Making Tax Digital
Making Tax Digital (MTD) is the electronic filing of tax information to HMRC, and there have been some important dates announced this week.
Read our blog on this matter here: Making Tax Digital – Important dates announced.
Don’t forget you can defer your Payment on Account
HMRC have automatically deferred your July 2020 payment on account to Jan 2021.
This does not mean you will pay more in Jan 21 it’s just by then you would normally have paid the amount so the payment will be higher.
This is optional, but I can’t see why you wouldn’t take them on this. You don’t need to notify them they will process this automatically.
Read more here .
Capital Gains Review
The chancellor has written the OTD (Office for Tax Simplification) to review Capital Gains Tax. Many have interpreted this as a potential future increase in this tax.
The line” In particular, I would be interested in any proposals from the OTS on the regime of allowances, exemptions, reliefs and the treatment of losses within CGT, and the interactions of how gains are taxed compared to other types of income.
Indicate that the era of relatively low capital tax vs income taxes will come to an end.
CGT rates are currently set at 10% for basic-rate taxpayers and 20% for higher and additional rate taxpayers, or at 18% and 28% where gains relate to residential property.
The OTS are inviting response on the principles of CGT by 10 August 2020 and on the main section of the call for evidence by 12 October 2020.
Read the letter here.
Record Borrowing hits high in the UK
The UK has borrowed a record £127bn between April and June as the government provided record levels of support for Coronavirus,
Compare this to the £55bn borrowed in the whole of the previous tax year.
This is not only a national issue the whole world has increased their borrowing to cover the pandemic.
It’s clear that extraordinary measure were required to weather the storm, and most of our clients agree the government have done a good job on this.
However, debt is easy to borrow and difficult to pay back, so some huge changes are expected to tax over the next 5 years.
Read more here.
Facemasks are now compulsory in shops
A £100 fine can be levied to anyone not covering up in enclosed public spaces such as supermarkets, indoor shopping centres, transport hubs, banks and takeaways.
Some retailers have taken a view they won’t enforce the rule so it will be interesting to see what happens here.
Fortunately, offices are not affected by this.
There are exemptions to the new rules for children under 11, those with disabilities or certain health conditions, such as respiratory or cognitive impairments that make it difficult for them to wear a face covering.
Masks will not be mandatory in indoor venues that have other safety measures in place, including:
- Eat-in restaurants
- Pubs
- Hairdressers and salons
- Gyms and leisure centres
- Cinemas, concert halls and theatres
- Visitor attractions such as museums
Read more here.
