Archive for May, 2015

Business and corporate tax changes from 1 April 2015

Tuesday, May 5th, 2015

The published list of tax changes that affect primarily businesses are listed below.

  • The Corporation Tax rate has been reduced to 20%
  • The new Diverted Profits Tax has been introduced
  • The bank levy has increased from 0.156% to 0.21%
  • Air Passenger Duty has been restructured – abolishing bands C and D
  • Hospice charities, blood bikes, search and rescue, and air ambulance charities will be eligible for VAT refunds
  • Business rates changes (England only):

    • The business rates multiplier has increased from 48.2p to 49.3p (47.1p to 48.0p for small business multiplier). This includes the 2% inflation cap
    • The Small Business Rate Relief scheme has doubled for a further year – providing 100% relief for businesses with a single property with a rateable value of less than £6,000, and tapered relief with a rateable value of £6,000 – £12,000
    • The business rates discount for shops, pubs, cafes and restaurants with a rateable value of £50k or below has increased from £1,000 to £1,500
  • The cultural test for high-end TV tax relief has been modernised and the minimum UK expenditure requirement for all TV tax reliefs has reduced from 25% to 10%
  • A new tax relief on the production of children’s television has been introduced
  • The amount of banks’ annual profit that can be offset by carried forward losses has been restricted to 50%
  • Two new bands for the Annual Tax on Enveloped Dwellings (ATED) have been introduced
  • Capital Gains Tax exemption for wasting assets will only apply if the corporate selling the asset has used it in their own business
  • An investment allowance for North Sea oil and gas, replacing the existing offshore field allowances and simplifying the existing regime, has been introduced
  • A reduced rate of fuel duty to methanol will apply – the rate is 9.32 pence per litre
  • Fuels used to generate good quality electricity by CHP (combined heat and power) plants for onsite purposes are exempt from the Carbon Price Floor
  • Climate Change Levy main rates have increased in line with RPI
  • The VAT registration threshold has increased from £81,000 to £82,000 and the deregistration threshold from £79,000 to £80,000
  • Scottish Government’s Land and Buildings Transactions Tax (LBTT) will replace Stamp Duty Land Tax in Scotland
  • The associated companies rules have been replaced with simpler rules based on 51% group membership
  • The standard and lower rates of landfill tax have been increased in line with RPI

Again, if you need more information on any of these changes please call.

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Personal tax changes from 6 April 2015

Tuesday, May 5th, 2015

 HMRC has kindly published a list of the tax changes that affect individuals from 6th April 2015. We have reproduced the list below.

  • Individuals over the age of 55 have flexible access to their defined contribution pension savings
  • The Income Tax Personal Allowance increases to £10,600
  • The higher rate Income Tax threshold increases to £42,385
  • The new Marriage Allowance comes into effect
  • The starting rate of savings Income Tax reduces from 10% to 0% for savings up to £5,000
  • The cash ISA limit increases to £15,240
  • Child Trust Funds can now be transferred into Junior ISAs
  • Spouses can now inherit their deceased partner’s ISA benefits
  • If an individual dies before the age of 75, they can now pass on their unused defined contribution pension savings free of Income Tax
  • Beneficiaries of individuals who die under the age of 75 with a joint life or guaranteed term annuity can now receive any future payments from such policies free of Income Tax
  • Employers will no longer have to pay employer NICs for employees under the age of 21
  • Class 2 NICs for the self-employed can now be collected through Self Assessment
  • The Employment Allowance extends to include people employing care and support workers to look after themselves or family members
  • A new annual remittance basis charge of £90,000 is introduced for non-domiciled individuals who have been resident in the UK in at least 17 of the last 20 years, and the charge paid by non-domiciled individuals who have been resident in the UK in at least 12 of the last 14 years has increased from £50,000 to £60,000
  • Non-UK resident individuals, trusts, personal representatives and narrowly controlled companies are now subject to Capital Gains Tax on gains accruing on the disposal of UK residential property
  • Capital Gains Tax annual exemption amount has increased to £11,100
  • The Capital Gains Tax charge on disposals of properties liable to ATED extends to cover residential properties worth £1 million – £2 million
  • The requirement that 70% of Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme money must be spent before EIS or VCT funding can be raised is removed
  • The Fuel Benefit Charge multiplier for both cars and vans increases by RPI
  • The Van Benefit Charge increases by RPI. In 2015-16 the Van Benefit Charge rate paid by zero emission vans is 20% of the rate paid by conventionally fuelled vans
  • Tax Credit payments are stopped in-year where, due to a change in circumstances, a claimant has already received their full annual entitlement

If you need more information regarding any of these changes please call.

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