More than 50% of female accountants believe they are held back because of their gender and this affects their chances of promotion and their salary. Only 12% of men think they are disadvantaged in the same way, according to a recent study by Marks Sattin.

HMRC has got it wrong yet again! 12,000 taxpayers have received penalty letters demanding the immediate payment of overdue tax even though the department had already reached an agreement with those concerned that there was no need for them to fill in a self-assessment form.

Contractor accountants should be in no doubt that HMRC will track down fraudsters wherever they may be.

HMRC has issued a reminder to everybody, including contractor accountants, who have still to file their tax return for 2010-11 that daily penalties will start accruing if it is not returned before the first of May.

You may be aware that new EU cross-border invoicing and VAT directives come into force in 2013, but there is now concern that these are open to interpretation.

Contractor accountants may be interested to learn that UK Uncut, the activist group that is against the government’s spending cuts, has won the right to take HMRC to court over its dealings with Goldman Sachs.

HMRC is moving forward with its plans to implement Real Time Information and has received the first set of returns from its pilot scheme.

Contractor accountants will probably agree that HMRC should do something to improve the time it takes to answer incoming calls at its contact centres.

The ICAEW has warned the Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, that the standard of service at HMRC could drop if its headcount decreases in line with his remit.

Now here’s an offer you won’t want to miss! Free accounting software! Yes, it’s true; contractors, freelancers and micro-businesses can now use Crunch’s online Solo accounting software completely free of charge.

It’s possible that accountants for contractors might have some clients who work in Switzerland. They should therefore be aware that HMRC now treats Switzerland as an EU member state for the purposes of Social Security.

Most contractor accountants probably agreed with the FPB when it criticised the Revenue for closing down its online services throughout the Easter holidays.