HMRC has reminded self assessment taxpayers that the deadlines for filing 2020/21 tax returns are now approaching.

The deadline for 2020/21 tax returns is 31 October 2021 for those completed on paper forms and 31 January 2022 for online returns.

HMRC has already seen thousands of people filing their returns – more than 63,500 customers filed their tax return on 6 April, the first day of the tax year.

Individuals who are new to self assessment must register via GOV.UK to receive their Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR). Self-employed individuals must also register for Class 2 national insurance.

HMRC is encouraging customers to register early so that they can access guidance and be aware of what they need to do. This includes record keeping, knowing when the filing and payment deadlines are, and the potential for a first tax payment to include a payment on account.

This year, customers will also have to declare if they received any grants or payments from coronavirus (COVID-19) support schemes up to 5 April 2021, as these are taxable.

Myrtle Lloyd, Director General for Customer Services at HMRC, said: 'We want to help people get their tax returns right by making sure they are prepared and have everything they need before they start their self assessment. If anyone is worried about paying their tax bill, support is available – search 'time to pay' on GOV.UK.'

Chancellor Rishi Sunak will have 'little room for manoeuvre' in this month's Budget and Spending Review, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS).

The IFS says that this year's historic announcements of tax rises will increase the UK's tax take to its highest sustained level in peacetime.

The think tank says these are more the inevitable consequences of population ageing and pressures on health and care spending than they are consequences of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

However, despite improved economic forecasts, to meet his stated objective of achieving current budget balance, the Chancellor will have to increase spending on services other than health, defence, schools and aid by less than he was planning pre-pandemic, the IFS added.

Additionally, government borrowing this year could be more than £50 billion lower than was forecast in the March Budget.

Paul Johnson, Director of the IFS, said: 'Rishi Sunak, a Conservative chancellor, is presiding over an increase in the tax burden to record levels in the UK and an increase in the size of the state (public spending as a fraction of national income) to levels not seen since the days of [Margaret] Thatcher.

'Yet the combined effects of ever-growing spending on the NHS and an economy smaller than projected pre-pandemic mean that he is still likely to be short of money to spend on many other public services.'

The Tax Faculty at the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) has urged the government to use the upcoming Autumn Budget to help accelerate work on building a modern UK tax system.

The ICAEW has called for the government to ensure the tax system is 'fit for purpose in a modern world', and that it embraces simplification and digitalisation.

In a letter to the Financial Secretary to the Treasury, the ICAEW urged the government to 'explore opportunities offered by the UK's departure from the EU', including the simplification of VAT rules.

The ICAEW has also called for future tax policy to be sustainable from both climate change and fiscal perspectives, cautioning against introducing complex new green taxes and instead suggesting that existing legislation should be used to address environmental goals.

The ICAEW's recommendations can be read in full here. The Chancellor will present the 2021 Autumn Budget on 27 October.

A survey carried out by the Institute of Directors (IoD) has found that three in ten businesses plan on employing fewer people as a result of the increase in national insurance contributions (NICs).

Last month Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced plans to supply an additional £12 billion per year for health and social care, funded by a new 1.25% Health and Social Care Levy.

The UK-wide Health and Social Care Levy will be based on ringfenced NICs which already help to partly fund the NHS. A transitional increase to the main and additional rates of NICs will take effect from 6 April 2022 and will last during the 2022/23 tax year only: at this time, NICs for working age employees, the self-employed and employers will increase by 1.25% and will be added to the existing NHS allocation.

The IoD survey revealed that 83% of business leaders support the need to increase taxes to invest in health and social care. However, 68% oppose the higher tax rates levied on NICs and dividend payouts.

Commenting on the issue, Kitty Ussher, Chief Economist at the IoD, said: 'This research is a stark warning to government of the impact that the national insurance rate rise is likely to have on jobs. If, as they intend, three in ten businesses decide to employ fewer people as a result of this tax change, the effect will be felt across the economy just at the time that the furlough scheme is ending.'

Business groups have warned Prime Minster Boris Johnson that the UK economy is fragile and the recovery from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic remains on shaky ground.

The Prime Minister's speech at the Conservative Party conference outlined his vision for an optimistic UK, buoyed by higher wages and improved opportunity for all.

However, the only new policy was a 'levelling-up premium' for education, worth up to £3,000, to 'send the best maths and science teachers to the places that need them most'.

Shevaun Haviland, Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), said: 'There is much in the Prime Minister's ambition for the future of the UK which should be rightly applauded, but what businesses urgently need are answers to the problems they are facing in the here and now.

'Firms are dealing with a cumulative crisis in business conditions as supply chains crumple, prices soar, taxes rise and labour shortages hit new heights.'

Tony Danker, Director General of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), said: 'Ambition on wages without action on investment and productivity is ultimately just a pathway for higher prices.

'It's a fragile moment for our economy. So let's work in partnership to overcome the short-term challenges and fulfil our long-term potential. It's time to get around the table, roll up our sleeves and get things done. It's time to be united.'

The Institute of Directors (IoD) has called on the government to introduce a tax super-deduction to plug an investment gap in retraining.

The IoD also outlined other measures to 'help the UK reorientate to a higher skill economy', including reintroducing lifelong personalised training budgets to be used on accredited vocational and professional training, and widening the uses to which firms deploy their Apprenticeship Levy funding pots.

The business group also advocates introducing tax allowances for sole traders and the self-employed to incentivise investment in accredited professional and vocational training.

Commenting on the issue, Kitty Ussher, Chief Economist at the IoD, said: 'In an attempt to encourage physical investment, the March Budget included a welcome tax 'super-deduction' for capital investment in plant and machinery. But, as we have seen in recent weeks, we also have a gap for investment in retraining.

'We would therefore like to see the super-deduction apply to investment in human capital as well as physical capital, after all many of the jobs of the future will be in the service sector.'

The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has warned that tax rises could threaten the UK's ongoing recovery from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

According to the FSB, small businesses are coming up against 'unprecedented strain', with the cost of doing business higher than ever. Small businesses are also being affected by disruption to supply chains and increasing costs, the business group said.

Following the end of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS), it has called for the government to focus on helping employers create jobs. The FSB also urged the government to generate new schemes to help fill skills shortages.

'It's disappointing to see that more is not being done to tackle employment costs which are a huge drain on small businesses,' said Mike Cherry, National Chair of the FSB.

'Increasing the Employment Allowance would help protect the smallest employers who are being hit hard by the end of furlough and the NICs rise. The government should also expand Small Business Rates Relief to premises with a rateable value of £25,000, removing an additional 200,000 small firms from the scope of this tax.'

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has committed £500 million to renew job support programmes set up during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic after the end of the furlough scheme last month.

The Chancellor made the announcement during his speech at the Conservative Party conference in Manchester. The Kickstart Scheme – which subsidises eligible jobs for young people on Universal Credit – will be extended by three months to March 2022. Additionally, the Job Entry Targeted Support (JETS) scheme, which helps long-term unemployed people on Universal Credit, will be prolonged until September 2022.

The Treasury said that details will be confirmed at the Spending Review taking place alongside the Autumn Budget on 27 October.

Commenting on the Chancellor's speech, Tony Danker, Director General of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), said: 'Business shares the Chancellor's ambitious vision for a high-growth economy driven by science, technology and innovation.

'The Chancellor's emphasis on equipping young people for the world of work, from the Kickstart scheme to new AI scholarships, as well as helping people retrain for the jobs of the future, is the right approach.

'The only way to achieve the high-wage, high-skill economy we all want is to unlock productivity through higher investment and growth. All must rise together to avoid a further squeeze on living standards and to realise a better decade than the last.'

HMRC is urging Working Tax Credit (WTC) customers to check if they need to update their working hours if these have reduced because of the pandemic.

During the pandemic, WTC customers have not needed to tell HMRC about temporary short-term reductions in their working hours due to the coronavirus (COVID-19).

If a WTC customer's hours temporarily fell because of COVID-19, they have been treated as if they were working their normal hours.

Customers do not need to tell HMRC if they re-establish their normal working hours before 25 November 2021, but from then, they must do within the usual one-month window if they are not back to working their normal hours shown in their WTC claim.

Myrtle Lloyd, HMRC's Director General for Customer Services, said: 'We introduced this measure last year to help support working families. It is vital that WTC claimants who have benefitted from it update HMRC with their working hours if they have reduced, and they won't return to their normal level before 25 November.

'Anyone who is no longer eligible for WTC due to a change in their circumstances may be able to apply for other UK Government support, including Universal Credit.'