news / 7 posts found
Green light for pension dashboards
The government has given the green light to allow pension providers to create user-friendly services that display pension information for individuals on-line. Savers will be in the driving seat with all the facts and figures about their pensions and potential retirement income at their fingertips in one place for the first time - on smartphones, tablets and computers. Work and Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd said: With record numbers saving for retirement as a result of our revolutionary reforms, it’s more important than ever that people understand their pensions and prepare for financial security in later life. [...]
Proposals for consumer protections when companies collapse
The government is to consider new laws to protect consumers who have prepaid for products when a business becomes insolvent. Government to consider new laws to protect consumers who have prepaid for products when a business becomes insolvent proposed measures will include guaranteeing consumer schemes like Christmas savings clubs can safeguard customers’ money reforms are part of the government’s modern Industrial Strategy to ensure markets work in the interests of consumers New laws to protect consumers who have already paid for products but not received them when businesses go bust will be considered by the government, it was [...]
Evidence or assertion?
In a recent tax case, three taxpayers asserted that cleaning costs of work clothes amounted to £2,200 a year and HMRC disagreed. The facts were compelling, each of the appellants worked in the drainage or sewage industry and to maintain personal hygiene washed work clothing on a daily basis. Why shouldn’t they claim for the costs of keeping their work apparel clean? Claims were based on the purchase of sanitising and washing products, wear and tear on their home washing machines and an apportioned cost of home electricity charges. Importantly, no receipts were kept. To succeed in their tax claim, [...]
Boosting recycling through the tax system
The government has announced that it has received record-breaking support from members of the public to counter the blight of plastic waste. Here’s what they said: Individuals, businesses and campaign groups have expressed overwhelming support for action on tackling the impact of plastics on our environment. The backing comes as HM Treasury publishes the summary of responses to its recent call for evidence on how tax can be used to reduce plastic waste. The call attracted an unprecedented 162,000 responses, the highest in the Treasury’s history. The Chancellor, Philip Hammond, has reiterated the department’s commitment to act through the tax system [...]
Don’t fall for spoof “taxman” emails
New figures show that HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) requested a record 20,750 malicious sites to be taken down in the past 12 months, an increase of 29% on the previous year. Despite a record number of malicious sites being removed, HMRC is warning the public to stay alert as millions of taxpayers remain at risk of losing substantial amounts of money to online crooks. The warning comes as Scam Awareness month, run by Citizens Advice, draws to a close. HMRC has brought in cutting edge technology to tackle cyber-crime and target fraudsters. However, the public needs to be aware and report phishing [...]
What if there is a hard Brexit?
Although we strive to be non-political in this blog, it would seem that there is an increasing likelihood that when we leave the EU March next year the present free movement of goods will no longer apply. And so, putting aside our reaction to this possibility, what should we be doing to prepare for this so-called “Hard Brexit”? A fair proportion of the raw materials used in our manufacturing processes and the food we eat come from EU suppliers. It is unrealistic to expect UK businesses to increase stocks in anticipation of disrupted supply lines and increased prices after [...]
Advance notice
Last week the Treasury issued draft clauses for the forthcoming Finance Bill (to be published after the Autumn Budget later this year). These will set the scene for tax matters 2019-20 and beyond. The aim of the advance notice is to give interested parties a chance to comment on the contents before government starts the formal process of processing the legislation through Parliament. The draft clauses include numerous technical changes to legislation that are outside the scope of this article, but a cross-section of the more “interesting” disclosures are set out below: Technical changes to various benefit [...]