HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has announced that the introduction of automatic penalties for late real time information (RTI) submissions will be put back for smaller employers. Automatic penalties were due to start for all employers from 6 October 2014 but on 9 September, HMRC said that employers with fewer than 50 employees would not… Read more…

Millions of taxpayers will receive a new personal tax summary from October 2014. The tax summary will show 24 million people how their personal income tax and national insurance contributions (NICs) have been calculated for the previous tax year and give an indication of how their taxes have been spent by the government. The summary… Read more…

People could face criminal prosecution if they fail to declare and pay offshore tax liabilities. A new criminal offence of failing to declare taxable offshore income and gains has been set out in an HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) consultation paper published on 19 August. The consultation seeks views on the design of the new… Read more…

New figures from the Pensions Regulator show that more than four million workers have now been automatically enrolled into a workplace pension. Following publication of the figures on 14 August, Pensions Minister Steve Webb said: “This latest milestone figure shows how saving in a workplace pension is now becoming the norm. “Four million people have… Read more…

New government data has shown that almost a million employers are benefiting from a £2,000 cut in their annual national insurance contributions (NICs) bill. Figures released on 31 July revealed that 725,000 UK business and charity employers have claimed the Employment Allowance. HM Revenue & Customs says that more than half of all eligible businesses… Read more…

Employers are reminded that new national minimum wage (NMW) rates will take effect from 1 October 2014, benefiting more than one million lower paid workers. The increase in the main NMW rate to £6.50 per hour means that someone paid that rate and working a 36-hour week would receive £355 more in their pay packet… Read more…

Business Secretary Vince Cable has urged businesses, unions and individuals to help identify and close potential loopholes in plans to ban the use of exclusivity clauses in zero hours contracts. The government wants to find out whether some employers might try to get round the ban by offering contracts that could, for example, guarantee just… Read more…

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has issued guidance on how redress payments made to businesses that have been mis-sold interest rate hedging products should be accounted for on tax returns. The complex products, including swaps, caps and collars, were typically sold by banks to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) alongside business loans as a way… Read more…

The number of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) supported through the government’s Regional Growth Fund (RGF) has trebled over the past year, new figures show. According to an annual monitoring report published on 22 July, 5,100 businesses received RGF support in the year 2013 to 2014 while the number of direct jobs created or safeguarded… Read more…

A leading accountancy body has issued top tips for small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) owners to help make sure that their businesses do not suffer financially while they and their staff are on holiday. Issuing the guidance on 15 July, Clive Lewis, head of enterprise at the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales… Read more…