Homeowners in England and Wales will be offered subsidies of £5,000 from next April to help them to replace old gas boilers with low carbon heat pumps.

The grants are part of the government’s £3.9 billion plan to reduce carbon emissions caused by heating homes and other buildings.

It is hoped no new gas boilers will be sold after 2035. The funding also aims to make social housing and public buildings more energy efficient.

However, experts have stated that the budget is too low and the strategy not ambitious enough. Ministers say the subsidies will make heat pumps a comparable price to a new gas boiler, but the £450 million being allocated for the subsidies over three years will cover a maximum of just 90,000 pumps.

Matthew Fell, Chief Policy Director at the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), said:

‘£5,000 heat pump grants will help get the ball rolling when it comes to decarbonising homes across the UK. The government’s Heat and Buildings Strategy provides a golden opportunity for both the public and private sector to pick up the pace of progress to net zero.

‘There’s no doubt that the scale of the challenge is considerable. These welcome measures – including the 2035 phase out of new gas boilers – will help consumers and business better prepare to change the way they heat their homes and buildings.’

Internet links: GOV.UK CBI website

A single person will need post-tax annual income of £10,900 for a minimum standard of living in retirement, according to the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA).

The minimum retirement living standard is based on the Joseph Rowntree Foundation’s Minimum Income Standard and covers a typical retiree’s basic needs plus enough for some social activities, such as a week of holiday in the UK, eating out once a month, but not including running a car.

That spending budget increases to £16,700 for a couple and also includes subscriptions and services such as getting a haircut.

The moderate retirement living standard includes a two-week holiday in Europe and more frequent eating out. This was assessed to require a budget of £20,800 for a single person, £600 higher than two years ago, and £30,600 for a couple, up £1,500.

The annual budget needed for a comfortable retirement living standard has increased since 2019 by £600 to £33,600 for one person and £2,200 to £49,700 for a couple.

This covered items such as regular beauty treatments, theatre trips and annual maintenance and servicing of a burglar alarm.

Nigel Peaple, Director of Policy and Advocacy at the PLSA, said:

‘The pandemic has emphasised the importance of economic security as well as social and cultural participation in retirement.

‘We hope the updated standards will encourage people to think about whether they are saving enough for the retirement lifestyle they want and, in particular, whether they are making the most of the employer contributions on offer in their workplace pension.’

Internet links: PLSA website

Businesses that are planning to operate in the UK’s new freeports can now apply to HMRC.

The tax authority has published the application forms to operate special customs procedures within the sites, along with further guidance on procedures for declaring goods moving into and out of sites.

Freeports are areas that benefit from a range of tax and other incentives, including a suspension from customs duties for imported goods and less burdensome customs procedures.

HMRC is now accepting applications to use freeport customs special procedures. The application form, which can be downloaded fromgov.uk, must be emailed or posted to HMRC once completed.

An application can be made by businesses that have a provisional agreement in place with a freeport customs site operator to store or process goods at a freeport customs site. An application may not be necessary if the business uses existing customs special procedures.

To complete the form, businesses will need, among other things, their Economic Operator Registration and Identification (EORI) number, company registration number (if a company), tax reference numbers and contact details.

Internet link: GOV.UK

The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has warned that tax rises could threaten the UK’s ongoing recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to the FSB, small businesses are coming up against ‘unprecedented strain’, with the cost of doing business higher than ever. Small businesses are also being affected by disruption to supply chains and increasing costs, the business group said.

Following the end of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, it has called for the government to focus on helping employers create jobs. The FSB also urged the government to generate new schemes to help fill skills shortages.

Mike Cherry, National Chair of the FSB, said:

‘It’s disappointing to see that more is not being done to tackle employment costs which are a huge drain on small businesses.

‘Increasing the Employment Allowance would help protect the smallest employers who are being hit hard by the end of furlough and the NICs rise. The government should also expand Small Business Rates Relief to premises with a rateable value of £25,000, removing an additional 200,000 small firms from the scope of this tax.’

Internet link: FSB press release

The government has doubled the period for filing and payment of capital gains tax (CGT) on residential property from 30 days to 60 days.

The measure was announced by Chancellor Rishi Sunak in the recent Autumn Budget.

The change applies from 27 October 2021. It sees the deadline for residents to report and pay CGT after selling UK residential property increase from 30 days after the completion date to 60 days.

For non-UK residents disposing of property in the UK, this deadline will also increase from 30 days to 60 days. When mixed-use property is disposed of by UK residents, legislation will also clarify that the 60-day payment window will only apply to the residential element of the property gain.

The Treasury says that these changes will ensure that taxpayers have sufficient time to report and pay CGT, as recommended by the Office of Tax Simplification (OTS). The Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) has campaigned for this change for the past 18 months.

Phil Hall, Head of Public Affairs and Public Policy at the AAT, said:

‘It’s a common-sense measure that helps taxpayers and their accountants whilst maintaining increased revenue for the Exchequer. Very pleased that HM Treasury and HMRC took on board the views of our members and changed their position accordingly.’

Internet links: GOV.UK publications LinkedIn