When is a newspaper not a newspaper? When it is digital, perhaps? Well, yes, actually. News Corp, owners of Sunday Times and the Sun etc, tried to argue that their digital editions were basically the same as their paper versions and, therefore, should be VAT zero-rated, as are all newspapers.
My untrained eyes can see the logic, given that newspapers, books and magazines are tax-exempt because of their educational value. However, the HMRC saw things differently, arguing that digital offerings were not newspapers because of the absence of newsprint.
The case went to appeal at a first-tier tribunal. But that came down of the side of the HMRC. So there you have it. Digital newspapers are not newspapers, for the purposes of VAT.
Does this mean that when tax is made digital it won’t be a tax?
Women in Finance
Accountancy Age has revealed the first five of its Top 20 Women in Finance. Chosen by its readers, the list “spotlights influential women across various sectors, including government, business, finance and accountancy, who are all leaders, trailblazers and transforming their respective fields”.
At 20, is Eileen Burbridge, partner at Passion Capital; at 19 is Jayne-Anne Gadhia, CEO of Virgin Money UK; number 18 is Carolyn Fairbairn, director-general, CBI; at 17 is Carolyn McCall, CEO 0f ITV; and at 16 is Barbara Judge, former chair of the Institute of Directors.
Judge resigned from the IoD this month over claims of bullying and racism. She has denied the allegations, vowing to contest the claims. “I continue to strongly refute the allegations made against me and remain deeply disturbed by the gross and conspiratorial mishandling of the process which has led to the damaging circumstances in which I and the Institute are now placed,” she said in her resignation letter.
Making religion cashless
As we approach the Christian spring-time festival of Easter, it seems like an appropriate time to take a quick look at the latest financial goings-on at the Church of England.
When I was growing up, I attended church every Sunday… each service complete with a collection for cash to help finance the church.
Coins (and, for the better off, envelopes containing presumably large-denomination notes) were dispatched into wooden boxes that were passed around the congregation. Well all that’s changing.
Over 16,000 churches, cathedrals, and religious sites will now have access to card readers, accepting chip and pin and the likes of Apple P(r)ay.