Recent economic forecasts for 2020 published by HM Treasury will do little to inspire business confidence. In their comparison of independent forecasts published last month the unemployment rate is estimated to rise to 8% and in the same period, GDP falls by 9%. The only…
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VAT changes
In an attempt to address the financial difficulties of businesses in the hospitality and tourism industries, Rishi Sunak also announced a range of VAT reductions on selected supplies for these sectors. Summary of the changes are set out below: Hospitality When you supply food and…
Stamp duty changes (residential property)
In his recent Summer Statement, Rishi Sunak announced changes to the nil-rate band of Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) to be applied in England and Northern Ireland. This was followed by announcements from the Scottish and Welsh regional assemblies who set the rates in Scotland…
Changes to Capital Gains Tax underway?
In an update to the GOV.UK website recently the following post appeared: The Chancellor has written to the OTS (Office of Tax Simplification), to ask the OTS to undertake a review of Capital Gains Tax and aspects of the taxation of chargeable gains, in relation…
Parents returning from paternity or maternal leave
One aspect of the 1 July changes to the CJRS was the closing date to new entrants was set as 30 June 2020. This means that disadvantaged parents who had been on extended parental or maternal leave in recent months and were intending to return…
Brexit – no extension to transition period
It is now confirmed that the UK will neither accept nor seek any extension to the transition period. From 1 January 2020, the UK will have the autonomy to introduce its own approach to goods imported to GB from the EU. Recognising the impact of…
New support for High Street
A package of support to help high streets to get back on their feet was launched 12 June 2020. This announcement was made just days before shops were allowed to reopen on 15 June. The High Streets Task Force will provide access to cutting-edge tools,…
Unwinding furlough
Last month we commented on the changes to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) that commenced at the beginning of this month (1 July 2020). Now that we have the option to bring back employees on a part-time basis and still have a measure of…
Calculating holiday pay for workers without fixed hours
Government guidelines on this topic advise: The amount of pay that a worker receives for the holiday they take depends on the number of hours they work and how they are paid for those hours. The principle is that payments received by a worker while…
Trade Credit Insurance Update
Trade Credit Insurance provides cover to hundreds of thousands of business to business transactions, particularly in non-service sectors, such as manufacturing and construction. It covers suppliers selling goods against the company they are selling to, defaulting on payment and giving businesses the confidence to trade…