This is the time of year that employers and employees deal with the reporting of Benefits in kind. Taxing times… The provision and use of company cars features in many of these returns, both the use of the car, and if provided, the cost of any fuel provided by the employer for private mileage. What may not be appreciated is that...
Muras Matters: Employing Family Members
Employing Family Members Background Many businesses choose to employ a family member. Whilst providing a reliable employee for the business, that staff member may also benefit from lower rates of tax and, particularly for younger members of the family; it provides them with an income of their own. However, businesses doing so have to remember to treat them as any other...
Do not forget to report Benefits in Kind
HMRC posted the following reminder on their website the first day of the new tax year: Employers need to report all Benefits in Kind (BiKs), including those under the Optional Remuneration Arrangements (OpRAs), to HMRC on form P11D from today (6 April 2018), unless they are registered to voluntarily payroll benefits. They further explained, for those of us who had missed the...
Borderline benefits
Now that Scotland and Wales have their very own stamp duty taxes buying a house in the border areas between Wales and England, and Scotland and England, raise some interesting planning options. Consider Llanymynech, a village that straddles the border between Powys (Wales) and Shropshire (England). The amount of stamp duty payable on an identically priced house, say £179,000, would cost...
Broadband fibre gets rates boost
The Telecommunications Infrastructure Act 2018 paves the way for full-fibre broadband and future 5G communications by enabling 100% business rates relief for operators who install new fibre on their networks. In other words, the Act incentivises operators to invest in the broadband network. Apparently, the secondary legislation has been laid, firing the starting gun on the scheme which will see communications...
Muras Matters: Enterprise Management Incentive Schemes put on Hold
Enterprise Management Incentive Schemes put on Hold Background The Enterprise Management Incentive (“EMI”) is a share scheme approved by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) with beneficial tax advantages which can be used to incentivise and retain key employees where certain conditions are met. However, it was recently announced by HMRC that EU State Aid approval for the EMI scheme would expire on the...
Common-sense prevails
Imagine that you have no interest in computers or computing. That Facebook and Twitter sound like racehorses running in the 2.30 at Haydock Park. Further, imagine that the thought of having to deal with computers pushed you into a severe anxiety state. Ms Naylor, the Company Secretary of a flooring company, fitted this profile. For many years she had filed paper...
Spring Statement
The Chancellor, Philip Hammond, was keen to promote the positive aspects of the UK’s economic performance when he stood to present his Spring Statement on 13 March. Employment and manufacturing growth rising, Inflation and debt falling. The speech was also peppered with the usual political gambits to boost his party at the expense of the opposition. The one practical change that was disclosed was...
Offshore tax evasion
From 1 October 2018, HMRC will be gaining access to information from tax havens that will enable it to identify UK citizens with undisclosed offshore assets, and by inference, undisclosed UK income and taxable gains. Why does this matter? It matters because HMRC has introduced new legislation called the Requirement to Correct which will dramatically increase the penalties for people who...
Black cabs urged to go green
Britain’s black cabs now qualify for an incentive to go green as the new tax exemption for electric taxis comes into force this month. The exemption, worth £1,550, will apply to new cabs purchased from April 2018 onwards, and follows the Autumn Budget announcement that zero emission taxis worth over £40,000 will no longer have to pay a Vehicle Excise...