Making Tax Digital: Delay

Posted on December 20, 2022February 21, 2023 by Fiona Campbell

The Treasury has confirmed a two-year delay to the Making Tax Digital for income tax (MTD ITSA) timetable, with the First Secretary to the Treasury issuing a written statement confirming the changes.

The timetable change followed weeks of urgent calls from professional bodies such as the CIOT, HMRC’s own Administrative Burdens Advisory Board, tax software representatives and practitioners.

Bowing to the inevitable, financial secretary to the Treasury Victoria Atkins released a ministerial statement setting out adjustments to the scope and timing phases of MTD ITSA:

A two-year delay until April 2026 for mandatory MTD ITSA filing.
Minimum income reporting level increased to £50,000
Those earning more than £30,000 mandated to join the scheme in 2027.
The situation for landlords and sole traders earning less than £30,000 will be reviewed to see if MTD ITSA can be shaped to meet the needs of smaller businesses.
Partnerships will not be brought into MTD for ITSA as previously planned in 2025.
Points-based penalty system to be extended to MTD ITSA filers when they join.

While Atkins said the government remains committed to introducing MTD for ITSA to partnerships, the decision on when they might join the scheme will be taken at a later date, as for those on less than £30,000. “The government understands businesses and self-employed individuals are currently facing a challenging economic environment, and that the transition to MTD for ITSA represents a significant change for taxpayers, their agents, and for HMRC,” the minister wrote.

To maximise the benefits of MTD for small business, the government opted to allow more time to prepare, “so that all businesses, self-employed individuals, and landlords within scope of MTD for Income Tax, but particularly those with the smallest incomes, can adapt to the new ways of working.”

The hotly anticipated MTD ITSA reset was inadvertently revealed shortly after 9am on Wednesday 14 December in a gov.uk post announcing an extension to the MTD ITSA pilot scheme that was taken down shortly afterwards. Update emails were also sent detailing the extension. The last time the Treasury faced such a unified chorus was last year, when the previous FST Lucy Frazer announced a 12-month delay to the timetable in September 2021.

With thanks to Brian Wright of FBD Consultancy, Accounts & Tax Ltd for this update.

The Association of Scotland’s Self-Caterers (ASSC) write to the Scottish Government seeking support to address outstanding issues relating to short-term let licensing

Posted on December 19, 2022April 10, 2025 by EleanorASSC

SHORT-TERM LET LICENSING IN SCOTLAND

The Association of Scotland’s Self-Caterers (ASSC) write to the Scottish Government seeking support to address outstanding issues relating to short-term let licensing

In light of the 6 month extension in terms of short-term let licensing, Fiona Campbell, ASSC CEO has written to the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Housing and Local Government, Shona Robison to ask that the Scottish Government use the time to take stock and assess the impacts related to the regulations, and then to work constructively to ameliorate the outstanding issues.

The letter has also been sent to the following:

Deputy First Minister, John Swinney MSP
Minister for Business, Trade, Tourism and Enterprise, Ivan McKee MSP
Paul Mclennan, MSP East Lothian
Euan Donald, Local Government Committee
Local Government Committee

The Association of Scotland’s Self-Caterers (ASSC) welcomes the recent announcement that the Scottish Government will provide a six-month extension for existing operators in terms of short-term let licensing applications, as set out in your letter (7 December) to the Convener of the Scottish Parliament’s Local Government Committee.

This has been warmly received by our membership as it provides much needed reprieve during challenging times for business. However, real and pressing concerns still remain about short-term let licensing and we hope that we can work in partnership with the Scottish Government and local councils to resolve these for the benefit of Scotland’s tourism sector.

The ASSC further believes that the delay provides an opportunity to take stock, assess the impacts related to the regulations, and then work constructively to ameliorate the outstanding issues. Many councils have now published their finalised schemes. From our analysis of Scotland’s 32 local councils, we have concerns in relation to:

The various discrepancies seen across local authority areas, including on fees, layout plans etc;
Council licensing policies which are ultra vires in nature; and
Instances where planning considerations going too far;

More broadly, we have reservations regarding:

Barriers to investment; and
New operators having to wait to open until a licence is granted.

Read the letter in full here.

Consultation: Short-term Let Planning Guidance for Edinburgh

Posted on December 12, 2022April 10, 2025 by Fiona Campbell

The ASSC welcomes the opportunity to respond to City of Edinburgh Council’s consultation on short-term let planning guidance. As the main trade association for the self-catering sector in Scotland, the ASSC hopes that our expertise and insight can help inform the approach taken by the Council.

The consultation closes on 22nd December.

We have always strived to work collaboratively and proactively with both local and national government stakeholders to ensure a balanced and proportionate outcome for all. We wish to make clear that the ASSC is not averse to regulation; but we do challenge policies that are pursued while lacking a firm evidence base which will damage the livelihoods of our members.

It is with considerable regret that there is once again a presumption of bad practice attributed to the short-term letting sector by City of Edinburgh Council. The proposed planning policy is unfair, disproportionate and discriminatory, setting criteria that amounts to a de-facto ban on short-term letting despite all assurances to the contrary. By identifying only a small number of limited circumstances where short-term lets are to be permitted, for example those with a main door in an area that is “commercial” in character, this will mean that the vast majority of short-term lets will be refused, leading to an exodus of small tourist accommodation businesses, severely impacting the local economy which depends on tourism.

Overall, the ASSC believes that the proposed planning policy should be rejected on the following grounds:

It is disproportionate in nature, lacks coherence and balance, and relies on assertions and anecdotes rather than a firm evidence base;
It will harm Edinburgh’s tourism related economy at a time when it should be supported to recover, and will all but remove a key source of accommodation that is imperative to the viability of the Festivals; and
It fails to properly consider the economic impact of the draft policy which will cost jobs and livelihoods in a sector that provides a £70m annual boost to the city.[1]

It is our recommendation that within a Short-term Let Control Area, planning permission should be granted:

Where extensive refurbishment of a long-term empty dwellinghouse is proposed to bring the building back into active use.
The proposal is for the upper floor(s) above a commercial unit.
It is an established short-term secondary let property in a long-established dwellinghouse.

‘Established short-term secondary let property’ means:

A dwellinghouse that has been trading as a short-term secondary let property before the first date of the first approval at a Council Committee meeting proposing the establishment of a short-term let Control Area.

Read the ASSC’s submission: ECC STL Planning Guidance consultation response 12.12.22

[1] ASSC, Economic Impact of the Self-Catering Sector to the Scottish Economy (2021). Url: https://www.assc.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Economic-Impact-Study%E2%80%93Scotland.pdf