HLAS

Earlier this month the Bank of England (BOE) raised interest rates for a 12th consecutive time as the rate of rising prices remains high. The Bank rate has gone up from 4.25% to 4.5%. The BOE has been under pressure to put rates up because it has a target to keep inflation at 2%, but prices are currently rising at more than five times that level. The rate of interest is at its highest for almost 15 years. The BOE has been increasing interest rates since December 2021 to try to control inflation, which now stands above 10%. It looks [...]

The table below sets out the HMRC advisory fuel rates that apply from 1 June 2023. These are published quarterly these days due to the volatility in petrol and diesel prices in recent years. Where the employer provides an employee with a company car there may be an additional benefit in kind on the provision of fuel for private journeys which needs to be reported on form P11d. This additional benefit is based on a notional list price for the vehicle of £25,300 for 2022/23 which applies irrespective of the original list price of the vehicle normally used to compute [...]

The HMRC rate of interest on beneficial loans looks very attractive compared to the Bank of England Base rate of 4.5% and much higher rates charged by banks for unsecured loans. Note that where loans are made to participators (broadly shareholders) of a close company there is potentially a special tax charge on the company on any loan still outstanding 9 months after the end of the accounting period. The charge is currently 33.75%, the same as the higher rate of tax on dividend income. This tax  charge is only repaid to the company when the loan is repaid or [...]

HMRC have announced that the official rate of interest will increase from 2% to 2.25% on 6 April 2023. The official rate of interest is used to calculate the income tax charge on the benefit of employment related loans and the taxable benefit of some employment related living accommodation. These rates used to fluctuate in line with base rate but in recent years HMRC has fixed the rate for the whole tax year. For those employers including beneficial loans on form P11d for 2022/23 the average official rate to be used is 2%.  The charge applies where the amount of [...]

The deadline for reporting shares and securities and share options issued to employees during 2022/23 is 6 July 2023. This is the same as the deadline for reporting expenses and benefits provided to employees on form P11d for 2022/23. Employers must submit their employment related securities annual returns online and attach the appropriate spreadsheet template if they have something to report. HMRC provide templates on their website that may be downloaded in order that the information may be entered and uploaded. Note that there are different templates for each of the four tax-advantaged employee share schemes – Company Share Option [...]

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is urging online businesses that sell goods, services, or digital content to consumers in the UK to review their online sales promotions to ensure they do not mislead consumers or give a false sense of a deadline. These sales promotions are known as price reduction claims and urgency claims, and businesses use these tactics on their website homepage and other advertising channels. When designed fairly, they can alert consumers to genuine special offers or give them helpful information about current selling conditions. A price reduction claim example includes using comparison prices to highlight a [...]

With the new wave of artificial intelligence (AI) technology, there’s an opportunity to automate many routine or administrative tasks and improve the overall efficiency of your business. One AI tool that has gained significant attention recently is ChatGPT. Developed by OpenAI, ChatGPT is an advanced language model that can understand and generate human-like text. This technology has the potential to revolutionise the way businesses work, which is why we have created our list of FAQs to help you understand this new wave of technology. What is ChatGPT? ChatGPT is a natural language processing AI model that can understand and generate [...]

From Monday 15 May 2023, unless you are already using Making Tax Digital (MTD) compatible software, you will no longer be able to use your existing VAT online account to file manual VAT returns. That is because by law, all VAT-registered businesses must now use Making Tax Digital (MTD) compatible software to keep their VAT records and file their VAT returns. What businesses need to do now to avoid a penalty  Step 1. Choose MTD-compatible software that’s right for your business – talk to us immediately! Step 2. Check the software permissions to allow it to work with MTD. Go to GOV.UK and [...]

The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has released joint guidance to help communities balance the cyber security risks involved with creating smart cities. This collaborative guidance has been designed alongside agencies from the US, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand to help ensure connected technologies are integrated into infrastructure in a way which protects systems and data. The guide acknowledges that smart cities, or connected places, have the potential to offer communities cost savings and quality-of-living improvements, but notes these benefits must be balanced with the risks. These risks include an expanded and interconnected attack surface, risks from the supply chain and [...]

Get an Advance Valuation Ruling to give you legal confirmation on the correct method to use when valuing your goods to make an import declaration. When you import goods into the UK, you must work out the correct method to use to work out their customs value. You can apply to HMRC for an Advance Valuation Ruling before you make an import declaration to: check that the valuation method you have identified is correct; and get a legally backed decision that you can use this method before you make your import declaration. It can take up to 90 days to [...]