We have reproduced two of the more surprising changes announced in the Budget notes published immediately following George Osborne’s presentation last week. HMRC to be given powers to raid bank accounts: “The government will modernise and strengthen HMRC’s debt collection powers to recover financial assets from the bank accounts of debtors who owe over £1,000 […]
Budget Statement 19 March 2014
Personal Tax, Stamp Duty Land Tax and miscellaneous matters Personal Tax allowance The personal allowance for those born after 5 April 1948 will be: For 2014-15 – £10,000 For 2015-16 – £10,500 Income Tax rate bands There was significant press commentary prior to the Budget announcements lobbying for an increase in the threshold at which […]
HMRC to use Mr Bean film makers
In a bizarre attempt to create positive PR for HMRC, Channel 4 has been given unprecedented access to HM Revenue and Customs as they pursue tax evaders and collect unpaid tax. Tiger Aspect Productions, the production company behind Mr Bean, will be filming HMRC staff as they target the so-called high risk sectors: the building […]
Treasury hungry for ideas
George Osborne is delivering his Budget speech Wednesday of this week. It will be interesting to see if his plea for ideas to help smaller businesses has received a sympathetic ear. Here’s what a number of organisations have requested: British Chambers of Commerce The BCC have made three recommendations: A £100m scheme to pay businesses […]
Reducing tax evasion and avoidance
Just in case you have missed the news – that HMRC are stepping up their campaigns to stop tax avoidance and evasion – you may be interested to read the following quotes from HMRC and the Treasury: “Issue The difference between the revenues that in HM Revenue & Customs’ (HMRC) view should come in, and […]
Budget speculation
Speculation is rife that George Osborne is under pressure to pre-empt possible interest rate increases next year by offering tax cuts in the forthcoming Budget announcements on 19 March. Polling day for the 2015 general election is 7 May so an announcement to increase the basic personal allowance (presently £10,000) may be an option as […]
April 1st auto-enrolment deadline
For employers with between 50 and 249 employees auto-enrolment of employees into a pension scheme starts 1 April 2014. Smaller employers, under 50 employees, will need auto-enrol on a staged basis between 1 June 2015 and 1 April 2017. Employers who are still unclear what their responsibilities are under this new regulation should take a […]
Expected tax changes in the Budget 2014
The government has already published certain draft clauses for the Finance Bill 2014. We have listed below some of the more topical changes disclosed. Changes for the tax year 2014-15: Personal Tax: Individuals born after 5 April 1948 will be entitled to a personal tax allowance of £10,000. Employees will be able to increase the […]
Compensation for flood victims
The following announcements were posted to the GOV.UK website last month. They provide details of some of the compensation being offered to businesses affected by last month’s flooding across the UK: Cash compensation Measures include: A £5,000 repair and renewal grant for all affected householders and businesses. The aim is to top up money received […]