The April Employer Bulletin includes articles on:

• reporting expenses and benefits in kind for 2015/16 using form P11D
• Scottish Rate of Income Tax coding notice issues
• Class 1 National Insurance contributions for apprentices under the age of 25
• changes to Student Loans Deductions including the introduction of type 1 and type 2 loans and the reminders which HMRC will issue to employers who fail to make deductions.

The Bulletin also includes links to HMRC’s guidance on the restriction to Employment Allowance for Single Director Companies.

If you would like any help with payroll or P11D completion issues please contact us.

Internet link: Employer Bulletin

From April 2016, rules are introduced which require companies to keep a register of people with significant control (PSC register). In addition, the details of people with significant control (PSCs) will have to be filed with Companies House from 30 June 2016.

A PSC is defined as an individual that:

• holds, directly or indirectly, more than 25% of the shares or voting rights in the company; or
• holds the right, directly or indirectly, to appoint or remove a majority of the board of directors of the company; or
• has the right to exercise, or actually exercises, significant influence or control over the company; or
• where a trust or firm would satisfy any of the above conditions, any individual that has the right to exercise, or actually exercises, significant influence or control over the activities of that trust or firm.

The details of the individuals which need to be entered on the PSC register include:

• name and address
• usual residential address, country of residence and nationality
• date of birth
• date when they became a PSC
• the nature of their control over the company.

Failure to comply with the requirements of the PSC regime could lead to the company or directors, or identified PSCs committing a criminal offence. The company and its directors could face a fine or imprisonment or both.

Further guidance can be found on the Companies House website or please contact us for more guidance in this area.

Internet link: Companies House

A tribunal has ruled that security firm G4S cannot reduce its profits for tax purposes by deducting parking fines.

The company, G4S Cash Solutions, tried to reduce their corporation tax bill by approximately £580,000 but the first-tier tribunal has ruled in HMRC’s favour in rejecting the claim for the deduction of the fines.

The company G4S incurred a substantial amount of parking fines usually while delivering consignments of cash over the pavement. The business tried to claim these were a business expense and so could be used to reduce the company’s profits for tax purposes.

The tribunal ruled G4S staff consciously and deliberately decided to break parking restrictions for commercial gain.

The ruling upholds HMRC’s long standing view that fines for breaking the law cannot be used to reduce a tax bill.

HMRC’s Director General of Business Tax, Jim Harra, said:

‘We’ve always said fines incurred for breaking the law are not tax deductible. The tribunal has now established a clear precedent for rejecting any future such claims.’

If you would like advice on calculating your taxable profits and the deductibility of any expenditure please get in touch.

Internet links: Press release Tribunal decision

Yes… It was always going to be our first item of news. We’ve launched our brand spanking new website.

It does more than tell you who we are what we do best and where to find us. It’s a source of business information, management news, useful links to help you, dates to watch out for, quick calculators to save you time and money and links to our social media channels where you can keep up to date on what’s going on first hand.

David Richardson remarked that “the development of the new website has taken over 6 months to complete and was part of the overall rebranding of McGinty Demack which will continue to be introduced throughout the business but was developed as part of the website design. The production of the video was quite a challenge and required more than 1 take to achieve the end result and brought with some laughs. Many people have helped with putting the website together and I would like to take the opportunity to thank them for their efforts”.

We hope you like it and hope that you will let us know on Facebook, Twitter and Google Plus whichever you like.

The National Minimum Wage (NMW) rates will increase from 1 October 2016 as follows:

From 1 April 2016 following the introduction of the National Living Wage all workers aged 25 and over are legally entitled to at least £7.20 per hour. Employers should ensure that all affected employees benefit from this new rate from 1 April 2016.

*This apprentice rate is for apprentices aged 16 to 18 and those aged 19 or over who are in their first year. All other apprentices are entitled to the National Minimum Wage for their age.

Internet links: Parliament Living Wage