Tax-free income threshold rises July 8, 2015 The UK tax free personal allowance – the level at which people start paying tax on their earnings – will increase from £10,600 to £11,000 next year, the government confirmed yesterday. It was also announced in the summer Budget that the higher tax rate threshold, at which people start paying the 40 per cent rate [...]
Pay frozen for public sector July 8, 2015 PUBLIC sector pay will be capped at a one per cent rise each year, George Osborne has said. The chancellor said a pay freeze would protect public service jobs. The proposed cap is still above inflation, but could become a real-terms cut over the next four years. Osborne said: “We will continue to restrict public [...]
July Budget 2015: Living wage bill hurts retailers and small firms July 8, 2015 Retail and hospitality industry insiders warned yesterday that their sectors face a huge rise in labour costs after a Tory pledge to introduce a minimum wage of £9 for over-25s by 2020. From April next year, businesses will be required to pay £7.20 per hour to workers over the age of 25, rising to [...]
Government pushes for levy on large firms to fund apprentices July 8, 2015 AS PART of the government’s plans to create 3m apprenticeships by 2020, the chancellor yesterday announced a new levy on large firms to increase the apprenticeship help fund and “give control back to employers”. George Osborne said funding to train apprentices will be directly controlled by employers, via the digital apprenticeships voucher and legislation would [...]
July Budget 2015: Buy-to-let tax relief cut hits housebuilders as Foxtons, Barratt, Crest Nicholson and Berkeley Group share prices slide July 8, 2015 Shares in housebuilders and estate agents slid yesterday as the chancellor announced plans to curb the booming buy-to-let sector by cutting tax relief. While homeowners had mortgage interest relief withdrawn 15 years ago, buy-to-let landlords have continued to reap the benefits, with the wealthiest able to reclaim 45p of every £1 they pay in [...]
Buyout barons hit with a tax clampdown on carried interest July 8, 2015 UK PRIVATE equity dealmakers will be forced to pay more tax on performance fees after plans were unveiled to enforce higher capital gains charges on their income. So-called carried interest – the share of profits private equity managers take from a fund – is currently taxed at capital gains tax rates of 28 per cent [...]
July Budget 2015: Are you an entrepreneur, an apprentice or a single parent? What does George Osborne’s statement mean for you? July 8, 2015 THE SINGLE PARENT Catherine Gannon, 51Managing partner at law firm Gannons Gannons Commercial Law continues to do well, with profits and earnings up on last year. Catherine is commercially savvy and has restructured the business from an LLP to a limited company, illustrating that she is a smart operator in a segmented legal [...]
Entrepreneurs squeezed in dividend regime shift July 8, 2015 SMALL BUSINESS owners who pay themselves in dividends will see income taxes hiked under proposals to abolish the dividend tax credits system. The system, first established more than 40 years ago to combat high rates of corporation tax, will be swept away and replaced by an annual allowance making the first £5,000 paid in dividends [...]
Pensions industry could benefit from tax relief reforms following new consultation July 8, 2015 Financial burdens on pensions could be changed following a consultation into whether there is a case for reforming pensions tax relief. Politicians are also planning to look at whether they should strengthen incentives to save by offering more simplicity and transparency around pensions, or whether keeping the current system is the best option. In yesterday’s [...]
July Budget 2015: George Osborne cuts benefits and the family tax credit July 8, 2015 Chancellor of the exchequer George Osborne announced major cuts to welfare spending yesterday, using the summer Budget to set out how he planned to save the Treasury a further £12bn in the next three years. The chancellor said that his Budget was designed to take Britain "from a low wage, high tax, high welfare [...]
