All Tax and legislation articles – Page 44
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Opinion
Ben Saunders: Employee ownership scheme has doubtful value
Then the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills rushed out its consultation on implementing employee owner status, with three weeks to respond.A new class of employment status, ‘employee owner’, will be introduced. Such people can receive shares worth between £2,000 and £50,000, which will be exempt from capital gains tax. ...
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Opinion
Alastair Kendrick: What will HMRC do after court ruling on NI?
The case surrounded the national insurance (NI) relief the taxpayer tried to utilise against the cash allowance paid to staff in lieu of a company car.The Court of Appeal decision was on a point of law and cannot be taken as a ‘green light’ for others to try to make ...
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Article
Former Rangers football club wins tax case
The former Rangers Football Club plc, which is now in liquidation, has won its appeal against a tax bill from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) for its use of an employee benefit trust (EBT).In a majority decision, the first tier tribunal concluded that the club’s payments to players and staff ...
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Article
Greencore employees win pay deduction case
More than 400 employees have been successful in an unlawful pay deductions complaint against employer Greencore.The claim, brought before an employment tribunal, involved 408 employees at the convenience food manufacturer’s Hull facility who agreed in 2010 to a one-year suspension of premium pay rates and enhanced holiday pay in order ...
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Article
HMRC investigates top earners
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is investigating £400 million-worth of tax that has possibly been unpaid by directors and executives, according to analysis by Pinsent Masons.The law firm has analysed official data from HMRC’s large business service, a department responsible for the taxes paid by the 770 largest organisations in ...
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Article
Taxpayers' Alliance proposes steps to abolish NI
The Taxpayers’ Alliance has proposed three steps to abolish national insurance (NI) and simplify income tax with the goal of implementing a single income tax rate of 30% by 2020.The report, How to abolish national insurance within five years, suggested that NI be fully merged with income tax in 2017, ...
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Article
Commerzbank to appeal bonus ruling
Commerzbank is to challenge a High Court ruling that it should pay bankers a share of €400 million in bonuses.The legal claim was launched by 104 bankers from Dresdner Kleinwort Investment Bank (DKIB) after it was sold to Commerzbank in 2009.According to the bankers, senior managers at DKIB announced a ...
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Opinion
Elizabeth Parkin: Maternity leave issues
Many employers struggle to fully understand their obligations to pregnant women. Misunderstanding legal duties may lead to employment tribunal claims which can be expensive to settle, not to mention the unwelcome possibility of negative publicity.Part of the problem for employers is the extensive legislation which includes rights to:paid time off ...
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Article
Offshore payroll firms may create NI liabilities
UK employers that use temporary workers who are employed by offshore payroll organisations must be aware they could be liable for employer national insurance contributions (NICs).Offshore payroll companies do not need to pay NICs for their employees because the company is not resident in the UK. However, organisations that use ...
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Article
Tax rule changes can cause reporting errors
Changing rules around the tax treatment of benefits, and a failure to implement effective policies, processes and systems, are the most common causes of errors on employers’ end-of-year benefits tax returns.These could result in penalties for organisations.Richard Webb, tax director at Grant Thornton, said employers must be aware of these ...
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Article
High Court rules benefit take up seals employment contract
Employees who take up a benefit, offered specifically to a person in their position in the company, will be held to the terms of their employment contract, even if they have not signed the contract.The High Court ruled that if an employee uses a benefit, which is offered under their ...
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Article
MP requests review of share plan limits
Labour MP Jim Fitzpatrick has called on treasury secretary David Gauke to review the savings limits for HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC)-approved share plans.In a letter, Fitzpatrick asked Gauke to review the issue in light of a tabled early day motion (EDM), as well as views by the Office for ...
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Article
Consultation on share buy back launched
The government has launched a consultation on changes to deregulate the conditions under which organisations can authorise and finance share buy backs.The consultation is based on a recommendation in The Nuttall Review on Employee Ownership, which was published in July.In organisations where employees hold a direct stake, the employer often ...
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AnalysisBeware of tax and legal anomalies in benefits
YOU READ NOTHING ELSE, READ THIS …Employers must be aware of all the tax and legal implications of benefits.Bikes-for-work schemes are often misunderstood. The bike is owned by the employer and must be used by the employee to get to and from work.Certain flexible benefi ts can require changes to ...
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Article
Consultation findings on executive pay
The latest move, at the end of September, was the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills’ (BIS) release of consultation proposals on reporting regulations for executive remuneration.The consultation, Directors’ pay: revised remuneration reporting regulations, followed business secretary Vince Cable’s announcement on 23 January 2012 that the government wanted a package ...
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Article
Chancellor's employee-owner consultation to end
The consultation will examine how to implement the contract, due to be introduced in April 2013.The proposal, announced in October, has been met with resistance from the industry.Under the plan, all employers would be able to offer the new contract by giving staff between £2,000 and £50,000 in shares, exempt ...
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Article
Reforms reduce public sector pension benefits
The government’s proposed reforms for public sector pension schemes will reduce the average value of the schemes’ benefits by more than a third, according to research by independent charity the Pensions Policy Institute.The research, The implications of the Coalition government’s reforms for members of the public service pension schemes, looked ...
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Article
Equal pay ruling could raise employer costs
The Supreme Court has ruled that equal pay claims can be brought through civil courts rather than employment tribunals, which will extend the time limit to make a claim from six months to six years.Birmingham City Council, the employer at the centre of the case, appealed to the Supreme Court ...
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Article
Incorrect staff status could lead to penalities
Employers should be aware of the areas HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will look at when considering whether a worker is classified as self-employed or as an employee.If an employer treats a worker as a freelancer or contractor when they are, in fact, an employee, HMRC could require the employer ...
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Article
Consultation launched on employee-owner scheme
The government has launched a consultation that sets out its plans for a new employment status, called employee-owner.The move follows Chancellor George Osborne’s proposal on 8 October that employee-owners would be able to own shares in their company worth between £2,000 and £50,000, which will not be subject to capital ...