Newsletter 87

Headlines from our latest newsletter.  Please click on any of the links below for more information :

AUTUMN STATEMENT

The Chancellor George Osborne delivered his Autumn Statement on 3 December - See more at: http://www.walkerthompson.co.uk/newsletters/Newsletter-87#Autumn

STAMP DUTY LAND TAX (SDLT)

One of the Autumn Statement announcements is a major reform to SDLT on residential property transactions - See more at: http://www.walkerthompson.co.uk/newsletters/Newsletter-87#Stamp

INCORPORATION - RESTRICTION OF RELIEF FOR GOODWILL AND ENTREPRENEURS’ RELIEF

Corporation tax relief is given to companies when goodwill and intangible assets are recognised in the financial accounts - See more at: http://www.walkerthompson.co.uk/newsletters/Newsletter-87#Incorporation

EMPLOYMENT BENEFITS CHANGES AHEAD

In the Autumn Statement the government announced a package of measures which will impact the treatment of employee benefits in kind and expenses - See more at: http://www.walkerthompson.co.uk/newsletters/Newsletter-87#Employment

PERSONAL ALLOWANCES AND TAX BANDS 2015/16

For those born after 5 April 1948 the personal allowance will be increased from £10,000 to £10,600 - See more at: http://www.walkerthompson.co.uk/newsletters/Newsletter-87#Personal

STARTING RATE OF TAX FOR SAVINGS INCOME

From 6 April 2015, the maximum amount of an eligible individual’s savings income that can qualify for the starting rate of tax for savings will be increased to £5,000 from £2,880, and this starting rate will be reduced from 10% to nil - See more at: http://www.walkerthompson.co.uk/newsletters/Newsletter-87#Savings

HOLIDAY PAY AND OVERTIME

In the judgment an Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has decided that holiday pay should reflect non-guaranteed overtime - See more at: http://www.walkerthompson.co.uk/newsletters/Newsletter-87#Holiday

ADVISORY FUEL RATES FOR COMPANY CARS

New company car advisory fuel rates have been published which took effect from 1 December 2014 - See more at: http://www.walkerthompson.co.uk/newsletters/Newsletter-87#Advisory

DO YOU EMPLOY ANYONE UNDER THE AGE OF 21?

From the 6 April 2015, if any of your employees are under the age of 21 you may no longer need to pay employer Class 1 secondary National Insurance contributions (NICs) on their earnings - See more at: http://www.walkerthompson.co.uk/newsletters/Newsletter-87#21

GIFT AID DECLARATION TO BE IMPROVED - POTENTIALLY SAVING CHARITIES BILLIONS OF POUNDS

The Gift Aid model declaration form is to be improved, to stop charities potentially losing out on billions of pounds of Gift Aid - See more at: http://www.walkerthompson.co.uk/newsletters/Newsletter-87#Gift

HELPING EMPLOYERS IDENTIFY A PENSION SCHEME FOR AUTOMATIC ENROLMENT

The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has opened consultation on a proposal to publish a list of pension schemes that are available to any employer, regardless of the number or workers the employer has or their levels of pay - See more at: http://www.walkerthompson.co.uk/newsletters/Newsletter-87#Pension

HMRC WARNING ‘TEN THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT TAX AVOIDANCE’

HMRC have published a list of factors to consider before buying into a ‘scheme’ - See more at: http://www.walkerthompson.co.uk/newsletters/Newsletter-87#HMRC

Autumn Statement

The Chancellor of the Exchequer yesterday delivered his Autumn Statement to the House of Commons

Some of the key points for business are summed up here

 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-30307528

More detailed information will be available shortly through our office and in the Walker Thompson Newsletter

Stamp Duty

The Chancellor yesterday made some large changes in the way Stamp Duty will affect residential properties

Reform of residential property stamp duty so that rates apply only to that part of the property price that falls within each band

0% paid for the first £125,000 then 2% on the portion up to £250,000

5% up to £925,000, then 10% up to £1.5m; 12% on anything above that, saving £4,500 on average priced home

Changes to come into effect at midnight on Thursday, 4 December

Landlords

The Government has issued guidelines requiring Landlords of properties to verify the status of their tenants by requiring relevant ID and evidence of their rights to be in the UK. The scheme will begin in early 2015 within the West Midlands and will carry fines of up to £3,000 for Landlords who do not comply. Whilst there may appear to be all manner of excuses and reasons not to act as unofficial border agency “snoopers” we urge all private landlords to begin putting in measures to record tenants ID . 

See the links courtesy of BBC News.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-29059538

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-30251741