Pensions Minister Steve Webb has called for a 33 per cent flat rate to be introduced for pensions tax relief, replacing the 40 and 45 per cent rates for higher earners. Mr Webb was speaking at an 11 February event organised by the Resolution Foundation think tank, titled Today’s Workers, Tomorrow’s Retirement Problem. He told… Read more…

Taxpayers who filed returns by the self assessment deadline of 31 January, but who made a mistake on their forms, could be facing a demand from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) for an inaccuracy penalty, tax campaigners have warned. The Low Incomes Tax Reform Group (LITRG), an initiative of the Chartered Institute of Taxation, said… Read more…

A new system to stop workers losing small pension pots as they move from job to job is set to be launched next year. Under the initiative, due to take effect from autumn 2016, workers will initially be offered the option of consolidating their pension pots, before an automatic system is rolled out. Pensions Minister… Read more…

Charities can now register their details online with HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC). The digital service allows new charities to register their details with HMRC for tax purposes. It includes checks and guidance to help organisations provide the right information and supporting documentation so HMRC can confirm their tax status. Mark Dearnley, HMRC’s chief digital… Read more…

The Low Pay Commission has recommended that the adult national minimum wage (NMW) rate should increase to £6.70 an hour from October 2015. If its recommendations are accepted by the government, the three per cent rise from its current level of £6.50 would be the largest real terms increase in the NMW since 2007. The… Read more…

Married couples and civil partners can now register to receive a new tax break. The government opened online registration for the marriage allowance, which will help to save couples up to £212 a year, on 20 February. It says that from 6 April 2015, more than four million married couples and 15,000 civil partnerships will… Read more…

More than eight million taxpayers who filed their 2013-14 tax return electronically by the 31 January deadline can now access their tax summary online. The summaries set out how much tax and national insurance each person paid in the tax year and how it contributed to public expenditure. The online summaries can be viewed by… Read more…

Employers who have not already done so are reminded to claim a £2,000 reduction in their national insurance bill. From April 2014, an estimated 1.25 million business and charity employers have been able to claim the Employment Allowance. The allowance is set against the employer’s Class 1 national insurance contribution (NIC) each time they run… Read more…

Businesses are set to be given greater protection from demands by government officials to enter their premises. Secretary of State for Local Government Eric Pickles has published proposals to change the law so that officials from the Valuation Office Agency, an arm of HM Revenue & Customs, no longer have an automatic right of entry… Read more…

Leading UK employers, including Barclays, Fujitsu and Sainsbury’s, have pledged to increase employment opportunities for new and existing disabled staff and develop good practice around disabled people in their workforces. Their commitment came on 28 January, as latest employment statistics showed there were now 250,000 more disabled people in work in Britain this year compared… Read more…