January 2011:
New PAYE and National Insurance Rates and Allowances from April 2011:
See my new webpages for information on the changes: www.theofficeconcept.com/2011-12.htm explains the new rates and allowances. www.theofficeconcept.com/rates&allowances2011-12.htm shows you how the changes will affect your pay and the cost of being an employer.
October 2010:
Philip Green appointed Government Property Advisor:
Topshop founder Sir Philip Green is to lead an efficiency review of government
spending, including an examination of leases and property.
Green says “I believe that our shared experience in the procurement
of many goods and services, across a broad geographical area of the UK,
will enable us to have important benchmarked information which will be
extremely useful.
“I will give this efficiency review my very best effort knowing how
hugely important it is to the recovery of the country. I want to help
focus, motivate and energize to achieve these efficiency savings. It is
these actions that will re-start growth in the UK.”
Sir Philip's wife is a resident of Monaco, meaning that they don't pay tax on their income from their UK businesses, Top Shop and BHS which have a 12% share in the UK clothing market. He says about this, 'My wife's not a tax exile - my family do not live in the United Kingdom, it's somewhat different.' The move has saved them tens of millions of pounds in tax. He famously paid his family a £1.2 billion dividend in 2005, which they were able to receive tax free due to their Monaco residency status. If you care so much about the UK economy, Sir Green, you know what you have to do.
Child Benefit Changes:
Child Benefit to be withdrawn for higher rate tax-payers: This hasn't been very well thought out at all. Did the Con-Dem's consult anyone before announcing this? There seems to be no thought at all about the fact that some families may only have one bread-winner, for whatever reason. In the case of single families, what will happen if the father is a higher rate payer and has absconded and is already neglecting his responsibilities? In the case of unmarried co-habiting parents, will they now want to follow Ed Milliband's lead and not put the father's name on the birth certificate? Who is going to Police this and how? If they stopped benefits for families in the 50% bracket (earning over £150,000), it would make more sense. Some people don't want to take these benefits, but have no choice. We could make it easier for them to decline them.PAYE is calculated on a retrospective basis. What if you don't know what your income is going to be in the coming tax year - are the self-employed going to suffer yet again? Will we have the same situation as we had with tax credits where you have to guess your future income and pay back any money incorrectly claimed?
My suggestion is that for children born after a certain date (in the future); we only pay child benefit for the first one or two children. People do need to consider whether or not they can afford to have children before they have them, but I don't believe that it is children who should be the first to suffer under the Con-Dem cuts.
Equality Act 2010:
It came into force on 1st October. You can download a guide from ACAS about it here:Employers are no longer free to ask pre-employment health questions. Under the Equality Act 2010, any medical questions asked before a job offer is made must relate specifically to the tasks involved in carrying out the role. This is potentially good news for people who feel that disclosing information about a condition or disability may weaken their chances of getting a job.
Still in 2010, disabled people are twice as likely as the able-bodied to be unemployed. Only one in 10 tribunal claims made under the Disability Discrimination Act – which the Equality Act mostly replaces – concerns recruitment, but discrimination there isn't less common – just harder to prove.
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