In his speech to the Labour Party Conference, the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown announced an extension of free nursery places, to be financed by the withdrawal of the tax and National Insurance (NIC) exemptions for childcare vouchers. The proposal is that the provision of free nursery places will be extended to two year-olds (this would […]

The Government’s one-year VAT holiday will end on 1st January 2010, with rates expected to return to 17.5% from the 15% we have enjoyed all year. HMRC have confirmed the normal tax point rules will apply: date of invoice or date of payment, whichever comes first. So if the invoice or payment is made before […]

Consumers are being warned their beneficiaries could end up paying inflated fees if they take up offers of free or discounted Will writing services. A recent investigation by the Independent on Sunday revealed some high street banks, solicitors and dedicated Will writing services were urging customers to appoint them as executors on the Wills and […]

The Vehicle Scrappage Scheme is a voluntary scheme for motor dealers under which participating dealers give buyers a £2,000 discount off the purchase price of a new car (or certain types of small van) in exchange for scrapping their old qualifying vehicle. Funded by the government and manufacturers the scheme has proved very popular and […]

HMRC are reminding employers with 50 or more employees that they should now be filing online their starter and leaver information online. The forms which need to be filed electronically, and should have been online since 6 April 2009, include: P45 (Part 1) – details of employee leaving P45 (Part 3) – new employee details […]

HMRC are warning employers that from May 2010 they may have to pay a penalty if they do not pay their PAYE on time.  These are generally due each month, on time and in full. HMRC will implement late payment penalties for payments due from May 2010. From then on, employers may have to pay […]

As you may be aware the National Minimum Wage (NMW) rates increased from 1 October 2009 to: an adult rate of £5.80 an hour. This is payable to those age 22 and over. a development rate of £4.83 for those aged 18 – 21 and for 17 year olds a rate of £3.57 an hour. […]

Changes introduced on 1 October mean that every director must provide Companies House with both their usual residential address, and a ‘service address’ for each directorship they hold. A director may choose any service address, including the company’s registered office or their own home address, but PO boxes or DX numbers are not permitted. The […]