The Bribery Act 2010 (“the Act”) received Royal Assent on 8 April 2010 and came into force on 1 July 2011. The Act is concerned with bribery and not, for example, fraud, theft, Money Laundering or Companies Act offences. The Act contains 2 general offences dealing with the offering, promising or giving of a bribe […]
Archive | Tax
UK and Overseas Inheritance Tax: Will My Assets be Liable?
The nil rate IHT threshold is currently £325,000, and will remain at this figure until 2015. If you leave behind anything worth more than this, the tax will be charged at 40% on anything extra. However, if you are married or in a civil partnership, you and your spouse can combine your thresholds for a […]
UK resident or non-resident? What’s the difference?
From 6 April 2012, individuals needing to know if they are UK resident for tax purposes might be able to take a Statutory Residence Test, recently proposed by the Government. The proposed test is divided into three categories – One, Two and Three. Part one is used to determine if you are resident anywhere outside […]
Tax Relief on Donations to Charity
UK taxpayers can receive tax relief on donations they make to UK registered charities through Gift Aid. Charities are able to claim from HM Revenue & Customs, the basic rate of 20% tax on any donation you make to them. For example, if you want to donate £1,000 to charity, you only need to donate […]
Domicile Rules
The government has proposed reforming the rules concerning the taxation of UK resident non-domiciled individuals from April 2012. Since April 2008 a non-UK domiciled individual who has been resident in the UK for 7 of the last 9 years and who claims the benefit of the remittance basis of taxation has had to pay the […]
National Insurance Contributions
The rates for national insurance contributions went up by 1% from 6 April 2011. For employees salaries are now charged at 12% and 2% instead of 11% and 1% and self employed profits are charged at 9% and 2% instead of 8% and 1%. The rate for employer contributions on salaries and benefits increased from […]
Tax Relief on Pension Contributions – Ready for the Changes?
The Government has announced that the limits for tax relief on pension contributions will be reduced significantly: the annual allowance will be reduced from £255,000 to £50,000 (from April 2011); and the lifetime allowance will be reduced from £1.8 million to £1.5 million (from April 2012). These reductions replace the complex changes for higher earners […]