HLAS

A policy proposal has been published for mandatory vaccine certification as a contingency measure under the government’s Autumn and Winter Plan. The government states it remains confident ‘Plan A’ will prevent the NHS from facing unsustainable pressure and certification will not be required but mandatory vaccine-only certification could potentially be introduced in certain settings as part of ‘Plan B’. The proposal for mandatory COVID certification in a Plan B scenario fulfils the commitment, set out in the Autumn and Winter Plan, to provide organisations with more detail about the proposed certification regime that would be introduced as part of Plan [...]

The Government is to make it illegal for companies not to pass on tips to their employees. This comes after some major restaurant chains were accused of keeping 10% of tips given to staff. The Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) have announced that new legislation, to be introduced within a year, would help about two million people in the hospitality industry. An updated consultation response was published on 24 September: See: Tipping, gratuities, cover and service charges consultation: government response (publishing.service.gov.uk) The current rules for taxing tips, gratuities and service charges are complex and, whilst all tips [...]

The guidance on what UK goods vehicle operators need to do to carry out international road haulage has changed to refer to the change from GB stickers to UK stickers as UK stickers have now replaced GB stickers. There will be new rules for transporting goods to or through Europe from 2022. These will affect you if you use vans or heavy goods vehicles (HGVs). See: Carry out international road haulage - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

From 4 October 2021, the rules for international travel to England will change from the red, amber, green traffic light system to a single red list of countries and simplified travel measures for arrivals from the rest of the world. The rules for travel from countries and territories not on the red list will depend on your vaccination status. From 4 October, you will qualify as fully vaccinated if you are vaccinated either: under an approved vaccination programme in the UK, Europe, USA or UK vaccine programme overseas with a full course of the Oxford/AstraZeneca, Pfizer BioNTech, Moderna or Janssen [...]

Finance Act 2021 introduced a new regime for late VAT returns that will apply to VAT periods commencing on or after 1 April 2022 and to other returns at a later date. HMRC have now published detailed guidance on the new rules. The reforms come into effect: for VAT taxpayers from periods starting on or after 1 April 2022 for taxpayers within MTD for Income Tax Self-Assessment (ITSA), from the tax year beginning 6 April 2024 for all other ITSA taxpayers, from the tax year beginning 6 April 2025 The new regime will be a points-based system and will operate [...]

The ONS have released their latest analysis identifying the types of areas that are seeing the fastest house price growth during the coronavirus pandemic, and who could be at risk of being priced out. Rising house prices and private rents mean that some workers are at risk of being priced out of living in rural and coastal areas, contributing to skill shortages in the tourism and hospitality industries that their local economies rely on. Young and low paid workers in tourist hotspots are increasingly facing the prospect of being unable to afford to live there. Despite falling from a record [...]

With panic buying at the pumps, the shortage of HGV drivers, and a looming winter energy crisis many of us are running our businesses in an ever increasing level of uncertainty. If you are concerned about the future of your business then take some time to reflect on where you are and what could happen in the next few months. It is now vitally important for all businesses to plan ahead for a range of scenarios. Cash flow and business planning in these uncertain times may appear difficult but there are some practical steps you can take to minimise potential [...]

It is also proposed that there will be a 1.25% increase in the rate of tax payable on dividends received by those who own shares in companies. This would mean that after the £2,000 tax free dividend allowance the rate of tax would be 8.75% for basic rate taxpayers, 33.75% for higher rate taxpayers and 39.35% for those with income in excess of £150,000 a year. This will catch many family company director/shareholders who traditionally “pay” themselves by taking a low salary and larger dividends to minimise NICs. PLANNING ACTIONS BEFORE THE NEW RATES COMMENCE The announcement of the proposed [...]