Video-witnessed wills
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has confirmed that video witnessed wills in England and Wales will be made legal during the coronavirus pandemic. The change in law to introduce this measure is due to come into force later this month – the reforms will be backdated to 31 January 2020 – the date of the
VAT on compensation payments
HMRC has published a new Revenue and Customs Brief on the VAT treatment of early termination fees and similar compensation payments following recent judgments of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). HMRC has said that this will impact anyone who charges their customers to withdraw from
Relief for self-employed trading losses
There are a number of tax reliefs available for self-employed taxpayers that make a loss carrying on their trade, profession or vocation (collectively referred to as a ‘trade’) and for their share of trading loss for any partnerships they are involved with.
For the 2020-21 tax year, trade losses
Carry Corporation Tax losses back
Corporation Tax relief may be available where your company or organisation makes a trading loss. The loss may be used to claim relief from Corporation Tax by offsetting the loss against other gains or profits of the business in the same accounting period.
Where the amount of a trading loss exceeds
The private pensions’ annual allowance
The annual allowance for tax relief on pensions has been fixed at £40,000 since 6 April 2014. The annual allowance is further reduced for high earners. Since 6 April 2020, the tapered annual allowance increased from £150,000 to £240,000.
This means that anyone with income below £240,000 is no
Green Homes Grants
A reminder that home owners and landlords can now access funding to help pay for the cost of energy saving improvements.
In a recent press release the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy said:
Homeowners and landlords can, since Friday 28 August, see for themselves how the
Cars – it’s all online
If you have access to the internet there are a bewildering number of online resources that you can access to help you manage recurring tasks. This week we have listed a number of these with links to the relevant website pages.
Book a theory test – https://www.gov.uk/book-theory-test
Get vehicle
New grants for businesses affected by local lockdowns
New grant support was announced 9 September that offers businesses in areas subject to a local lockdown a measure of financial support. In a news story posted to the GOV.UK website HM Treasury said:
Businesses in England required to close due to local lockdowns or targeted restrictions will now be
English plastic bag charge to double
The single-use carrier bag charge came into effect in England on 5 October 2015. This introduced a minimum charge of 5p on single-use carrier bags supplied by large shops (with over 250 employees) in England.
Since then single-use carrier bags are no longer given away free when buying goods from
Kickstart program opens in Wales
Under the new £2 billion Kickstart scheme, employers will be able to offer young people on Universal Credit and at risk of long-term unemployment, state-subsidised work placements for six months. The Kickstart scheme is available to qualifying 16 – 24 year olds in England, Scotland and Wales.