The Government is being urged to introduce a new road-pricing system, because the increasing popularity of electric vehicles risks leaving a £30 billion hole in public finances each year. Research submitted by the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change called for a new system, with options including charges based on emissions, vehicle weight and traffic … Continued
Government launches new trust registration service
Millions of trustees need to register details of their trusts before next autumn, following the launch of a new trust registration service. The service was originally announced in draft form in 2017, at a time when it would only have applied to taxable-relevant trusts. Since then it has been expanded to include all UK-resident express … Continued
Curtain comes down on stamp duty land tax holiday
The stamp duty land tax holiday in England and Northern Ireland has come to an end, more than 14 months after it first came into effect. The tax break saw most buyers who purchased residential homes for £500,000 or less pay no stamp duty land tax until 30 June 2021, although landlords still had to … Continued
Capital gains tax receipts climb 3% to record-high
HMRC collected a record of £9.9 billion from capital gains tax receipts in 2019/20, according to official statistics published last month. The tax authority said this was 3% up on the previous tax year’s receipts, but the number of taxpayers paying tax on their gains fell 6% to around 265,000. Most of the liabilities collected … Continued
1 in 5 UK employers consider making redundancies
A minority of UK employers could be about to cut jobs, due to the withdrawal of the furlough scheme and rising costs. The scheme, which has protected around 11.6 million jobs since the start of the pandemic, will close on 30 September 2021. The Government currently pays 60% of a furloughed worker’s wages and employers … Continued
National Insurance contributions rates ‘poised to increase’
The Government could be set to raise National Insurance contributions (NICs) by 1% for both employers and employees, a report has claimed. The Times claimed senior ministers have agreed to increase rates to raise an extra £10 billion a year for the National Insurance Fund. This would initially be used to reduce NHS waiting lists, … Continued
Deadline approaches for fifth and final self-employed grant
The self-employed have until the end of the month to apply for the final grant available via the self-employed income support scheme (SEISS). Everyone who is eligible for the last SEISS grant should have received a personal start date from HMRC in recent months. These gave self-employed taxpayers a date from which they can apply … Continued
Pensions tax traps catch out thousands more savers
The number of savers who breached the annual allowance and the lifetime allowance increased in 2018/19, according to government statistics. Figures from HMRC show 34,220 people reported saving more in their pension pots than the £40,000 annual allowance in 2018/19, triggering total tax charges worth £817 million. The amount of people who exceeded their annual … Continued
Treasury seeks feedback on business rates revaluations
Business rates revaluations in England could take place every three years, following the launch of a recent consultation. The latest consultation forms part of a comprehensive review into business rates in England, with a report due to be published in the autumn. Business rates are similar to council tax for business properties in England. They … Continued
Employer costs increase as furlough scheme winds down
Employer contributions towards furloughed workers’ wages have increased again, as the furlough scheme prepares to close for good on 30 September 2021. Officially introduced at the start of the pandemic in March 2020, the scheme has supported around 11.6 million jobs in the UK to date at a cost of £66 billion. For most of … Continued