Value Added Tax

Option to tax land and buildings

Legislation will be introduced for simplification of the option to tax land and/or buildings. It will also introduce minor changes to enable taxpayers to revoke an option to tax after 20 years and make a number of associated changes to improve practical administration of the option to tax.

The rewritten legislation will have effect on and after 1 June 2008. The earliest date an option to tax will be revocable will be 1 August 2009.

Indirect tax returns: correction of errors

Businesses registered for VAT, insurance premium tax (IPT), air passenger duty (APD), landfill tax (LFT), climate change levy (CCL) and aggregates levy (AGL) will have increases to the limit below which errors on previous returns may be corrected on the return for the period in which the errors are discovered. This measure will have effect for accounting periods commencing on or after 1 July 2008.

This measure increases the de minimis £2,000 limit to the greater of £10,000 or 1% of turnover, subject to an upper limit of £50,000 for VAT, IPT, LFT, CCL and AGL. For VAT, LFT, CCL and AGL errors above £10,000, the limit for correcting errors on the next return will be calculated by reference to net VAT turnover (Box 6 on VAT return) for the return period.

For IPT, this limit will be calculated by reference to the net IPT turnover (Box 10 on IPT return). APD procedures will be amended to increase the de minimis limit to the greater of £10,000 or 1% of duty due, before adjustments for errors from previous periods, subject to an upper limit of £50,000. For LFT, CCL and AGL taxpayers who are not required to be registered for VAT a single limit of £10,000 will have effect.