Liverpool city region professionals say there are a number of positives in Philip Hammond’s Budget including a renewed commitment to the Northern Powerhouse. Tony McDonough of Liverpool Business News reports Peter Taaffe, managing partner of BWM Business leaders, both in the Liverpool city region and across the UK have offered a cautious welcome to Philip … Continued
Capital Gains Tax Payment Window on Residential Property
There is a forthcoming legislation change which affects the taxation of capital gains on property; notably a change to the reporting and payment on account obligations for UK resident individuals with residential property gains. The changes will take effect for disposals on or after 6 April 2020, in line with announcements made at Budget 2017. … Continued
Annual Investment Allowance to Rise to £1m
The annual investment allowance is set to temporarily increase from £200,000 to £1 million, allowing businesses to gain more tax relief on their investments. This will take effect from 1 January 2019 and remain in place until 31 December 2020, after which it is due to revert back to £200,000. Using the annual investment allowance, … Continued
Higher-Rate Earners Hit by National Insurance Rise
Individuals set to benefit from an increase to the higher-rate threshold in 2019 will only see half of the tax reduction expected, as a result of a Budget measure not mentioned in the Chancellor’s speech. In Budget 2018, the Chancellor announced that the higher-rate income tax threshold would increase from £46,350 to £50,000 in 2019/20. … Continued
Chancellor Mulls Abolishing Dividend Allowance
The Treasury is reportedly considering abolishing the dividend allowance in Autumn Budget 2018. The Daily Telegraph claims Chancellor Philip Hammond has business owners, directors and shareholders in his sights to help fund a Government pledge to increase spending on the NHS. Hammond cut the dividend allowance from £5,000 to £2,000 in Spring Statement 2017, with … Continued
Treasury Shelves Plan to Scrap Class 2 NICs
Chancellor Philip Hammond has opted to scrap the planned abolition of class 2 national insurance contributions (NICs). The Government was originally due to abolish class 2 NICs for the self-employed from 6 April 2018, but the move was delayed for 12 months in November 2017 and has now been abandoned. The policy, which was first … Continued
IPPR Leads Call to Replace Inheritance Tax System
A think tank is calling for inheritance tax to be abolished, as part of a set of proposals for major reform to the UK tax system. The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) published its 10-part plan for economic reform, which includes replacing the system of inheritance tax with a new ‘lifetime gifts tax’. Under … Continued
HMRC Requirement to Correct
The Requirement to Correct (‘RTC’) is a statutory obligation for taxpayers with overseas assets to correct any issues with their historic UK tax position. HMRC have written to all taxpayers who have or who had any offshore financial connections (including those who consider themselves to be non-UK domiciled and/or non-UK resident) to instruct that they … Continued
Stamp Duty Tax Break Saves First-Time Buyers £284m
Philip Hammond’s decision to abolish stamp duty land tax (SDLT) for most first-time buyers on all properties worth up to £300,000 saved homeowners £284 million in the first half of 2018. The chancellor scrapped SDLT in Autumn Budget 2017 for most people taking their first steps on the property ladder in England, Northern Ireland and … Continued
Inheritance Tax Receipts Reach Record High of £5.2bn
The Treasury fetched a record high of £5.2 billion in inheritance tax receipts last year, according to statistics published by HMRC. Inheritance tax receipts increased 8% year-on-year in 2017/18 to continue a long-term trend, which began when the nil-rate band was frozen at £325,000 with effect from 6 April 2009. Since then, inheritance tax receipts … Continued