Staff Reporter
CAN you believe that we are nearly at the end of 2021?! Whether it’s been a good, or not so good year for you, there’s no denying that it has absolutely flown by!
So we thought that we would take the time to look back on the last year, and the changes that came along with it!
The beginning of the year was very much still overshadowed by the COVID-19 pandemic – whether you were in the UK or sunny Spain, unfortunately there was no escaping the disruption and sadness brought on by coronavirus, and the impact that it had on the world’s economy.
And in line with the changes brought to the economy, the March Budget was announced, offering support packages for those affected. Furlough and the Self Employed Income Support Scheme were extended, offering financial support to those in need. The Stamp Duty holiday was extended, offering a welcome reduction to those trying to get onto the UK property ladder, or purchasing another buy-to-let property, and the personal allowance was increased to £12,570 (but fixed until 2026).
HMRC also used this time to announce new penalties for late filing of tax, in line with the new Making Tax Digital for Income Tax system – with the aim to be more supportive of those with genuine reasons behind mistakes or late filing, whilst still penalising those who are consistently late.
But it wasn’t just the treasury changing things in the first half of the year! The beginning of June saw the much anticipated release of the brand new and improved APARI 2.0! APARI 2.0 has been built by landlords & self-employed taxpayers, with the aim to simplify tax and empower its users with their own tax data – we, pretty simply, want to Make Tax Doable for YOU!
By allowing users to seamlessly upload and allocate their banking transactions, and choose their submission route of either SA100 or MTD, we are giving UK taxpayers the ability to be in control of their own tax journey!
And that’s not the end of the APARI story – we have also released two other brand new products – so keep your eyes peeled for our Ten Minute Tax, and Simplified Tax products! Both offer quick, easy, and reasonably priced options for taxpayers with different tax needs, a jargon-free way to submit their tax return directly to HMRC!
Unfortunately the latter part of the year brought some slightly disappointing news – that Making Tax Digital for Income Tax would be pushed back for a year, from 2023, to 2024. APARI, as the frontrunner for MTD for income tax, has been raring to go for quite some time, but HMRC (with some pressure from various external stakeholders) felt that more time was needed to bring such a big change into play. The good thing is that the pilot scheme will be extended, giving taxpayers more of an opportunity to get to grips with MTD before it becomes a legal requirement!
Looking back on the year, the APARI team would like to thank Olive Press readers for their support and interaction with APARI over the last year! We hope you’ve learned lots about tax, and that it has been of some benefit to you!
Have a happy and healthy festive season, and here’s to a great 2022!
READ MORE:
- Never standing still: APARI 2.0 launched to help you with HMRC tax declarations
- Hold on! Making Tax Digital for Income tax delayed until 2024
- Taxing stuff
