What's in the news this month - July 2026

HMRC says it is making it easier for informants to report serious tax fraud and avoidance through the Strengthened Reward Scheme.

Informants may be eligible for a financial reward if the information they provide leads to HMRC recovering at least £1.5 million in unpaid tax.

The strengthened scheme encourages reporting of high-value tax fraud and avoidance and specifically targets serious non-compliance involving large companies, wealthy individuals, offshore structures and avoidance schemes. It is a significant expansion of the existing scheme for lower value reporting, which remains in place.

The tax authority has recorded a webinar and created a short explainer video to provide practical guidance on how to report tax wrongdoing and what information HMRC needs.

Subject to meeting eligibility criteria, informants could receive between 15% and 30% of the value of any additional tax collected by HMRC because of the information provided. These are awarded at HMRC’s discretion and are not guaranteed. They will be paid once the tax has been collected and the matter resolved.

Andy Leggett, HMRC’s Director of Risk and Intelligence Services, said:

“Tax fraud is a crime that cheats honest taxpayers and diverts money from vital public services. This scheme is designed to incentivise people to do the right thing, whether they are members of the public or industry professionals such as accountants and lawyers.

“Your report could make a meaningful difference.”

Internet link: HMRC press release

Significant reforms to small business finance have been announced by the government.

The centrepiece of the plans is an expansion of the British Business Bank’s (BBB) Growth Guarantee Scheme (GGS), which provides a 70% government guarantee on commercial loans to SMEs of up to £2 million.

The scheme will scale up to facilitate an additional £2 billion of SME lending per year by 2028/29. This will bring the total SME lending supported through the scheme to £3.35 billion per year, more than double the current £1.35 billion.

The maximum term length of a loan is also increasing from six to ten years for loans of up to £1.1 million.

In addition, the maximum size of businesses that are eligible for a loan under the scheme is rising from £45 million in annual turnover to £54 million.

The BBB estimates these changes will support an additional 12,000 businesses per year by 2028/29, a 150% increase on the 8,000 currently being supported, bringing the total to 20,000.

Louise Hellem, Chief Economist at the Confederation of British Industry, said:

“The government deserves credit for listening to business and putting forward a package that recognises the practical finance challenges firms face. The priority now is delivery and making sure the support is simple to access, well understood by businesses and effective in crowding in private capital.

“If implemented well, these reforms can help more SMEs scale, export and adopt new technologies here in the UK – supporting productivity, stronger local economies and long-term growth.”

Internet link: HM Treasury website CBI website

Firms supporting people to buy, trade and hold crypto will need to meet new standards under landmark rules set out by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

All firms must meet financial resilience requirements including capital and stress testing. The FCA is also introducing new market integrity rules. These cover areas such as insider trading and market manipulation.

The new framework also sets out specific rules for stablecoins, a type of cryptoasset designed to maintain a stable value, typically by being linked to a currency such as the pound. The regulator says stablecoins will be subject to clear, strong and transparent standards, helping to build trust in how they are used over time.

The FCA says it drew upon international best practice, applying established financial services standards where risks are comparable, including the Consumer Duty.

David Geale, Executive Director of Payments and Digital Finance at the FCA, said:

“This is a significant moment for crypto regulation in the UK. We’ve created a framework that doesn’t force firms to choose between regulatory certainty and room to innovate – this regime means they can have both in a stable, competitive home to build and grow. For consumers, it means firms will be held to similar standards to other financial providers, though we can’t regulate away risk.”

Internet link: FCA website