Businesses and individuals affected by insolvency are set to benefit from moves to bring insolvency rules into the 21st century. In a consultation document published on 26 September, the Insolvency Service proposes streamlining 24 different rules and regulations and harmonising processes, such as meetings of creditors, which apply across different insolvency procedures, to make them… Read more…

Business Secretary Vince Cable has announced plans for reforms to make sure directors face “the strongest possible consequences” if they act improperly. Dr Cable said on 16 September that he planned to introduce legislation, before the current Parliament ended, to bring in proposals including: strengthening rules to give investors and creditors the confidence that rogue… Read more…

Landlords who let residential property, and fail to tell HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) about all their rental income, are being offered the opportunity to voluntarily put their tax affairs in order. HMRC estimates that up to 1.5 million such landlords may be underpaying up to £500 million in UK tax every year. Now it… Read more…

Tens of thousands of employers who have failed to start using Real Time Information (RTI) payroll reporting are being urged to take action now. HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) wrote to around 167,000 employers in September who had missed one or more RTI deadlines for reporting PAYE. HMRC said that if employers had not reported… Read more…

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has launched a new wave of taskforces to crack down on tax evasion. The taskforces will visit traders in a range of business sectors and locations across the UK to examine their records and carry out other investigations. The new initiatives, announced on 19 September will target: the construction industry… Read more…

Workplace experts Acas say that more than 50,000 people have used its new online advice service in just two months. Acas Helpline online offers 24-hour free advice and guidance on rights at work and employment law. It provides an instant response to work-related questions or employers or employees can use the service so that they… Read more…

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has issued new guidance for businesses and other organisations to help them deal with requests from individuals for their personal data. The Data Protection Act gives everyone the right to find out what information an organisation holds about them by making a subject access request, allowing them to find out… Read more…

A new service designed to help businesses and consumers better understand copyright laws has been announced by the government. The online Copyright Notices Service will provide clear and impartial information on what is and what is not allowed under copyright law. The service asks businesses to identify areas where there is particular confusion or misunderstanding… Read more…

The complex system for reporting and taxing employee benefits and expenses is ripe for a complete overhaul, the Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) has concluded. Publishing an interim report on 8 August, the OTS said it now planned to focus on four core areas in the coming months – HM Revenue & Customs’ (HMRC) administration of… Read more…

Over 90 per cent of people placed in a workplace pension under the auto-enrolment initiative are staying in, according to new research. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) revealed the figure on 8 August, as part of research carried out with the 50 biggest employers to join the automatic enrolment programme. The findings also… Read more…