The UK may unilaterally withdraw its letter sent under Article 50 to withdraw from the EU, the advocate general of the European Court said on 4 December 2018. His opinion is not a judgment, though the Court accepts his opinions in about 80% of cases. The UK does not need the agreement of the other...Read More

On 4 December 2018, the French government postponed increases in petrol prices that led to the worst street riots since 1968. Protesters have worn yellow vests, “gilets jaunes”, and torn up cobble stones as projectiles and caused damage at Arc de Triomphe (recently the scene of international commemoration of the centenary of the first world...Read More

On 4 December 2018, the House of Commons debated whether the government had committed a “breach of Parliament” by refusing to publish legal advice from the Attorney General, Geoffrey Cox MP, about the Brexit withdrawal agreement. The opposition moved a motion in November 2018 requiring the government to publish the advice. The government did not...Read More

The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales  published a guide on directors’ reponsibilities on 30 November 2018. It is written for private companies limited by shares with more than one director. The guide can be downloaded from here. [18.12]Read More

HMRC has updated VAT Notice 742A on the option to tax from 30 November 2018. The new version clarifies notification procedures and makes other clarifications. It replaces the Notice of November 2017. The revised Notice can be downloaded from here. [18.12]Read More

Member states in the EU will be allowed to make a temporary change in their VAT laws to introduce reverse charging to deal with fraud. The EU Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs so decided in December 2018. Reverse charging, which already exists in some limited circumstances in the UK, requires VAT to be accounted...Read More

A new campaign of hacking is aimed at chief finance officers from a hit list believed to contain 50,000 details. The gang is believed to be operating from Nigeria. The hackers request money transfers by sending what appears to be an order from a senior executive of the company. The emails contain no malware, making...Read More

HMRC has amended the rules on income tax and national insurance on termination payments. A termination payment is a sum paid by an employer to an employee whose employment has ended. This payment is generally tax free up to £30,000 (unchanged since 1988) and completely free of national insurance. The rules on whether this was a...Read More

General Electric is being chased by HMRC for £770 million in tax going back 14 years, it was disclosed on 5 November 2018. The claim relates to retrospective disallowance of interest deductions claimed by GE Capital, its financial services division, between 2004 and 2015. [18.11]Read More

Prof Michael Walker died on 27 September 2018, aged 71. He was a mathematician who developed security systems for the estimated five billion mobile phones in the world. [18.11]Read More