Disabled Facilities Grants and VAT – New HMRC Campaign
HHMRC is asking councils how they treat Disabled Facilities Grants (DFGs) for VAT. How you answer the questions could avoid unnecessary VAT liabilities. Background We have seen letters that HMRC is sending local authorities asking several questions about DFGs and DFG administration fees. Specifically, HMRC asks: Outputs Does the council make any charge to the […]
Off-Payroll Working (IR35) & public sector bodies
The Off-Payroll Working rules (‘OPW’ – commonly referred to as ‘IR35’) were first introduced for public bodies in April 2017 with significant changes to the relevant procedures added in April 2021. We continue to receive significant numbers of queries on this topic – and employment status generally – reflecting the fact that this subject continues […]
Ahh (or Aggh!) Beach Huts
From time to time, our helpline receives questions about beach huts. Now some of you might entertain idyllic thoughts about carefree fun and holidays in the sun, or perhaps flinch at painful memories of sunburn and sandy sandwiches. Many will then dismiss them as being relatively simple things and unlikely candidates for causing headaches and […]
Check if your “HMRC” email is a scam
Scammers are getting increasingly sophisticated when using emails purporting to be from HMRC. Often scammers target individuals, but we are seeing organisations being targeted more and more frequently. It is important to remember that HMRC will never send notifications of a tax rebate or refund by email. Nor will it ask you to disclose personal […]
Spring Budget 2022 Update – Employment Taxes and VAT
The Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, delivered his 2022 Spring Statement speech on 23 March. It included some important Employment Taxes updates relevant to public bodies. Many of the measures ensure continued efforts to combat the cost of living while setting out the government’s plans for tax reforms, rates and thresholds, as well as investments in compliance […]
PSTAX CELEBRATES COMMITMENT TO REAL LIVING WAGE
PSTAX has today accredited as a Living Wage Employer. Their Living Wage commitment will see everyone working at PSTAX receive a minimum hourly wage of £9.90, significantly higher than the government minimum for over 23s, which currently stands at £8.91 per hour. PSTAX is based in the South East, a region where over 12% […]
Is Off-Payroll Working working?
By the time you read this article, the April 2021 changes to the off-payroll working rules will have been around for eight months. That seems like plenty enough time to get to grips with the subject, especially for public bodies which were forced to adopt the earlier version of the rules from April 2017. But […]
NATIONAL MINIMUM/LIVING WAGE UPDATE
On 9 December 2021, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) produced their latest list which ‘names and shames’ 208 employers who have failed to pay their staff the minimum wage. Employers named in this list, which is the eighteenth list published so far, range from multinational businesses, to small companies and sole […]
