Tax & Legislation news – Page 26
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Minimum wage to increase from 1 October
The government has accepted the independent Low Pay Commission’s (LPC) recommendations for this year’s adult and youth national minimum wage (NMW).It also opted to increase the apprentice rate rather than freeze it, as recommended by the LPC.From 1 October 2013:The adult rate will increase by 12p to £6.31 an hour.The ...
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Unison wins pay case for fire and rescue staff
Trade union Unison has won a legal case in the Court of Appeal for pay which could affect around 800 employees of the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority (LFEPA). The union challenged the LFEPA’s decision not to honour the third year of an agreed pay deal that would have ...
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DWP publishes guidance on fit notes
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has published a guidance document on the government’s fit note system.Getting the most out of the fit note: guidance for employers and line managers explains what employers should do if they are given a fit note by an employee, what different sections of ...
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Round-up of tax and legislation changes coming in from 6 April
A number of tax and legislation changes that come into effect from 6 April 2013 will have an impact on employee benefits.Real-time information (RTI) reporting begins.From 6 April, employers will have to start reporting pay-as-you-earn (PAYE) information to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) in real time. Employers with fewer than ...
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Government criticised for state pension changes
The key to the successful implementation of the single-tier state pension lies in the government informing the public as soon as possible about how it will impact individuals, according to a report by the Work and Pensions Select Committee.In its Single-tier state pension: part 1 of the draft pensions bill, ...
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Employee Benefits Connect: Esop chief criticises share scheme stance
Speaking at Employee Benefits Connect, Poole said he was worried that all the government departments involved in the employee share ownership agenda would head in different directions.“If the communication between those departments isn’t up to scratch, you risk everyone tripping over each other and nothing being achieved,” he said.Poole (pictured) ...
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Employee ownership scheme blocked
The government’s employee ownership scheme has been blocked in the House of Lords.The scheme, which was announced by Chancellor George Osborne in October 2012, would allow employees to give up some employment rights in return for shares in their employer. It was defeated by 232 votes to 178.The scheme was ...
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Tax exemption for travel season ticket loans doubles
Budget 2013: The threshold for tax exemption on employment-related ‘taxable cheap’, low-cost or interest-free loans, such as travel season ticket loans, will double.Chancellor George Osbourne revealed in his 2013 Budget speech that the current threshold of £5,000 will increase to £10,000 for the 2014-15 tax year. As long as the ...
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Employee owners to receive tax breaks
Budget 2013: Following on from the introduction of a new employee ownership status in October 2012, Chancellor George Osborne has announced in the Budget 2013 that the first £2,000 of share value that any employee receives under the new status will be free from income tax and national insurance (NI) ...
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Government confirms state pension brought forward to 2016
Budget 2013: Chancellor George Osborne has confirmed that the government will bring forward its plans to introduce a new single-tier £144 per week state pension by one year.As Employee Benefits previously reported Osborne first announced the changes on 17 March on BBC’s Andrew Marr Show.The new state pension was originally ...
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Government brings forward increase to personal allowance
Budget 2013: The government has brought forward its plans to increase the personal allowance to £10,000 to 2014/15.It means the first £10,000 of an employee’s annual salary will be exempt from income tax as a result of the increase, which was originally intended for 2015.Consequently, the average basic-rate taxpayer will ...
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HMRC to relax RTI payroll reporting for small employers
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has relaxed real-time information (RTI) reporting arrangements for small employers.Employers with fewer than 50 employees will have until 5 October 2013, rather than 6 April 2013, to comply with the legislation.Until the revised date, these employers will be able to send information to HMRC by ...
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Single-tier state pension brought forward to 2016
The government is to bring forward its plans to introduce a new single-tier £144 per week state pension by one year.On the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show on 17 March, Chancellor George Osborne said the new state pension would be introduced in 2016 rather than 2017 as originally planned.He added: “People ...
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HMRC warns employers about RTI
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is reminding employers about real-time information (RTI) reporting, one month before the legislation takes effect on 6 April.From that date, employers will be required to move to a new way of reporting pay-as-you-earn (PAYE), doing so each time employees are paid rather than annually.HMRC suggests ...
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Employee owners to receive CGT relief
Budget 2013: The government has announced it will fund the introduction of a capital gains tax (CGT) relief on the sale of a controlling interest in an organisation into an employee ownership structure.The government will fund the CGT relief, which it aims to introduce in the Finance Bill 2014 in ...
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European Union agrees cap on bankers’ bonuses
The European Commission and the European Parliament have reached a preliminary agreement on limiting bonus payments in the financial services sector.The cap will limit bankers’ bonuses to one-time salary, or two-times salary if a majority of shareholders agree. There will be some leeway for long-term incentives, although the details of ...
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ABI publishes code of conduct for annuities
The Association of British Insurers (ABI) will implement its code of conduct for annuities on 1 March.The ABI Code of conduct on retirement choices aims to help people who buy an annuity each year better understand their options at retirement, choose the right annuity for their circumstances and shop around ...
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Employers must get up to speed on RTI
This is despite the fact that, from April 2013, employers must report pay-as-you-earn (PAYE) in real time to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) when they perform a payroll process, rather than waiting until the end of the year.Last month, Crunch Accounting’s study of 503 people working in small businesses found ...
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Consultations launched on pension disclosure rules
The Department for Work and Pensions has launched a consultation, which proposes to harmonise, simplify and consolidate the regulations surrounding the disclosure of pension scheme information.The consultation, The occupational and personal pension schemes (disclosure of information) regulations 2013, outlines draft regulations and will be open until 14 April 2013.It is ...
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Tax relief awarded in bonus repayment case
The First-Tier Tribunal has found that an employee repaying a signing bonus should receive tax relief because the repayment amounted to ‘negative pay’ for the employee.Julian Martin was awarded a signing bonus of £250,000 in 2005/06 by his employer JLT Risk Solutions with the provision that he would stay with ...