On 21 December 2021, Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, unveiled a £1 billion COVID-19 fund, including cash grants of up to £6,000 per premises for each eligible firm. Mr Sunak said the government would also help certain firms with the cost of sick pay for COVID-related absences. The Chancellor also announced an extra £30… Read more…

HMRC has reminded self assessment taxpayers to declare any COVID-19 grant payments on their 2020/21 tax return. According to HMRC, more than 2.7 million customers claimed at least one Self-employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) payment up to 5 April 2021. The tax authority says these grants are taxable and customers should declare them on their… Read more…

HMRC is waiving late filing and late payment penalties for self assessment taxpayers for one month. The measure will give those taxpayers affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19) extra time, if they need it, to complete their 2020/21 tax return and pay any tax due. HMRC is still encouraging taxpayers to file and pay on time… Read more…

Finance Secretary Kate Forbes delivered the 2022/23 Scottish Budget on 9 December 2021, setting out the Scottish Government’s financial and tax plans. The Budget outlined the government’s spending plans, income tax and Land and Buildings Transaction Tax. Announced in the Budget was almost £2 billion of low-carbon capital investment in infrastructure. This includes the first… Read more…

On 20 December 2021, the Welsh government outlined a Budget to ‘build a stronger, fairer and greener Wales‘. The Welsh government unveiled a £116 million package of funding to aid with the economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. This will be combined with existing permanent relief schemes that see over 85,000 properties continue to receive support.… Read more…

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is set to introduce a new consumer duty to better protect users of financial services. The new rules will help tackle harmful practices such as providers of financial services presenting information in a way that exploits consumers’ behavioural biases; selling products or services that are not fit for purpose; or… Read more…

HMRC has published the latest edition of the Employer Bulletin. This guidance for employers, and their agents, includes articles on: reporting PAYE information in real time when payments are made early at Christmas preventing and correcting payroll errors Health and Social Care – National Insurance contribution increase UK-Swiss Convention on Social Security Coordination COVID-19 –… Read more…

More than 440,000 small firms could be forced out of business by the late payment crisis, according to the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB). An FSB study of more than 1,200 business owners found that close to one in three has seen late payment of invoices increase over the last three months, with a further… Read more…

Each company has their own rules, regulations and values, both contractual and non-contractual. Whilst an employee may learn the basics when signing their contract or going through induction, it can be difficult to fully understand the overall office culture. This is where a staff handbook can be invaluable. A staff handbook is a single reference… Read more…

HMRC saw a drop of almost £30 billion in tax revenues in the latest financial year because of the pandemic, according to its annual accounts. In its 2020/21 annual report, HMRC reported that it had collected £608.8 billion in tax revenues, which is down from £636.7 billion collected in 2019/20. HMRC said the drop was… Read more…