HLAS

A consultation was launched last week to look at ways to make food labelling fairer and clearer. This is part of an initiative looking at how to give shoppers more information about how and where the food they buy is produced, and to give the products of British farmers better recognition. The proposals should help shoppers to make decisions that align with their values. As an example, imported pork may be cured into bacon in the UK and feature a Union Jack on the packaging. It should be obvious to consumers that the pig was reared abroad, which might be [...]

In times of economic uncertainty or because of operational challenges, you may find your business is facing tough decisions, including the possibility of redundancies. While such situations can be daunting and emotionally challenging, careful consideration and planning can help reduce the impact on both employees and the business as a whole. In this article we discuss some key factors that a business should consider when contemplating redundancies. Assess the situation Before making any decisions, conduct a thorough assessment of your business’ financial health, operational needs and long-term viability. You will want to look at trends in your business’ revenue as [...]

Tax-Free Childcare is available to working families to help them save on their childcare costs. However, many may not be making use of this provision and with the Easter break soon upon us, HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is encouraging families who have not yet signed up to consider doing so. Tax-Free Childcare can be worth up to £2,000 annually per child, or £4,000 if the child is disabled. It can be used to help pay for approved childcare for children aged 11 and under, or 16 and under if they have a disability. The way it works is that [...]

The High Income Child Benefit Charge (HICBC) has attracted a lot of criticism since its introduction because of the way it penalises couples that have a single high earner. Currently, a couple where the two parents both earn £49,000 each are unaffected by the HICBC. However, another couple where one parent earns £60,000 while the other parent doesn't work lose their entire child benefit amount. To reduce this unfairness, the Spring Budget increased the ‘high-income’ threshold from £50,000 to £60,000 with effect from 6 April 2024. Not only that but the HICBC will now be calculated at 1% of the [...]

The thresholds for VAT registration and deregistration have remained static for the last 7 years, however an increase in the thresholds was announced in the Spring Budget. The new registration threshold is now £90,000, increased from £85,000. The deregistration threshold has also increased to £88,000 (from £83,000). VAT registration becomes compulsory if by the end of any month, your business’s VAT taxable turnover for the previous 12 months goes above the threshold. This needs to be looked at on a rolling monthly basis, and not just at your accounting year end. It is possible to apply for a registration ‘exception’ [...]

If you run a holiday let, then you are likely well aware of the useful tax advantages that holiday lets have had for many years. Because furnished holiday lets can be treated as a trade rather than as a rental property, there are more generous deductions against income available. Also, there has been a significant advantage in property capital gains tax when selling a furnished holiday let. During the Spring Budget, the Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced that the Furnished Holiday Lettings regime is to be abolished with effect from 6 April 2025. This means that your holiday let profits will [...]

The national insurance cuts in the Spring Budget have made most of the Budget-related headlines. So, what is the effect of this on you as an employer? Your employees benefit In last year’s autumn statement, employee’s national insurance was cut by 2 percentage points from 12% to 10%. This change went into effect on 6 January 2024. The Spring Budget extended this further by reducing the employee national insurance contribution by a further 2 percentage points, bringing the rate down to 8% from 6 April 2024. If you were planning to pay staff bonuses in your March payroll, then there [...]

Jeremy Hunt, Chancellor of the Exchequer, delivered his Spring Budget 2024 speech on 6 March 2024. This potentially is the last budget before the next general election, which will need to be held before 28 January 2025. The Budget was designed to emphasise the government’s good achievements as well as to appear to lower taxes and curry favour with voters. There was a strong emphasis towards making work pay and most headlines have focused on the cuts in National Insurance contributions for both the employed and self-employed. The Chancellor reiterated his view that lower taxes lead to growth and a [...]

The UK’s National Cyber Security Centre have highlighted the evolving tactics of Russian state-linked cyber actors. NCSC has noted that malicious cyber actors linked to Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) have expanded their targeting from governmental, think tank, healthcare and energy organisations to include aviation, education, law enforcement, local and state councils, government financial departments and military organisations. Traditionally, SVR actors have exploited software vulnerabilities to access information held by organisations in these sectors. However, because of the increasing move to cloud-based infrastructure, these traditional approaches are now less effective. Therefore, NCSC report that tactics have evolved to try and [...]

According to MPs, phone line waiting times for HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) continue to worsen. A committee found that nearly two-thirds of callers had to wait more than 10 minutes to speak to an adviser. The Public Accounts Committee’s report says that in the year to April 2023, the average wait for a call to HMRC to be answered was 16 minutes and 24 seconds. This compares to 12 minutes and 22 seconds the year before. 63% of callers waited more than 10 minutes, increasing from 46% the previous year. This proportion has increased each year since 2018-19. HMRC’s [...]