It is once more the time to turn from sunny thoughts of summer holidays to dark contemplation of the Autumn Budget. In July 2024, Rachel Reeves made her contentious House of Commons statement about the…
A good time to become a landlord?
While positive changes are on the horizon for the buy-to-let market, with a record number of mortgage deals coupled with lower interest rates, is it a good time to become a landlord in England? Cons…
Employment status revised for hair and beauty salons
HMRC has recently published guidance on whether people working in the hair and beauty industry should be treated as employed or self-employed. This is an important distinction for owners of such businesses who are renting…
HMRC suffers from too much interest
Taxpayers relying on HMRC to sort out the tax due on interest are given a warning. As had often been noted over the last few years, one of the strategies adopted by successive governments to…
Overseas workday relief set to improve
Employees coming to work in the UK should see an improvement in the new version of overseas workday relief set to be introduced from 6 April 2025. Current system Under the current system of overseas…
The Autumn Budget – a brave new tax world
Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ first Budget was a significant one in all senses. “…this Budget delivers a large, sustained increase in spending, taxation, and borrowing.” So said the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) in the first…
Can you spot a fake HMRC letter?
Unfortunately, scam warnings have become a regular occurrence. The latest scam highlighted by HMRC is rather ‘old school’, involving letters posted to companies instead of the more usual digital communication. The scam letters being sent…
Small businesses top tax gap defaulters
The tax gap increased in 2022/2023, to a record £39.8 billion, with small businesses being blamed for around 60% of uncollected taxes. The tax gap is the difference between the amount of tax that should,…
Class 4 NIC reductions benefit the self-employed
Self-employed workers will see a substantial reduction in their Class 4 national in announced in the 202surance contributions (NICs) for the current tax year after two percentage cuts were 3 Autumn Statement and 2024 March…
Election tax stories…………………
It’s early days yet, but some pointers on tax have emerged from both the main parties. Within one week of the surprise firing of the general election starting gun, both the Conservatives and Labour have…