'Contradictory' tax advice attacked
The much-maligned concept of joined up government was dealt another blow yesterday after accountants attacked a DTI-funded website for offering misleading tax advice.
Link: Family businesses suffer S660 blow
Business Link, which is managed and part-funded by the department of trade, was giving advice that ran contrary to last week’s Arctic Systems ruling on the hated S660A ‘husband and wife tax‘, experts said.
Anne Redston, tax partner at Ernst & Young, said the advice contradicted the line taken by the Inland Revenue, reported The Financial Times.
The Arctic Systems ruling, which is retrospective in application, enables the Revenue to collect tax at a higher rate from both partners by preventing one spouse from settling their income on another who pays tax at a lower rate.
But accountants said Business Link had continued to recommend that spouses share profits between them for tax purposes.