The government have announced details of a new Help to Save saving scheme. The scheme is government backed and designed to support working people on low incomes build up their savings. The scheme, administered by HMRC, will be open to working people who receive Working Tax Credits, and those who receive Universal Credit with a household income equivalent to at least 16 hours a ...

The Criminal Finances Act 2017 took effect on 30 September 2017. It makes companies and partnerships, a ‘relevant body’, criminally liable if they fail to prevent the facilitation of tax evasion being carried out by an employee, anyone acting on their behalf or someone acting as an agent. If found guilty, the business could face unlimited fines and potentially further consequen ...

The Welsh Assembly has announced the proposed rates and bands for land transaction tax (LTT) which is to be introduced for land and property in Wales on 1 April 2018, replacing Stamp Duty Land Tax. Under the new rates for LTT, Wales will have the highest starting threshold for the property tax in the UK. The proposed rates are as follows:   Residential Non- ...

It is well publicised that the Government is committed to cracking down on tax avoidance and evasion, from individuals who bend the rules through to lawbreakers who evade their taxes altogether. Whilst David Gauke (Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury) announced in his ‘Compliance Progress Report (March 2013)’ that the UK’s tax gap figures rank among the lowest in the world, the ...

The latest DRAFT SRA Accounts Rules 2018 were published by the SRA on Wednesday 14 June 2017 and have been reduced to just seven pages containing twelve rules.   As expected, the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has, backed down on their controversial plan to change the definition of client money. This is a result of feedback received during their consultation on propose ...

With the Chancellor’s first Autumn Budget due to be presented on 22 November, professional bodies and business groups are setting out their Budget wishlists. Recommendations include changes to Business Rates, a ‘Brexit ready’ Budget, incentives for business and an appeal for changes to the Apprenticeship Levy. The ICAEW is urging that the government give sufficient attention ...

HMRC are making some changes to the ways customers can make payments. The pay at the Post Office service will be withdrawn from 15th December 2017 and from 13th January 2018, HMRC will no longer accept payment by personal credit card. Debit cards and corporate credit cards will continue to be accepted. We hope these changes don’t cause any inconvenience. There are still many ...

HMRC have launched a new Trusts Registration Service (TRS), so that trustees can register their trust online and provide information on the beneficial owners of the trust. The new service launched in early July for trustees and replaces the 41G (Trust) paper form, which was withdrawn at the end of April. Under the existing self assessment rules, the trustees (or their agents) ...

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has been issuing demands for National Insurance Contributions (NIC) to property letting landlords on the basis that they are ‘self-employed earners’ running a ‘business’. Self-employed earners who are liable to income tax on the profits of a trade, profession or vocation will also generally be considered a self-employed earner for NIC purposes. ...

HMRC have announced the introduction of a new service to directly help mid-sized businesses as they expand and grow. This is to be known as the Growth Support Service. According to HMRC there are approximately 170,000 mid-sized businesses registered in the UK. The businesses with either a turnover of more than £10 million or more than 20 employees, that are undergoing signific ...