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The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) has published the findings of its investigation into the UK digital services tax (DST) under section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. This allows the US to implement retaliatory tariffs if ‘unfair trade practices’ are found to discriminate against US companies. The USTR found that the UK DST ‘is inconsistent with principles of international taxation, including due to application to revenue rather than income, extraterritoriality, and retroactivity’ and ‘burdens or restricts US commerce’.

HMRC has confirmed that the 2019/20 SA700 must be signed with a physical signature.

The European Commission has opened the feedback period for its proposed initiative to introduce a digital levy to address the issue of fair taxation of the digital economy. The initiative proposes the introduction of an EU-wide digital tax but states that this should not interfere with the ongoing work of the OECD on a reform of the international corporate tax framework, and accordingly must be compatible with any agreement reached by OECD in addition to wider international obligations. The roadmap is open for feedback until 11 February 2021.

HMRC has published updated guidance for stakeholders, covering subjects including changes resulting from the end of the Brexit transition period. While the Brexit transition/implementation period ended at 11 pm on 31 December 2020 (IP completion day), the government continues to issue new and updated Brexit webpages and guidance documents on the associated legal and practical changes. Further guidance may be issued post-IP completion day, so stakeholders are advised to monitor these pages for updates.

The government has published a Q&A clarifying a number of aspects of the freeports policy and bidding process. The bidding process seeks to establish at least seven new freeports in England, with the new freeports policy including a new customs model, built on the UK’s current customs arrangements while taking inspiration from international best practice.

The Council of the EU has published a consolidated compromise proposal to introduce public country-by-country reporting (CbCR), which is being pushed by Portugal after it assumed the Presidency of the Council of the European Union on 1 January 2021.

The Platform for Collaboration on Tax (PCT), a joint initiative of the OECD, IMF, UN and World Bank, has published a new toolkit that helps countries to implement effective transfer pricing documentation requirements.

Following the publication of the detailed blueprints on BEPS 2.0 pillar one and pillar two in October 2020 the OECD held a public consultation meeting on 14 and 15 January 2021.

HMRC has published an updated series of excise notices, covering subjects including changes resulting from the end of the Brexit transition period. While the Brexit transition/implementation period ended at 11 pm on 31 December 2020 (IP completion day), the government continues to issue new and updated Brexit webpages and guidance documents on the associated legal and practical changes. Further guidance may continue to be issued post-IP completion day, so stakeholders are advised to monitor these pages for updates.

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has published a policy paper setting out the reasonable steps that operators of frontier locations should take using the pre-lodgement model to control goods arriving into Great Britain from the EU. The model will come into force from 1 July 2021.

The Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT) has published its Budget representations on the taxation of property income, changes to the tax rules affecting companies and capital gains tax.

Estonia has deposited its instrument of ratification with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) for the base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) Multilateral Convention.

HMRC has updated its International pages to include the 2020 Protocol to the 2010 Double Taxation Convention and the 2020 Joint Declaration between UK and Germany.

HMRC has published updated guidance for GB. Subjects covered in this guidance include information about indirect export procedures for NI-EU-ROW, information on form INF3 for goods temporarily exported prior to the end of the transition period which will still be required to be presented at re-importation, location code for importing goods through Cairnryan into the UK through RoRo locations, and the EU airport International Air Transport Association codes and percentages for Zone Q. While the Brexit transition/implementation period ended at 11pm on 31 December 2020 (IP completion day), the government continues to issue new and updated Brexit webpages and guidance documents on the associated legal and practical changes. Further guidance may be issued post-IP completion day, so stakeholders are advised to monitor these pages for updates.

In the ever-fast-moving world of tax announcements and developments, this news pulls together some of the key changes announced this week. Our commentary will be updated in due course to reflect these latest developments.

15 January 2021- This roundup sets out the most important changes to HMRC manuals over the past week as curated by our editors.

HMRC has updated its guidance to add information on how businesses can make a simple online declaration when importing goods into Great Britain.

Following the end of the Brexit transition/implementation period at 11 pm on 31 December 2020 (IP completion day), the government has been reissuing a number of Brexit webpages and guidance documents, collating existing stakeholder and sectoral guidance on legal and practical changes taking effect from 1 January 2021. Subjects covered include changes to importing tobacco into Northern Ireland from EU. The guidance within the refreshed webpages may not necessarily be new but the pages are worth noting for future reference and bookmarking. Some of the guidance contains simple updates and reference amendments to reflect the end of the transition period having occurred. Some of the guidance published post-IP completion day may also contain substantive updates to reflect changes taking effect in light of the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (and related arrangements). Further guidance may be issued, so stakeholders are advised to monitor these pages for updates.

HMRC has updated its guidance for oil and gas contractors to reflect the changes to the IR35 rules from 6 April 2021.

HMRC has released its Stamp Taxes Newsletter for January 2021.