The Saving Gateway scheme could hand you £600 for free over two years as long as an equal amount can be put forward over that period. The aim of the scheme is to encourage those on low incomes to save by possibly matching their contributions. It will not be launched until 2010 and the consultation stage will carry on until June this year. The Government suggests encouraging saving by offering either 20p, 50p or £1 for every £1 saved. The two pilot studies in 2002 and 2005 used these varying amounts but the Government has yet to decide on how much it will offer and is open to suggestions from members of the public at Saving Gateway Consultation, Room G67, HM Revenue and Customs, 100 Parliament Street, London SW1A 2BQ or julie.duffy@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk. Evidence from the pilots however, showed that the ‘match rate’ did not need to be as high as £1 per £1 to encourage people to save. Eligibility has been reined back to very low income levels but consideration is still made on an individual basis, so several people in the same household can sign up to the scheme.
Archive for the ‘HM Revenue & Customs’ Category
100% savings account - sounds good?
Sunday, March 16th, 2008Budget 2008: Beware of the cost of tax form errors
Thursday, March 13th, 2008Hidden away in the budget are new powers which mean taxpayers face massive increases in how much they can be fined simply for failing to understand their tax returns. The new penalty rules mean people who fill in their own tax forms face what is effectively a fine of up to 30% of any amount they understate which is then spotted by the taxman on grounds that they ‘failed to take reasonable care’. So for example, if they understate their tax by £1000 they face a payment of £1300. Until now penalties were rarely above 10%. Deliberate understatement of tax would now attracts a 70% fine. Unfortunately, yesterday’s press releases by Revenue & Customs ran to a record 270 pages, most of which are of interest only to accountants.
Budget 2008: NI stealth tax for those earning £40,000
Thursday, March 13th, 2008While it was buried in yesterday’s Budget details, the earnings ceiling for NI has been raised by £100 to £770 a week. Analysts say this means workers earning around £40,000 will pay £520 extra a year and will be among the big losers from the Budget. The change to the NI cap will be worth almost £2bn a year in revenues to the Treasury. Critics say the rise in NI bills, combined with the lack of concessions on other taxes that fall hardest on the capital - such as residential-property stamp duty, higher council tax bills, road tax, increased duty on alcohol etc - meant Londoners would be providing an even higher proportion of the national tax from April. As there are more people in London earning over £40,000 a year, they would be hit the hardest by this hidden tax.
Taxman cracks down on landlords
Tuesday, February 26th, 2008Tax authorities are stepping up their efforts to uncover any buy-to-let investors that have failed to declare their rental income. Letters have been sent to landlords this week from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) requesting for clarification on their rental income. Landlords will have nowhere to hide as HM Revenue & Customs can search the Land Registry, stamp duty records and lettings website to find rented properties. Amateur buy-to-let investors are falling foul of the tax man because they need to declare their rental income even when a buy-to-let property has made a loss.
Now taxman can bug your home and phone
Monday, February 25th, 2008
Tax inspectors have been given wide-ranging new powers to bug people’s homes and private phone calls. They also have the go-ahead to intercept emails and plant listening devices in suspects’ cars and offices. The move is the latest expansion of surveillance powers which, until recently, were only available to the police and intelligence services. Senior revenue officials have been given the power to sanction the use of surveillance techniques under the same rules that govern the work of MI5, GCHQ and the police. Customs officers who are fighting gun-runners, drug-smugglers and people-traffickers have also had similar surveillance approval. Revenue officers used to work to a set of strict rules that even banned them from looking in cupboards at a home or business during a visit without express permission. But now officials investigating allegations of tax evasion can pry into every aspect of a suspect’s life in the hunt for evidence.
