HMRC has urged taxpayers to stay alert to the threat of digital scams and scammers claiming to represent HMRC. Research published by HMRC revealed that the number of tax-related scams has doubled in the past 12 months. In the past year HMRC has received more than one million referrals from the UK public in regard… Read more…

The BCC has urged the government to extend skills training in light of the publication of research which showed that one in five companies are considering making redundancies as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The BCC has stressed concerns that older workers could go unutilised unless support for retraining is put into place… Read more…

New company car advisory fuel rates have been published and took effect from 1 September 2021. The guidance states: ‘you can use the previous rates for up to one month from the date the new rates apply’. The rates only apply to employees using a company car. The advisory fuel rates for journeys undertaken on or… Read more…

The government has ‘named and shamed’ 191 companies that have broken National Minimum Wage (NMW) laws. Following investigations by HMRC, the named firms have been fined for owing £2.1 million to over 34,000 workers. The breaches took place between 2011 and 2018. Named employers have since been made to pay back what they owed to… Read more…

One of the major disruptions felt from the pandemic is our relationship with the workplace. As many countries brought in national lockdowns, employees were told to work from home, if possible. As so many people have discovered that working from home can be both effective and much more convenient, not everyone is looking forward to… Read more…

Public trust in charities has reached its highest level since 2014, according to research published by the Charity Commission. An independent study showed that people’s trust in charities scored an average of 6.4 out of 10, up from 6.2 a year ago and significantly higher than the low of 5.5 recorded in 2018. The highest… Read more…

According to the latest figures from Action Fraud the average loss from pension scams has reached £50,949 this year. That is more than double the typical figure of £23, 689 reported last year. Action Fraud said the losses in each case ranged from less than £1,000 to as much as £500,000, and the real figures… Read more…

The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) is being wound down on 30 September 2021 and data published by HMRC has revealed that 1.9 million workers remain on furlough. The data showed that the number of employees furloughed on the CJRS fell by 590,000 during June. The total number of furloughed workers is 1.9 million. The… Read more…

HMRC has updated the guidance on salary sacrifice. HMRC has removed the guidance on ‘Salary sacrifice arrangements set up before 6 April 2017’ as the transitional arrangements for calculating the value of the benefit came to an end on 5 April 2021. A salary sacrifice arrangement is an agreement to reduce an employee’s entitlement to… Read more…

In response to HMRC’s consultation on simplifying the rules relating to land and property, the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) has urged HMRC to abolish all VAT exemptions and remove all VAT options. The ICAEW stated that the VAT rules regarding land and property are ‘unnecessarily complex’ and stand to benefit… Read more…