News

Draft legislation published for comment

An HMRC factsheet has been published on the new tax-free dividend allowance.

Should changes be made?

A record amount of inheritance tax (IHT) was paid into the public purse during April, new figures show.

HMRC received £379m in the same month in which the Conservative party said it would raise the IHT threshold to £1m for some taxpayers – a pledge that looks set to be fulfilled in this week’s Budget.

ISA rules

The Individual Savings Account (ISA) (Amendment No 4) Regulations 2015/1370 and the Child Trust Fund (CTF) (Amendment No 3) Regulations 2015/1371 have been made and will come into force on 1 July.

Government plans to reduce administrative costs to business by £10bn will fail unless the complexity of the tax code is tackled, the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) has warned.

Two of the UK’s three longest Finance Acts were enacted in the previous parliament, the ICAEW notes in a letter to the chancellor of the exchequer, George Osborne, while calling for a “one in, two out” principle to apply to tax laws.

Changes to tax breaks designed to promote investment in small and growing firms will deter investors from taking advantage, according to the Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT).

The professional body warned that new legislation creates greater complexity and denies relief to existing financiers that want to increase their investments.

The Pensions Regulator has announced plans for a new auto-enrolment solution to help employers that currently use HMRC’s basic PAYE tools.

The proposals, set out in a consultation document, explain how pensions officials would prefer for employers to buy appropriate payroll software, rather than rely on the Revenue’s free offering, which will not be updated to provide automatic enrolment functionality.

Changes to the tax regime for unauthorised unit trusts are the subject of new guidance released by HMRC.

A trust with at least one exempt unit holder and one non-exempt unit holder for the period from 24 May 2012 to 5 April 2014 will be a mixed unauthorised unit trust, and will complete its tax return (SA900) in the same way as for earlier tax years.

HMRC have published guidance to explain the changes to enterprise investment scheme (EIS) procedures announced in the Budget.

The new measures affect the processing of advance assurance requests and forms EIS1 compliance statements in respect of investments made on or after 6 April 2015. The Revenue will no longer process such requests in respect of companies that:

The Pensions Regulator has launched step-by-step guide to help small firms prepare for automatic enrolment.

The online service, which has been created for employers with up to 50 employees, explains how to complete key tasks including providing a point of contact for the regulator, checking who needs to be enrolled, and creating a plan of action.

People who decide to take advantage of the new pensions flexibility should considering the tax credit consequences, the Low Incomes Tax Reform Group has advised.

Those who withdraw money from their retirement pot from the age of 55 should consider more than just the effect on their income tax liability, according to the charity’s technical director, Robin Williamson