In the news: July 2025

‘At the moment anyone in Scotland earning greater than £30,318 pays more in income tax than if they lived elsewhere in the UK. The difference grows substantially the further up the wage scale people move, as someone on £55,000 faces a bill almost £1,700 greater than a counterpart in England. For a salary of £100,000 the sum rises to more than £3,331 according to the CIOT.’

The Sunday Times on Scottish tax divergence, 18 May

‘The Chartered Institute of Taxation explains that National Insurance is a tax on earnings that is paid by both employees from their wages and by employers (on top of the wages they pay out), as well as by the self-employed (from their trading profits).’

Daily Record, 21 May

‘Emma Rawson, director of public policy at the Association of Taxation Technicians, said the government would be “unwise” to use the High Income Child Benefit Charge as a model for restricting access to winter fuel payment, adding there were many outstanding problems with the policy.’

The Financial Times on possible reclaim mechanisms for winter fuel payments, 24 May

‘We think that DWP and HMRC should work together to ensure that pensioners are warned about possibly needing to pay tax on their state pension in future. This should include setting out how the tax will be collected and the likely tax liability.’

LITRG quoted in the Daily Express on income tax charges for pensioners, 1 June

‘The ATT ... said its members had reported receiving one of three letters containing errors from HMRC… Helen Thornley, of the ATT, said: “We have reported all examples to HMRC, who have assured us that this is being investigated ‘as a matter of urgency”.’

Daily Telegraph, 4 June

‘Tax advisers have warned that taxpayers could miss important correspondence if most of the letters were eliminated. Antonia Stokes, of the LITRG, said: “If important correspondence is delivered to online accounts which taxpayers are not able to access, it could lead to tax obligations being missed, taxpayer confusion and ultimately an erosion of trust in HMRC.”’

Daily Telegraph, 12 June