There have been many announcements surrounding tax and HMRC, so here we have compiled them into one place.

Changes To The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme From August

From August 1st to September 30th, when the scheme closes, the UK Government will pay 60% of employees’ usual wages for hours not worked, up to a cap of £1,875. employers will need to continue to pay the difference so that they pay furloughed employees at least 80% of their usual wages in total for hours they do not work, up to a cap of £2,500 a month.

Employers are still able to choose to top up employee wages above the scheme grant at their own expense if they wish and will need to pay for employer National Insurance contributions and pension costs.

Finance Bill 2021-22 Draft Legislation: Increasing The Normal Minimum Pension Age

The draft legislation to be included in the Finance Bill 2021-22 was released last week and included a measure relating to pensions. The government is going ahead with its proposal to implement the planned increase to the normal minimum pension age (NMPA) from age 55 to 57 in April 2028. The change will take effect from April 6th 2028, subject to some changes.

Individuals would have a ‘window’ to transfer into a relevant scheme before 2023 to benefit from a protected pension age. the protected pension age would also apply to benefits accrued after April 5th 2028, in a relevant scheme.

HMCR: VAT Deferral Penalty

A financial penalty may be charged if you did not take any action to pay your deferred VAT in full, or make an arrangement to pay by the deadline of June 30th, 2021. This is calculated on the amount of unpaid deferred VAT.

Making an arrangement to pay included either:

  • Joining the VAT deferral new payment scheme
  • Contacting HMRC to agree with extra help to pay.

The penalty is charged at 5% of the deferred VAT that’s unpaid when the penalty is assessed. And you must pay the penalty within 30 days on the date of the penalty assessment.

How To Appeal Against A Penalty

You can appeal against a penalty if you have a reasonable excuse. You can have your tax decision reviewed by someone at HMRC who was not involved in the original decision. This is known as a ‘statutory review’.

The penalty decision could either be:

  • Upheld
  • Changed
  • Cancelled

You can also appeal against the decision to the First-tier Tribunal (Tax).

Sources

https://www.gov.uk/tax-appeals

https://www.gov.uk/courts-tribunals/first-tier-tribunal-tax

John Stolliday
John Stolliday

John Stolliday runs The Financial Management Centre in Luton East. John is a qualified accountant (FCCA) and bookkeeper (MICB) with UK and Middle East experience in the construction and building services sectors, handling company turnovers up to £100m and staff of 15. John has held senior roles, up to board level, in civil engineering, industrial engineering, pipelines, general building and building maintenance companies.