Archive for June 23rd, 2010

Recovering arrears of tax Following a successful pilot exercise in 2009/10, HMRC has announced that it will use Debt Collection Agencies during 2010/11 to provide it with additional capacity to pursue and collect tax debts. As part of HMRC’s debt strategy, all debts are risk assessed and in-house resources are focused first on the highest [...]

Anti-avoidance measures Various consultations and legislative measures are to be introduced to close down tax avoidance schemes. These include: “geared growth arrangements” for employment-related shares and securities arrangements using trusts and complex intermediary structures to avoid tax and NICs on earnings and restrictions on pensions tax relief schemes that involve profits arising to a company [...]

Enterprise Management Incentives Enterprise Management Incentives (EMI) is a share option scheme that provides tax and NICs advantages and is aimed at smaller, higher-risk companies to help them recruit and retain key employees. In order to qualify for EMI, a company has to meet various conditions with respect to its size, independence and trading activities. [...]

Basic State Pension The Government confirmed its commitment to review the basic State Pension each year by the highest of earnings, prices or 2½% from April 2011. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) will be used as the measure of prices, consistent with the Government’s decision to index all benefits and tax credits by the CPI. [...]

Rates and thresholds As indicated in the coalition government’s initial announcement in May 2010, the 1% increase to all NICs rates will go ahead from April 2011 as intended by the previous government. The Budget documents also state that the primary (employee) threshold, currently £110 per week, will be increased as “already planned” from April [...]

Allowances and thresholds From April 2011, the personal allowance for individuals under age 65 will increase by £1,000, from the current £6,475 to £7,475. The change is expected to take 880,000 people out of income tax altogether. This increase is a major step towards the coalition government’s longer term policy objective of increasing the personal [...]

The new Chancellor, George Osborne, presented his Emergency Budget on Tuesday, 22 June 2010.  This review covers all of the proposals that are relevant to payroll, many of which will be enacted in the Finance (No. 2) Act 2010. The new Budget proposals do not necessarily replace the changes announced in the previous government’s Budget [...]