News for July
Advisory Fuel Rates
To reflect the increases in fuel prices, HMRC have issued new advisory fuel rates for employees driving employer provided cars. These take effect for all journeys undertaken from 1 July 2008 so employers wishing to use the new rates should advise affected employees and update any expense forms as soon as possible.
HMRC Warning on Scams
HMRC have updated their guidance on scams. HMRC have become aware of a new ruse to persuade unsuspecting taxpayers to complete a form detailing their bank or credit card details. The form implies that a tax refund may be due and that this will be paid straight into their bank account.
Illegal Working
For many years, there have been requirements for employers to verify the identity of their workers in order to prevent illegal working. Penalties under the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006 were increased from 29 February 2008 and the Home Office UK Border Agency website has been updated to show a list of employers fined since the introduction of the revised penalties. The website which lists employers fined, by region, will be updated on a monthly basis.
Employees’ Mileage Payments
As you may be aware there is a statutory system of tax and NIC free mileage rates for business journeys in an employee’s own vehicle. These mileage payments are known as ‘Authorised Mileage Allowance Payments’ (AMAP).
Tax Freedom Day
This year ‘Tax Freedom Day’ fell on June 2. The statistics make interesting reading in that the average UK taxpayer spends more than five months of the year working for the government as opposed to working for themselves.
National Minimum Wage and Tips
An Employment Appeal Tribunal has ruled in HMRC’s favour in the case of Annabel’s Restaurant and Nightclub. The case concerned the payment of tips through a ‘tronc’, which is an arrangement which sometimes operates in the restaurant industry. The ‘tronc’ which operates as a separate independent payroll, run by a ‘troncmaster’ is used by some restaurants as a means of distributing tips or service charges paid by customers. HMRC have argued successfully that where the tips are paid in this way they do not count towards national minimum wage (NMW) entitlement.
Surfing at Work
According to the CBI the average UK office worker spends 95 minutes of their working week surfing the web for personal use. This they estimate costs the economy £10.6 billion a year.
Tax Credits Renewal
Tax credits are state benefits which are generally available to lower income families. However, entitlement to the credits is significantly increased where individuals pay for childcare or have a dip in normal levels of income perhaps due to incurring trading losses.
Increase in Personal Allowances
Tucked away in a recent issue of ‘Notes for payroll software developers’ is a bit more information on the timescale for the increase in the current year’s personal allowance from £5,435 to £6,035 and the reduction in the higher rate point from £36,000 to £34,800. These changes mean that basic rate taxpayers will benefit by £120 per tax year whilst the position of higher rate taxpayers will be unchanged.
