All Tax and legislation articles – Page 43
-
Article
Gove confirms performance-related pay for teachers
Education minister Michael Gove has confirmed the implementation of performance-related pay (PRP) for teachers.This follows recommendations from the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB), which were published in February 2012 and called on the government to link teachers’ pay more closely to their performance.In May 2012, Gove submitted evidence to the ...
-
Article
New flat rate state pension is announced
This afternoon the government announced plans to introduce a new flat-rate state pension.The new state pension will come into effect from 2017 as part of a reform package to be announced to Parliament today.At today’s prices it will be worth around £144 a week and will only be paid to ...
-
Article
Providers agree to disclose pension charges
The Association of British Insurers (ABI) has announced an agreement to ensure the consistent and straightforward disclosure of pension charges and costs to employees in workplace pension schemes.The agreement will be implemented by the summer of 2014 for schemes that arenewly established for auto-enrolment, and for all older workplace pension ...
-
Article
Benefits cap rise limited to 1%
MPs have voted in favour of plans to limit annual increases in working-age benefits to 1% until 2015.The benefits subject to the cap from April 2013 include sick pay, maternity pay, paternity pay and adoption pay.The cap was proposed by Chancellor George Osborne in the Autumn Statement on 5 December ...
-
Opinion
Susan Ball: iPads can be tax-free if you follow rules
Tax breaks under HCI ended in 2006, but several replacement schemes mean staff can benefit from discounts, thanks to their employer’s buying power, allowing them to pay for a computer over a fixed term, with costs deducted monthly from net salary.But as an employer-supplied product, it is still taxed as ...
-
Opinion
Andrew Clark: Staff ownership boosts engagement
One size does not fit all and the debate on how organisations are structured in order to broaden the UK’s economic base and ensure better staff engagement means many alternative forms of corporate ownership are rightly now being explored.How a business engages with its staff has never been more crucial ...
-
Article
Tax incentives for shareholder scheme announced
Chancellor George Osborne announced in his Autumn Statement that the exemption will come into effect from April 2013.He also said the government would consider options to reduce income tax and national insurance liabilities when employee shareholders receive the shares.Chris Blundell, tax partner at MHA MacIntyre Hudson, said: “I think the ...
-
Article
Office of Tax Simplification to review benefits
Chancellor George Osborne said in his Autumn Statement that the review would include “an initial scoping exercise to identify which areas are most complex for taxpayers”.Also, OTS recommendations on approved employee share schemes were confirmed in draft legislation published on 11 December.These include changes to the enterprise management incentive (EMI) ...
-
Article
Financial Services Bill gets Royal Assent
The Financial Services Bill received Royal Assent on 19 December.The bill, now an Act of Parliament, will be known as the Financial Services Act and will come into effect from 1 April 2013.It gives the Bank of England responsibility for protecting and enhancing financial stability. It also abolishes the Financial ...
-
Article
Tax support for employee owners
Autumn Statement 2012: The government is considering options to reduce income tax and national insurance contributions (NICs) that arise when employee shareholders receive shares from their employer.The options include deeming that the first £2,000 of shares received under the employee-shareholder status would be free from income tax and NICs.As previously ...
-
Article
Increase in higher-rate tax threshold
Autumn Statement 2012: Chancellor George Osborne announced in the Autumn Statement today that the higher-rate threshold for income tax will increase by 1% in each year between 2013 and 2016.The rate above which individuals pay income tax at 40% will be set at £41,450 in 2014-15 and rise to £42,285 ...
-
Article
Government increases personal allowance
Autumn Statement 2012: The government will increase the personal allowance by an additional £235 as part of its commitment to make the first £10,000 of salary free from income tax.During his presentation of the Autumn Statement, Chancellor George Osborne announced that the personal allowance will rise to £9,440 in April ...
-
Article
TUPE regulations to be reviewed
Autumn Statement 2012: The government will shortly launch a consultation on TUPE regulations. The proposals will removeunnecessary burdens on business.
-
Article
Employee-owner scheme given go ahead
The government has announced it will go ahead with its plans for an employee-owner scheme.The scheme, which was announced by Chancellor George Osborne on 8 October, would require employees to give up employment rights, such as wrongful dismissal, the right to redundancy pay and the right to ask for flexible ...
-
Article
Autumn Statement summary to come
The Employee Benefits’ team will be reporting on the Autumn Statement this afternoon.Stay tuned for breaking news and an email alert summarising all announcements that impact on reward and benefits.
-
Article
Tax legislation for share plans set out
The government has published draft tax legislation around share schemes, which will be included in the Finance Bill 2013.This includes measures announced in, and following, the March 2012 Budget and the Autumn Statement announced in December 2012. It is open for technical consultation until 6 February 2013.The measures include:Changes to ...
-
Article
Employers given extension before RTI penalities begin
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will not charge employers a penalty for late or inaccurate in-year full payment submissions until April 2014 as part of real-time information (RTI) reporting.The current penalty policy process will continue to apply at the tax year’s end, with a penalty being charged if the relevant ...
-
Opinion
Susan Ball: Tax-free Christmas perks
Christmas is an expensive time of year, but staff parties can be tax free, because HM Revenue and Customs’ (HMRC) festive gift is an annual tax exemption of up to £150 per person. While most employers include food, drink and entertainment when costing such events, many forget they should also ...
-
Article
Tax relief overhaul could encourage saving
The pensions tax relief provided by the Treasury has largely failed to encourage people to save for retirement, according to a report by Michael Johnson, pensions analyst at the Centre for Policy Studies.The report, Costly and ineffective: why pensions tax relief should be reformed, found relief on income tax and ...
-
Article
MPs push for action on expenses schemes
Five members of Parliament (MPs) have introduced an Early Day Motion calling on the government to take action on tax avoidance through travel and subsistence expenses schemes.According to the motion, the schemes are often used by temporary labour providers and involve the employer ‘artificially’ classifying part of a worker’s pay ...