The new Growth and Skills Levy must end the ‘cycle of policy failure’ in addressing Britain’s chronic skills shortages, according to the Resolution Foundation. The think tank says the government must get its design and implementation right if it’s to boost the number of apprenticeships after years of decline and ensure that Levy funds go… Read more…

More than 10,000 payments worth £12.5 million have been made through a new digital service to boost people’s state pension, HMRC has revealed. People have until 5 April 2025 to maximise their state pension by making voluntary National Insurance contributions (NICs) to fill any gaps in their NICs record between 6 April 2006 and 5… Read more…

HMRC has published the latest issue of the Employer Bulletin. The October issue has information on various topics, including: guidance for employers on RTI reporting obligations for payments made early at Christmas how salary sacrifice affects National Minimum Wage PAYE charge queries notice of change to effective date of new data requirements on employees’ hours the… Read more…

As the end of the fiscal year approaches, businesses must prepare for year-end accounting. This is a comprehensive and often time-consuming task, involving the review and updating of financial records, with the overall goal of ascertaining the financial health of the company. Whilst this may sound relatively simple, it can be fraught with potential pitfalls… Read more…

The Chancellor should use her Autumn Budget to make off-payroll working rules ‘fairer and more effective’, according to the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed (IPSE). IPSE says that the rules, commonly known as IR35, are still causing significant disruption for businesses and public bodies needing to recruit freelancers and contractors for their operations.… Read more…

The end of business rates relief will sting hospitality with a £928 million bill in April unless the government acts in the Budget, warns UKHospitality. Hospitality and leisure businesses face their bills quadrupling if business rates relief ends as planned on 31 March, it adds. The trade body is calling for the Chancellor to introduce… Read more…

The Resolution Foundation has suggested that reforms to inheritance tax (IHT), capital gains tax (CGT) and national insurance (NI) could raise more than £20 billion a year. The Foundation said that the reforms could also pass a ‘triple tax test’ of improving tax efficiency, making sure that tax rises fall on those with the broadest… Read more…

The government has announced an overhaul of the UK’s apprenticeship system. A new growth and skills levy which will replace the existing apprenticeship levy and include new foundation apprenticeships. The government says these new apprenticeships will give young people a route in to careers in critical sectors, enabling them to earn a wage whilst developing… Read more…

HMRC has been urged to defuse a tax bombshell threatening online traders, by the Low Incomes Tax Reform Group (LITRG). The LITRG, which is part of the Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT), says the tax authority must take action in order to make sellers aware of the fact that they may need to file a… Read more…

An estimated £5.5 billion was lost due to tax evasion during 2022/23, according to a report published by the National Audit Office (NAO). The NAO stated that ‘significant weaknesses’ in government systems have left the UK ‘too open’ to tax evasion. According to HMRC, 81% of the tax evasion came from small businesses. HMRC said… Read more…