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A bumpy ride for August on the markets

Business Investment

Stock markets, as well as some family holidaymakers, experienced a rollercoaster August. The traditional holiday month proved to be anything but quiet on the world’s investment markets. As the graph of the major UK and US stock market indices shows, there were plenty of sharp lurches, up as well as down. Inevitably the downward trends […]

Improved protections against redundancy for new families

Extended legal protections against redundancy for pregnant women, new mothers and adoptive parents have been confirmed by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). Government consultation revealed that new parents continue to face discrimination at work, with up to 54,000 women saying they felt they had to leave their jobs due to pregnancy […]

New measures for company car tax

You may want to review your company car needs in the light of changes to the company car tax rules coming in next year. Do you know your WLTP from your NDEC? If you drive a company car or administer a company car scheme, you’ll find it useful to understand the distinction between the two: […]

The taxing problem of plastics – a challenge for all

The Treasury has said a single use plastic waste tax will be brought in – but not for three years. What can you do in the meantime to help tackle the environmental challenge? Legislation on a plastics tax is now slated for April 2022 following proposals expected to be included in the next Budget. The […]

Time to overhaul inheritance tax?

July saw the publication of the long-awaited second report on inheritance tax (IHT) from the Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) with a range of useful proposals. Focused on simplifying the structure of IHT, the report, contained some surprises, not only in the recommendations it makes, but also in those areas it has left untouched. A […]

Self-employed hit by self-assessment system error

If you are self-employed, you may find you have been affected by an HMRC system error which could mean a higher tax bill in January. Self-assessment statements for payments on account affecting the self-employed have either not been sent out at all or show a zero balance where a payment was due on 31 July. […]

The implications of the over-75 licence problem

TV Licence Header

While the row over the BBC’s decision to scrap universal free TV licences for the over-75s has focused on the impact on those affected, it also forms part of the ongoing broader debate around inter-generational fairness.   Free TV licences for the over-75s were introduced by Gordon Brown in his 2000 Budget. At a relatively […]

VAT reverse charge for building and construction from October

New rules come into force in October for VAT-registered firms reporting under the Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) as part of HMRC’s attempt to tackle fraud in the industry. Fraudsters who set up companies in order to siphon off VAT and then close within months before paying anything to HMRC, have started operating in the construction […]

Parents receive HMRC penalties reprieve

Parents Header

Around 6,000 parents have had their penalties cancelled for failure to notify HMRC that they were liable for the high income child benefit charge (HICBC). This is unlikely to be repeated, so families need to be aware of their position. Around 1.4 million families lose some or all of their child benefit because one of […]

Getting to grips with the tax gap

Tax Header

HMRC did not collect 5.6% of the tax revenue due for 2017/18 according to its annual report on the tax gap. And the biggest increase in shortfall was from smaller businesses and individuals. The £35bn missing from expected tax receipts is a new record in cash terms, with an increase of £2bn on the previous […]

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