Posts Tagged ‘tax mitigation’
Business records and tax returns
Self Assessment tax returns With only a couple of weeks left to get paper self assessment tax returns in on time, HMRC are reminding taxpayers that if they do want to submit a paper return they need to do it soon. The rules on penalty charges have toughened up this year and taxpayers will be…
Read MoreVAT and Salary Sacrifice
The decision by the ECJ in the case of Astra Zeneca UK Limited v HMRC has had wide ranging implications for all businesses which offer employees benefits in return for salary sacrifices. The case revolved around the supply by Astra Zeneca to its employees of high street vouchers in return for a salary sacrifice. Prior…
Read MoreThe Tax Gap
There is a famous saying about lies and statistics which is often quoted when anyone doesn’t want to believe the statistics they are being presented with. Indeed, it is true that how you present statistics is as important as the statistics themselves. A recent science experiment on the television presented participants with two plates of…
Read MoreManufactured Overseas Dividends
The Government has taken immediate steps to clarify the tax treatment of Manufactured Overseas Dividends (MOD) by publishing draft legislation to be incorporated within the 2012 Finance Bill. The legislation will take effect for MOD paid on or after the date of the announcement, 15 September 2011, and is estimated to increase tax receipts by…
Read MoreDefined Benefit Schemes
Defined Benefit schemes have taken a hefty knock in recent years. These schemes, otherwise known as Final Salary Schemes, promise an employee a set percentage of their salary on retirement. Usually calculated in 60ths or 80ths the percentage is often based on the number of years in which the employee worked for the company. Once…
Read MoreThe future for property
Anyone reading the financial papers over the past few weeks will be thoroughly confused by what is actually happening to property. For a start, are prices rising or falling? The Centre for Economics and Business Research says that by 2015 prices will have risen by 14% to a new all time high. Contrast this with…
Read MoreTax Treaties Anti-Avoidance legislation
N.B. On 9 September 2011 the Government announced that in view of concerns raised it has “decided not to proceed further with the consultation on the proposed legislation and will not include it in Finance Bill 2012.” The recent announcement of the agreement between Swiss and UK authorities in respect of taxation on investments held…
Read MoreHistoric Swiss-UK tax treaty
After a short delay earlier this year the UK and Swiss authorities have announced an agreement on the treatment of monies held by British Citizens in secret Swiss bank accounts. Still to be signed by both governments and ratified in Parliament, the agreement is expected to come into force in 2013. Within the agreement, the…
Read MoreEntrepreneurs Relief for Limited Liability Partnerships
Once thought to be the preserve of businesses such as Solicitors and Accountants, Limited Liability Partnerships (LLP) are slowing growing in popularity in the wider business sphere. Companies House statistics report that 10,145 new LLP were formed in the UK in the period 2010/11. Being a half way house between partnership and full company status,…
Read MoreRelief as additional Enterprise zones announced
The recent Government announcement on the creation of a further eleven Enterprise Zones has been seen as welcome news for businesses, councils and investors alike. At the time of the announcement in the March 2011 Budget that eleven zones were to be created, the Chancellor invited bids for a further ten zones. In all thirty…
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