Aug 11

HMRC gives £1.8 million a year to charities to help excluded taxpayers

The voluntary and community sector will be able to apply for grants from HMRC to support their work with taxpayers who need extra assistance with their tax affairs. Eligible organisations need to bid for the funding, worth £1.8 million a year from 2024 until 2027, up from the current annual grant of £1.66 million, through HMRC’s […]

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Tax down on pints but up on wines and spirits in Alcohol Duty overhaul

The largest overhaul of alcohol duty in 140 years sees drinks taxed by strength rather than category from 1 August. It also sees the introduction of Small Producer Relief, which aims to help small businesses and start-ups create new drinks, innovate and grow. There will be lower taxes on lower alcohol products – those below 3.5% alcohol by […]

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South Yorkshire named as first UK Investment Zone

South Yorkshire has been named as the UK’s first Investment Zone by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt. The status could bring £1.2 billion in funding and see up to 8,000 new jobs created in the area, according to the government. In March, Mr Hunt said 12 new UK Investment Zones would each receive £80 million in government cash. […]

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Almost a million Child Trust Funds still unclaimed

Almost a million young people have yet to access savings contained in Child Trust Funds (CTFs), according to a report by Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC). The PAC said over £1.7 billion is waiting to be claimed by a million young adults, at an average value of £1,900 each. It says ‘failure in long-term planning’ by HMRC […]

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CMA scheme will force retailers to publish live fuel prices

A new fuel finder scheme to enable drivers access to live fuel prices and revitalise competition in the retail road fuel market, according to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). The scheme would be made possible by new compulsory open data requirements and backed by a new ‘fuel monitor’ oversight body. The proposals are the key recommendations […]

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HMRC increases late payment interest rate to 7.5%

HMRC has increased interest rates with late payment bills charged 7.5% from 11 July, the highest rate since 2001. The move follows the Bank of England’s June increase in the base rate with HMRC also increasing the rate paid on repayments of tax. The Bank increased the base rate to 5% from 4.5% on 22 June, […]

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Bank of England raises UK interest rates to 5.25%

The UK’s interest rate has been raised to 5.25% by the Bank of England, as it continues to try and bring inflation under control. The Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee increased the rate by 0.25% from 5% – the 14th increase in a row. It is a 15-year high for the base rate, which was last at this […]

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UK inflation falls as economy shrinks in May

The UK’s rate of inflation fell to 7.9% in the year to June while the country’s economy shrank in May, according to the latest Consumer Prices Index (CPI) published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The inflation rate is currently at its lowest annual rate since March 2022, the ONS said. Price rises have slowed […]

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Industrial strategy required blog

Jul 11

Industrial strategy required to ‘focus on innovation’, says IoD

The Institute of Directors (IoD) has urged the government to create an industrial strategy to help ‘define specific long-term priorities for the UK economy’. A survey carried out by the IoD revealed that 88% of its members favour the development of an industrial strategy. Less than 10% of IoD members think economic growth should be generated […]

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Post-Brexit trade plan blog

Post-Brexit trade plan must be replaced with ‘ambitious strategy’, says think tank

The Resolution Foundation think tank has called for the government to replace the initial post-Brexit trade plan with a ‘far more ambitious’ strategy to help protect Britain’s manufacturing firms and seek new markets for UK services firms. A report published by the Foundation found that the UK’s initial post-Brexit trade plan to secure Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with […]

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200 companies named and shamed blog

More than 200 companies named and shamed for minimum wage breaches

Over 200 employers have been named by the government for failing to pay their lowest paid employees the minimum wage. The 202 employers were found to have failed to pay their workers almost £5 million in a clear breach of the National Minimum Wage (NMW) law, leaving around 63,000 workers out of pocket. Companies named […]

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Bank of England raises UK base interest rate blog

Bank of England raises UK base interest rate to 5%

The Bank of England has raised UK interest rates to a 15-year high of 5% as it continues its battle against inflation. Despite concerns that mortgage-holders face a timebomb of higher rates, the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decided to raise its benchmark rate from 4.5% to 5%, an increase of half a percentage point. It […]

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UK inflation stays at 8.7%

The UK’s rate of inflation plateaued at 8.7% in May, data published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has shown. Inflation was expected to fall in May but remained at 8.7% – the same rate as was recorded in April. The rate of 8.7% is higher than economists had expected, and many now anticipate a […]

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MTD expected to cost blog

MTD expected to cost £1 billion more than originally forecast

A report published by the National Audit Office (NAO) has found that HMRC’s Making Tax Digital (MTD) initiative is expected to cost around £1 billion more than its initial £226 million budget, which was forecast in 2016. MTD is intended to modernise the tax system for income tax self-assessment, VAT and corporation tax. It requires taxpayers […]

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HMRC closes self assessment blog

HMRC closes self assessment helpline for three months

HMRC is planning to close its self-assessment tax helpline for three months over the summer to focus call centre resources on dealing with other problem calls. All calls to the helpline will be redirected to digital services over the period to give HMRC time to deal with other more urgent phone enquiries. The helpline will be […]

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HMRC extends deadline Blog

HMRC extends deadline for voluntary NICs to April 2025

HMRC has extended the voluntary national insurance contributions (NICs) deadline until 2025. Extending the voluntary NICs deadline until 2025 will give people more time to consider whether paying voluntary contributions is right for them, and also ensures individuals do not miss out on the possibility of boosting their State Pension entitlements. The original deadline was […]

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Advisory fuel rates June 2023

Jun 15

Advisory fuel rates for company cars June 2023

New company car advisory fuel rates have been published and took effect from 1 June 2023. The guidance states: ‘you can use the previous rates for up to one month from the date the new rates apply’. The rates only apply to employees using a company car. The advisory fuel rates for journeys undertaken on […]

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Energy suppliers

Energy suppliers urged to renegotiate fixed contracts for small businesses

The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has urged energy suppliers to renegotiate fixed contracts for small firms on market-peak tariffs. Research carried out by the FSB revealed that many small businesses are trapped in contracts that mean that their latest bills are at last summer’s peak market rate for energy, despite wholesale prices having fallen […]

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One in five workers

One in five workers will be higher rate taxpayers by 2027, says IFS

The number of people paying income tax at 40% or above will reach 7.8 million by 2027/28, according to research published by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS). This represents one in five taxpayers and one in seven of the adult population – a near-quadrupling of the share of adults paying higher rates since the […]

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‘Fresh thinking’ needed in regard to MTD for ITSA

The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) has written to HMRC regarding how Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Self Assessment (MTD for ITSA) can be better shaped to suit the needs of small property businesses and the self-employed. On 19 December 2022, HMRC announced the deferral of MTD for ITSA’s start date […]

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