If you employ a nanny, gardener or other household staff, from April 2013 you are required to join the ‘real time information’ (RTI) scheme set up by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). At the same time, the simplified deduction scheme for PAYE will...
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) have had a rethink as regards the law governing National Insurance Contributions (NICs) and announced that sleeping partners and inactive limited partners are liable to pay Class 2 NICs as self-employed earners and Class 4 NICs...
When a new executive fell out with the chief executive officer of the company he worked for, his employment was terminated without notice. In such circumstances, a breach of contract occurs. The executive’s contract of employment provided that should...
Business can breathe a sigh of relief following the latest statement from the Chancellor, with a package of measures designed to stimulate UK plc. The Spring budget 2013 was delivered against the gloomy backdrop provided by the Office for Budget...
A recent tax decision could spell trouble for limited liability partnerships (LLPs). It involved an LLP which purchased and provided cars and fuel for the use of partners in the LLP. The partners were either directors in a company to which the LLP provided...
Tenants of commercial premises know that rent is not a taxable supply for VAT purposes unless the landlord has elected to waive the VAT exemption in respect of the premises. However, there are other sorts of supply (such as cleaning) that are, in principle,...
The Supreme Court has ruled , by a majority of five to two, that advice provided by members of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) is not protected by legal advice privilege (LAP). The existence of privilege in respect of...
When a family partnership faced a legal challenge, the partners argued that the legal costs involved were allowable business expenses. The partnership spent more than £36,000 on legal fees defending a claim that the sister of one of the partners was...
Owners of business properties occupied rent free by employees will breathe a sigh of relief following a recent decision of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). In an action brought by the state of Belgium, the CJEU has confirmed that where a...
It is generally considered that organisations which have charitable objects (such as the relief of poverty) as their core purpose will qualify to be treated as charities. A recent tax case shows the limits that apply to this assumption, however. The case...
