Documents published alongside the Budget Statement confirmed other allowances for the 2019-20 tax year; the Marriage Allowance (also known as the Transferable Tax Allowance) will increase to £1,250, the Married Couple’s Allowance will increase to a maximum of £8,915 (minimum £3,450) and the Blind Person’s Allowance will increase to £2,450.
These changes apply to non-savings, non-dividend income in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and to savings and dividend income in the UK. UK income tax rates remain unchanged.
Devolved income tax
The Scottish Government is responsible for setting the income tax rates and thresholds that apply to Scottish taxpayers. Wednesday 12 December is the date that has been set for the 2018 Scottish Budget.
The Welsh Government is responsible for setting Welsh Income Tax rates from April 2019, for the first time. These are based on the UK rates: 10p in the pound is removed from each UK rate and the relevant Welsh rate is added. The Welsh Government has announced its intention to set Welsh rates at 10p in the pound for the 2019-20 tax year, so that the net effect for Welsh taxpayers is that they are subject to the same basic, higher and additional rates as taxpayers in England and Northern Ireland. Confirmation is expected in December.
Company cars, vans and fuel
The Budget Statement confirmed that figures for the company car fuel benefit charge and the van fuel benefit charge will increase in line with RPI and the van benefit charge will increase in line with CPI.
Documents published alongside the Budget Statement confirm that the multiplier for the car fuel benefit charge will increase to £24,100 (from £23,400), the flat-rate van fuel benefit charge will increase to £655 (from £633) and the flat- rate van benefit charge will increase to £3,430 (from £3,350). The van benefit charge for zero-emission goods vehicles increases from 40% to 60% of the standard charge from April 2019, as previously announced. The diesel supplement for the Company Car Tax appropriate percentage remains at 4%, subject to a maximum appropriate percentage of 37%. Cars that meet the Euro 6d standard (also known as Real Driving Emissions Step 2, RDE2) are exempt.
Apprentices
Transferring levy funds
Confirmation was given of the announcement made at the Conservative Party conference last month that from April 2019 levy-paying employers will be able to transfer up to 25% of their funds to pay for apprenticeship training in their supply chains.
Contribution to funding costs halved for non-levy paying employers
The co-investment rate for smaller businesses taking on apprentices will halve from 10% to 5%. It is expected that the change to a 5% contribution will only apply to new starters from April 2019. But it is not yet known if this reduced contribution will also apply to levy-paying employers when their levy pot is empty.
Employer-designed apprenticeship standards
The government will also provide up to £5 million to the Institute for Apprenticeships and National Apprenticeship Service in 2019-20, to identify gaps in the training provider market and increase the number of employer-designed apprenticeship standards available to employers. All new apprentices will start on these new, higher-quality courses from September 2020. CIPP comment With the number of new apprentices falling far below the numbers hoped for when introducing the apprenticeship levy, these changes are welcome. However, we understand that the government intends to consult with businesses about further changes to the levy from 2020, following the slow take up and employer criticisms.
The Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals
Payroll: need to know
cipp.org.uk
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