancellor and various Government Ministers in and out of radio stations, TV studios and conference halls. The object of this game is not to be the last one sitting – quite the opposite: it’s to get out of the hotseat as quickly as possible before you let slip what might be in the Budget.

As I write this the game is still going on, but so far Keir Starmer, Rachel Reeves and Darren Jones have been very well choreographed, all repeating the same line that the manifesto commitments not to raise Income Tax, VAT and NIC “still stand”. What is less clear is if these pledges will still be standing by the time we get to 26 November…. 

It’s the wording that’s interesting here. Instead of simply saying “we’re not going to raise Income Tax, VAT or National Insurance” they’ve deliberately used the phrase “the manifesto still stands”. Commentators have suggested this is Labour’s attempt to give itself the wiggle room to break away from its manifesto commitments and raise these taxes in the Budget. And that wiggle room might be needed if the Office of Budget Responsibility (OBR) forecasts in the next few weeks are worse than expected.

One area where the Chancellor did give a clearer indication of her intentions was on betting taxes. Speaking to ITV News she said “I do think there’s a case for gambling firms paying more. They make an important contribution to the economy, but they should pay their fair share of taxes and we’ll make sure that that happens.” 

Beyond that we are still left wondering what might be in the Budget. The expectation management is clear though - Starmer summed it up in his speech to conference: “We asked a lot at the last Budget – I know that. And the rough decisions, they will keep on coming”.

We aim to provide much more certainty in this week’s edition of Tax Matters Digest. Our spotlight article discusses how HMRC are increasing compliance activity in respect of common errors in claiming Management Expense deductions and is a must-read for taxpayers who receive a ‘One to Many’ letter on the subject this week.

Our next article highlights the release of HMRC guidance in respect of the new Reserved Investor Fund guidance, followed by an article that explores how HMRC are targeting recruitment agencies in respect of labour supply chain compliance.

Transatlantic fund managers already know how challenging the US and UK Carried Interest rules are, but our next article provides some practical tips on how best to navigate this complex compliance environment.

Other news in brief discusses: a new HMRC tool to help identify expenditure that qualifies for R&D relief; HMRC guidance on platform operators, freeports, the new umbrella company rules and claiming exemption from Making Tax Digital for Income Tax; the synthesised text of the MLI and UK-Tunisia treaty; the date of the next Scottish Budget; and the publication of KPMG’s latest UK economic outlook and the 2025 Global Family Office Compensation Benchmark Report.

Finally, we include our usual links to Indirect Tax Weekly Talking Points and Week in Tax summaries of the key tax developments from around the world.