All Tax and legislation articles – Page 52
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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) ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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.
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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 ...
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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.
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...