Programme

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Please note that this event will be spread across two days, broadcast between 10.30 and 14.30 on each. Each day's programme will contain entirely unique and distinct content, so be sure to attend both for the full experience.

Tuesday 3rd November - afternoon sessions

12.45 - 14.30 (estimated)

Colin Smith - Chair

Kirsten Prichard Jones

Chris Nyland

Re-gearing leases

In the circumstances of the last few months, many tenants have renegotiated their rents, and landlords have often wanted something in return.  So was this a barter transaction?  Did the parties need to charge each other VAT?  And did tenants need to opt to tax, to avoid partial exemption issues?  HMRC issued a Revenue & Customs Brief at the end of July, but not everyone found it clear, and many deals had been treated differently in the meantime.

We look at:

• What sorts of deals have been done?

• Which ones do create a VAT issue?

• What were HMRC trying to say?

• What about unpicking past treatments, that they now say were wrong?

Property in a changing environment

2020 has posed immediate problems for property owners and developers, but the landscape will never be the same again. Most obviously, many businesses have realised that they don’t need to have large expensive offices, while owners have looked around for new uses, and new ways in which property can be exploited. VAT seems unlikely to be foremost in their minds.

We consider:

• Government initiatives, and changes to the planning regime

• The re-emergence of commonhold

• Conversions to new uses

• What it all means for VAT

Uncertain tax treatment — a new regime

HMRC have been consulting on a requirement, from next year, for larger businesses to notify them when they adopt a tax treatment ‘which HMRC may disagree with’.  In VAT and property, it might be thought that HMRC are capable of disagreeing with just about anything.

In this session, we ask:

• What are HMRC trying to achieve?

• What might need to be disclosed?

• How might the regime work in other areas, and for other taxes?

• What happens if you disclose?  And what happens if you don’t?

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VAT groups

August 2020 saw a Treasury consultation on VAT groups. We look at what changes here might mean for landlords and developers, and at how compulsory VAT grouping would have unwelcome consequences.

Open forum, with Q&A on the day’s sessions (also with Martin Scammell)

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Thursday 5th November - morning sessions

10.30 - 12.00 (estimated)

Colin Smith - Chair

David Millar

Chris Nyland

Martin Scammell

Coming soon?  The domestic reverse charge

Following two postponements, the reverse charge for building work is now due to come in on 1 March.  We’ve looked at it in detail at our last two conferences, but this time we consider:

• The new notification requirement for customers, and what it involves

• How customers can now get a cashflow benefit by opting in to the reverse charge

• What needs to go into construction contracts, and what shouldn’t

HMRC update and Q&A

2020 has also seen new challenges for HMRC, while they continue to work on operational improvements.  We welcome back David Millar, to talk us through what they’re doing, and to hear our experiences and concerns.  Topics include:

• HMRC’s response to Covid-19

• New procedures, including the use of electronic signatures

• The DIY scheme - some relevant updates

• Registration – making it easier for property businesses​

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Thursday 5th November - afternoon sessions

12.45 - 14.30 (estimated)

Colin Smith - Chair

Kirsten Prichard Jones

Martin Scammell

Stamp taxes — ever more the driver

It’s a long time now since stamp duty was 1%, and could be avoided entirely by popping over to the Channel Islands to sign the documents.  With rates sometimes approaching the VAT rate, and with no equivalent to input tax recovery, more and more deals need to be structured around SDLT or, in Wales and Scotland, LTT or LBTT.  VAT practitioners need to understand the drivers, and to know when a VAT solution might make for a stamp tax problem.  In this session, we look at:

• The basics, and how they’re changing

• The regimes around the UK, and how we can’t assume they’re the same

• Issues with new design and construction techniques

• What ‘golden brick’ means now, and the subtly different stamp tax equivalents

Hotel and holiday accommodation

The temporary reduced-rating will be four months old by November, but we consider:

• Issues with next year's return to 20%

• How 2021’s holidays can be reduced-rated too

• Some oddities and anomalies – does the legislation actually fit with HMRC’s interpretation?

RRP and RCP buildings — new issues, old issues

In an update on buildings for a ‘relevant residential purpose’ or a ‘relevant charitable purpose’, we ask:

• A year after the hearing in Swanage Sea Rowing Club, what’s happening with
  zero-rating for sports pavilions?

• Following Marlow Rowing Club and Westow Cricket Club, is there ever any
  point in asking HMRC?

• Does helping with Covid-19 mean suffering a ‘change of use’ charge?

All the other case law

We look at some recent, current and pending cases, and their implications.  Topics include ‘leasing or letting’, place of supply, the CGS and input tax adjustments, penalty income and, of course, dwellings.  

Open forum, with Q&A on the day’s sessions (also with David Millar and Chris Nyland)

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Please note that for the purposes of maintaining broadcast quality some sections will be pre-recorded.