Do you ever get the feeling you don’t really understand what’s going on? Reading the news over the last week, I kept getting this horrible feeling that I was in an episode of Reggie Perrin.

Accountants will know that dogs generally bark at the least sign of danger but now Lord Lawson is suggesting that accountants should bark also! He has said that auditors were amongst the dogs that didn’t bark throughout the recent banking crisis.

Contractor accountants might want to let their clients know that HMRC’s Sunday hotlines are set to close down as from the end of November.

Accountants in the Birmingham area may benefit from visiting an event to be run by HMRC.

Following the release of the Comprehensive Spending Review last week, HMRC has renewed its pledge to crack down on tax avoidance to help lower the country’s fiscal deficit.

Amid all the usual and totally predictable debate over the Spending Review, it is perhaps interesting to consider things from the perspective of the freelance contractor. In the long term, any benefits that arise from the review, if it meets its aims, are much the same for everyone.

UK businesses are to receive financial assistance from a new business growth fund set up by six of the major British banks.

Some freelancers may find it beneficial to consult a contractor accountant over the next few days in order to make sure their tax return is in order.

The Chartered Institute of Taxation responded last week to the National Audit Office’s report ‘Engaging with Tax Agents’.

It will probably come as no surprise to contractor accountants to learn that many people in the UK are confused by our taxation system.

I’ve written before about the confusion in the debate about immigration and the constant refusal of government and the press to separate genuine immigration from abuse of the system, especially the misuse of the ICT programme.

The FSB does not think that HMRC should force people to file their tax returns online. The Federation agrees that although paper returns will eventually become a thing of the past, it would be better to let this happen organically.