HLAS

Another tax planning strategy that is still available despite rumours that it would be closed in the Budget was the capital gains tax hold over relief when assets are transferred into or out of a trust. This relief currently enables a non-business asset, such as an investment property, to be transferred without paying capital gains tax. The relief applies where the transfer is subject to inheritance tax, but where the value transferred is no more than the £325,000 IHT nil rate band the transfer of the asset can take place without IHT or capital gains tax being payable. For example: [...]

Many were expecting the chancellor to announce changes to inheritance tax (IHT) in his Autumn Budget, However, like capital gains tax (CGT), the rules have remained broadly the same as last year. That means that each tax year individuals may make gifts of up to £3,000 in total and that amount is not included in their cumulative total of gifts for IHT. Even if the £3,000 annual exempt amount is exceeded, provided it is an outright gift to an individual, there would be no inheritance tax payable provided the donor survives for 7 years. Remember that the gift of an [...]

Four reasons why payroll outsourcing services can help an evolving business When businesses shift quickly or experience big structural changes - unease tends to flow down its departments and their processes. We see this often now that businesses have gone through the testing times of the pandemic, along with tax changes such as IR35. In this blog, we detail 4 new reasons to use payroll outsourcing services. Reason #1: Your business is being acquired If your business is due to merge or is being acquired – using payroll outsourcing services can ensure your processes run smoothly even when the rest [...]

Switching payroll provider mid-year Are you dissatisfied with your payroll company, yet you are worried about switching to a new one? It is understandable, given how much time and effort it takes to hand your payroll duties over in the first place. But, what if we told you that switching is not all that difficult? In this blog, we address 3 myths about switching payroll companies; we hope you find it useful! Myth 1: You can’t switch part way through a year While it is possible to switch payroll support part way through a tax year, you must be extra [...]

The provision of free face coverings for all transport operators between 21 April 2021 and 31 December 2021, to be used as a contingency supply for passengers and workers. To protect public health and facilitate passenger compliance with face coverings guidance, the government is providing free face coverings to transport operators, which are to be used as a contingency supply by passengers and transport workers. The purpose of this scheme is to limit the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19). The scheme has been extended to 31 December 2021. See: Free face coverings to transport operators scheme - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

What you need to do when you travel to England depends on whether you qualify as fully vaccinated or not. To qualify under the fully vaccinated rules for travel to England, you must have been fully vaccinated with a full course of an approved vaccine under: the UK or UK overseas vaccination programme the United Nations vaccine programme for staff and volunteers an approved programme in one of the countries or territories listed on the website listed on the website below. You can still travel to England if you do not qualify as fully vaccinated but you must follow different rules. There are also different rules if [...]

From 4.00am today, the remaining 7 destinations on the red list; Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Haiti, Panama, Peru and Venezuela have been removed. Passengers returning to England from these destinations are no longer be required to enter hotel quarantine. The red list and quarantine hotel policy remains in place and will continue to act as a crucial line of defence against the importation of variants of concern. The government will review the red list every 3 weeks and will impose restrictions should there be a need to do so to protect public health. Delta is now the dominant variant in most [...]

UK registered organisations can apply for a share of up to £8 million for projects to work on the development of the digital security by design (DSbD) software ecosystem. This funding is from the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund. The aim of this competition is to fund a range of projects that work to enrich and expand the Digital Security by Design (DSbD) software ecosystem prior to the availability of commercial hardware. Projects will leverage the DSbD Technology Hardware Prototype (also known as Morello Board) to work on a focused area within a selected and specified software stack or Operating System (OS) or [...]

Round 8 of the UK Games Fund is now open. Round 8 is specifically designed to help early-stage games development companies registered at the time of application. Successful applicants can expect to be awarded a grant of £6,000. Funding will be provided in three £2,000 tranches over three months (January to March 2022) to support the development of an interactive digital entertainment concept and associated funding proposal. The idea is to provide companies with a certain degree of ‘breathing space’ to allow for further focus on the pitch for possible future funding from the UK Games Fund and beyond. After [...]