Bronte museum wins marathon VAT battle
The Bronte Parsonage Museum in Yorkshire, home of legendary literary sisters Emily, Anne and Charlotte, has won a 13-year battle with Customs & Excise over VAT exemption.
The Bronte Parsonage Museum in Yorkshire, home of legendary literary sisters Emily, Anne and Charlotte, has won a 13-year battle with Customs & Excise over VAT exemption.
Link: Customs faces VAT rebate crisis
The museum has been refunded £596,000, including interest, by Customs based on VAT payments dating back more than 10 years, according to the Yorkshire Post.
In its battle with Customs, the museum claimed that it was a volunteer organisation – its trustees are all unpaid – and hence should be exempt from VAT.
Customs maintained that because it did employ some staff it should not be exempt.
Victory for the Yorkshire attraction was built around last year’s landmark ruling in the European Court of Justice, which found in favour of the Zoological Society of London, which also has unpaid trustees responsible for Whipsnade Animal park, London Zoo and other zoos.
According to Ernst & Young, accountants to the ZSL, the decision in favour of the Bronte museum should see other organisations like museums, theatres and galleries qualify for significant refunds of overclaimed VAT.
The numbers you crunch tell a story. Your expertis...
21yEmbracing user-friendly AP systems can turn the tide, streamlining workflows, enhancing compliance, and opening doors to early payment discounts. Read...
View articleOrganisations can enhance their financial operations' efficiency, accuracy, and responsiveness by adopting platforms that offer them self-service cust...
View articleIn a world of instant results and automated workloads, the potential for AP to drive insights and transform results is enormous. But, if you’re still ...
View resourceDiscover how AP dashboards can transform your business by enhancing efficiency and accuracy in tracking key metrics, as revealed by the latest insight...
View articleThe amount of tax saved by businesses through HMRC’s Patent Box scheme has increased by 23% over the last five years, from £1.14 billion in 2017/18 to...
View articleUK Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has hinted at the possibility of further tax cuts in the upcoming spring Budget, during his time at the World Economic Forum...
View articleThe legislation, which introduces a global minimum tax of at least 15% for multinational enterprises, aims to limit tax competition and ensure large c...
View articleThe upcoming tax changes in 2024 will significantly impact businesses and individuals in the UK. Accountants play a crucial role in helping clients na...
View articleAccountants must stay vigilant, adapt their tax strategies to evolving regulations, prioritize transparency, and foster collaboration with tax authori...
View articleAs the government prepares for re-election, PM Sunak promises to control spending in order to bring forth tax cuts next year Read More...
View articleThe Office for National Statistics revealed that the UK economy shrank by 0.3% in March after the economy grew by 0.1% in the previous three months Re...
View articleAs the Spring Budget approaches, dissenters of the UK government’s increasingly complex contractor legislation are baying for change. HMRC has already...
View article