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The government should make cuts to taxes on business in next month's budget, according to Liam Fox. Writing in an article for the Financial Times, the former defence secretary called for the government to cut employers' national insurance...
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The 50p tax rate is failing to generate the expected amount of revenue, according to official figures. In January, the Treasury received £10.35 billion in income tax payments from those paying by self-assessment last month, a fall of £509...
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The carrot
HMRC raised over £10 million from more than 1,500 disclosures made under the Tax Health Plan, but the tax authorities are looking to raise yet more from the plan. The plan ran until 30 June 2010 and gave medical professionals the...
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LVCR currently means imported goods worth less than £15 escape VAT, but in November the Treasury announced it would be scrapping LVCR from 1 April 2012 for goods sent from the Channel Islands. That will affect not just the Channel Island websites, such...
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The notion that economic growth is good and lack of growth is bad is one of the few things politicians seem to agree on. But as far as investors are concerned, the emphasis on growth can be misleading.
For example, China remains the...
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The Chancellor’s Autumn Statement had a few surprises to set against the gloomy economic forecasts.
The Autumn Statement, together with a raft of draft legislation issued a week later, has revealed a good slice of what will be in...
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There is another change to company car taxation due in April.
2012/13 will see the introduction of a new set of company car tax scales originally announced a while ago by the then-Chancellor Alistair Darling. No, that’s not an...
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UK resident individuals have to make a distinct break with the UK if they want the UK tax authorities to treat them as non-residents, the Supreme Court has confirmed. The decision in the long-running appeal by the expatriate businessman Robert Gaines-Cooper...
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Did you know that HMRC now review its advisory rates for reimbursement of fuel used in company cars on a quarterly basis? The rates review quarterly, but there are no longer any changes for price fluctuations. The rates from 1 December 2011 to 29 February...
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Are you newly self-employed? You may not have to pay your first tax bill until 22 months after you started your business and HMRC has recently published a new leaflet to help budget for this. Based on estimated earnings it shows the amount that should be...
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The law could be shifting in favour of employers, especially for smaller businesses.
The Business Secretary, Vince Cable, has outlined a package of measures aimed at improving the way employers take people on, manage disputes, and...
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Wealthy people who own overseas property will face extra scrutiny from a new 200-strong team of HMRC investigators and specialists. The first to be targeted will be people with assets worth between £2.5 million and £20 million.
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The world of pensions continues to change rapidly, with more changes from April and further announcements from the Government.
The start of the new tax year on 6 April marks several important changes to pensions:
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Inflation rates are set to fall, but the past damage remains.
Annual inflation reached 5.6% last September, based on the Retail Prices Index (RPI). That was its highest level since June 1991. Inflation has since started to drift back, falling to...
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It’s bonus season again, and bonuses are a contentious subject around the turn of the year.
There is a widespread view that in some areas of the financial world – notably investment banks – they are too high. However,...
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Tax relief of up to 78% will be available for investments in new small companies under the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS).
This was one of several proposals in the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement on 29 November aimed at...
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The world of pensions continues to develop rapidly, with more changes from April and further announcements from the Government. The start of the tax year on 6 April marks several important changes to pensions.
Contracting out If you are...
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Although the Payments Council has reversed its decision to scrap cheques, the Council’s description of them as being in ‘terminal decline’ looks accurate, even if they can be useful on occasions.
The total number of...
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Commercial property is an investment sector that has largely avoided the recent market volatility.
While the world’s stock markets experienced regular and dizzying bouts of volatility in 2011, UK commercial property returns were...
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Many couples waste all or part of the allowance because income is concentrated in one partner’s hands. There has been talk that the allowance will be made at least partially transferable, but government finances rule out such an expensive reform...
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To qualify, the property will need to be available for commercial letting as holiday accommodation for at least 210 days during the tax year and must be commercially let as holiday accommodation for 105 days. Currently the limits are 140 days and 70 days,...
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Smaller businesses are under the cosh, with many battling reduced sales and squeezed funding. Although premiums involve outlay, business protection makes more sense than ever.
For partnerships and shareholders, cover can mean the...
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Do you have a Swiss bank account? If you do then the UK tax authorities will be coming after you. HSBC Swiss account holders are currently being contacted, and they will have just 30 days to disclose their tax liabilities or face possible investigation. The...
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Employers who make systematic but unidentified mistakes in their PAYE payments are likely to suffer expensive penalties under the HMRC rules that have applied in the last two tax years.
This is because the level of penalty is based on...
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With the prospect of tax cuts increasingly distant, year-end tax planning has become more relevant than ever in cutting your contribution to the Exchequer.
Chancellor George Osborne’s past two Budgets have introduced a wide range...
