Murray Beith Murray LLP is a leading Scottish private client law firm.
For 175 years we have specialised in meeting the legal, financial and administrative needs of individuals and families, family trusts, charities and private companies.
Recent reports have highlighted that inheritance tax receipts continue to grow despite the introduction of the new residence nil rate band. Inheritance tax receipts reached an astounding high of £5.2 billion in the last tax year. This is an 8 per cent increase compared to the £4.8 billion total that was reported in the previous tax year of 2016-17.
Earlier this year, the Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) was charged by the Chancellor of the Exchequer to carry out a review of several different aspects of Inheritance Tax (IHT).
Giving a gift is a common occurrence that most of us carry out several times a year, such as giving birthday and Christmas presents to friends or family members. In the vast majority of cases these gifts will be given without any thought to possibility legalities and will be received with gratitude. However, there are some situations where the giving of a gift, particularly a large sum of money, can result in a dispute between the donor and receiver.
HMRC recently reported that 10.7 million customers submitted their self-assessment tax returns before the 31st January deadline. Around 9.9 million were apparently submitted through the department’s online service, which amounts to over 92.5% of total returns.
We reported last month that the Scottish Government utilised its devolved powers in its most recent budget to make further changes to income tax rates in Scotland, and as a result there are now significant differences between the rates of income tax paid in Scotland and the rest of the UK.
