Accountancy Daily has reported that the amendment, new clause 26, was tabled by Ed Davey, the LibDem MP for Kingston and Surbiton and was signed by 38 MPs with more giving their support during the parliamentary debate.
The loan charge, due to come into effect in April, has attracted considerable controversy as the regulations give HMRC powers to impose a second taxing point for historical schemes. This means the charge will affect anyone who used a loan scheme, typically via an umbrella company, and who has not paid the intended amount of tax over the last 20 years. HMRC has indicated it expects to protect around £3.2bn in tax by tackling such avoidance schemes. A House of Lords report from the economic affairs committee published in December was heavily critical of the plans, saying: ‘HMRC appears to be prioritising recovery of tax revenue over justice by targeting individuals, rather than promoters (who could be considered more culpable), so it can more easily recover liabilities.’
Read the full report from Accountancy Daily.
Background information Tax avoidance loan schemes and the loan charge (8 November 2018) Tax avoidance: if it looks too good to be true, it probably is (6 December 2018)
Back to Contents
Government and employers unite to kick-start flexible working 15 January 2019
A new campaign has been launched to boost flexible working as uptake has reportedly stalled for nearly a decade.
The campaign coincides with the publication of a new CIPD report, Megatrends: Flexible Working, which shows that the number of employees using formal flexible working arrangements – such as part-time working, term-time working, compressed hours and job-sharing – has flat-lined since 2010. This is despite the right to request flexible working being extended to all employees in 2014. There is evidence in the report of an increase in more informal flexible working, such as more people working from home on an ad hoc basis. This can be exactly the flexibility that workers are looking for, but there is an opportunity to do much more. The potential benefits of flexible working are being missed because of unsupportive manager attitudes, limited available options and the negative assumptions of some employees about flexible working, for example that their job may be at risk if they seek to change their working patterns. Flexible Working Task Force The Flexible Working Task Force is a partnership across government departments, business groups, trade unions and charities (co-chaired by the CIPD), has recently launched a campaign to increase the uptake of flexible working. Members of the task force are collectively using their ability to reach and influence hundreds of thousands of employers to encourage them to advertise jobs as flexible by using the strapline ‘Happy to Talk Flexible Working’ in their job advertisements, regardless of level or pay grade.
The task force was established in March 2018 to widen the availability and uptake of flexible working across the workforce by bringing together organisations with relevant expertise. These include:
• Confederation of British Industry (CBI) • Chartered Management Institute (CMI) • Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) • Trades Union Congress (TUC) • Age UK • Carers UK • Timewise Foundation • Working Families • Department for Work and Pensions • HM Treasury.
The Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals
Payroll: need to know
cipp.org.uk
Page 294 of 598
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker