The Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) is a well-known organisation that provides independent advice to the government on simplifying the UK tax system. 

The OTS has issued a press release to warn of a potential new tax scam that is using the OTS logo. 

The press release reads as follows:

We have been made aware of people receiving correspondence using the Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) logo and signatures to request payment of ‘tax’. The OTS is not a tax collection agency, and the correspondence is not legitimate.

If you receive any demand for payment of any kind claiming to be from the OTS, you should report it to the National Cyber Security Centre by forwarding the email to report@phishing.gov.uk.

When the OTS was established, it was as a temporary office of HM Treasury, but Finance Act 2016 confirmed the government’s decision to provide for the permanent establishment of the OTS in statute. 

HMRC has launched a new consultation seeking views on proposed measures to address consumer protection issues for people who claim tax refunds through repayment agents. The 12-week consultation period started on 22 June and will end on 14 September 2022. HMRC is looking to introduce new measures to stop rip-off agents taking advantage of people and pocketing their tax repayments. 

HMRC has received increasing numbers of complaints from taxpayers who have used ‘repayment agents’. These are generally agents helping taxpayers and businesses make claims to HMRC that result in a tax repayment as their main service, without providing wider tax or accountancy services.

These businesses are often virtual, advertising on social media, and tend to operate a no-win no-fee commission-based structure with large volumes of relatively low value claims. The fees they charge are often opaque and can result in half, or even more, of a tax repayment being lost to the claimant.

HMRC’s Director General for Customer Strategy and Tax Design, said:

'We want to make sure taxpayers receive their full tax claims – putting 100% of the money they are due into their pockets – and not be taken in by the unscrupulous practices of some Repayment Agents.'

This consultation will seek views on:

• restricting the use of assignments, where contracts legally transfer the right to a repayment from a taxpayer to an agent.
• introducing measures designed to ensure taxpayers see material information about a repayment agent’s service before entering into a contractual agreement.
• requiring repayment agents to register with HMRC.

HMRC has published their latest statistics on Child Trust Funds which reveal that whilst 320,000 accounts have now matured, 175,000 funds that have matured remain unclaimed.

If you turned 18 on or after 1 September 2020 there may be cash waiting for you in a dormant Child Trust Fund (CTF). If your children recently turned 18 you should also check if they have claimed the money to which they are entitled. The average market value of a matured but not withdrawn account was £2,142 and for a withdrawn account, was £2,721. The actual amount of money depends on a number of factors.

Children born after 31 August 2002 and before 3 January 2011 were entitled to a CTF account provided they met the necessary conditions. These funds were invested in long-term saving accounts for newly born children. 

Seven million CTF accounts were set up since the scheme was launched in 2002, roughly 6 million by parents or guardians and a further 1 million by HMRC where parents or guardians did not open an account.

Around 55,000 accounts mature each month and HMRC has created a simple online tool to help young people find out where their account is held. If you are unsure if you have an account or where it may be, it is easy to track down your provider online.

The actual CTF accounts are not held by HMRC, but by a number of CTF providers who are financial services firms. Anyone can pay into the account, with an annual limit of £9,000, and there is no tax to pay on the CTF savings interest or profit.

The government has announced their intention to fundamentally reform the private rented sector marking the biggest shake up of the private rented sector in 30 years. These measures are set to include a ban on section 21 ‘no-fault’ evictions and placing a legislative duty for landlords in the private sector to meet the Decent Homes Standard to the private sector by 2030. 

Other measures announced to help tenants include: 

• Helping the most vulnerable by outlawing blanket bans on renting to families with children or those in receipt of benefits.
• For the first time, ending the use of arbitrary rent review clauses, restricting tribunals from unduly increasing rent and enabling tenants to be repaid rent for non-decent homes. This will make sure tenants can take their landlord to court to seek repayment of rent if their homes are of unacceptable standard.
• Making it easier for tenants to have much-loved pets in their homes by giving all tenants the right to request a pet in their house, which the landlord must consider and cannot unreasonably refuse.
• All tenants to be moved onto a single system of periodic tenancies, meaning they can leave inferior quality housing without remaining liable for the rent or move more easily when their circumstances change. A tenancy will only end if a tenant ends or a landlord has a valid reason, defined in law.
• Doubling notice periods for rent increases and giving tenants stronger powers to challenge them if they are unjustified.
• Giving councils stronger powers to tackle the worst offenders, backed by enforcement pilots, and increasing fines for serious offences.

There will also be changes designed to benefit landlords including the introduction of a new Private Renters’ Ombudsman to enable disputes between private renters and landlords to be settled quickly, at low cost, and without going to court. There will also be measures to help tackle anti-social tenants a new property portal to help landlords to understand and comply with their responsibilities.

It is hoped that these reforms will help to ease the cost-of-living pressures renters are facing, saving families from unnecessarily moving from one privately rented home to another and thereby saving hundreds of pounds in moving costs.

The government has announced new plans to modernise consumer credit laws to cut costs for businesses and simplify rules for consumers. This will see major reforms to the Consumer Credit Act that regulates credit card purchases and personal loans. A consultation on the direction of reform is expected to be published by the end of the year.

As part of the reform measures, the government intends to move much of the Act from statute to sit under the Financial Conduct Authority – enabling the regulator to quickly respond to emerging developments in the consumer credit market, rather than having to amend existing legislation. 

The reforms will be designed to allow lenders to provide a wider range of finance. For example, by ensuring that lenders are able to provide credit more easily for emerging and new technologies such as electric cars. At the same time measures will be put in place to maintain high levels of consumer protection. 

The reforms will build on the recommendations of the Financial Conduct Authority’s retained provisions report (published in March 2019) and the Woolard Review (published in February 2021) – which both made recommendations for a reformed regime. Leaving the EU has also created new opportunities for regulatory reform and may see some parts of EU retained legislation being repealed or replaced.

Commenting on the reforms, the Economic Secretary to the Treasury said:

'The Consumer Credit Act has been in place for almost 50 years – and it needs to be reformed to keep pace with the modern world. We want to create a regulatory regime that fosters innovation but also maintains high levels of consumer protection. That’s why I have committed to undertake this ambitious long-term reform – and it’s exactly what I’ll deliver.'