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I had been working in tax for around 20 years when I attended an International Tax meeting. At some point, I casually mentioned that the UK’s personal tax year ends on 5 April.

And this new tax year is rather a special one: at long last, we have reached the official start date for Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax.

• 12,029,168 self-assessment returns were expected.
• A total of 11,489,825 retu

The concept of what constitutes a trade is a fundamental question in UK tax law, forming the basis of many disputes between taxpayers and HMRC since tax was first levied on profits.

On the public policy front, our teams, led by Ellen Milner and Emma Rawson, have been actively engaged in making representations on the Finance Bill.

One of HMRC’s stated ambitions for the introduction of MTD is to reduce taxpayer error and mistakes under Self Assessment.

In some ways, though, wishing tax compliance practitioners Happy New Year in February feels wholly appropriate.

I joined the CIOT in November 2025, after 18 years in practice at BDO, mostrecently as a director heading up the Liverpool tax team.

The year 2025 was one of tough fiscal choices and global disruption. In the UK, the Budget was the most obvious focal point – and one of the most anticipated in recent years.

Since the Budget, there has been much debate over whether Rachel Reeves and the Labour government have breached their manifesto pledge not to raise income tax.