Those of you in the construction industry should by now be operating the new CIS.

There are significant changes in the scheme rules and compliance
requirements including the need to complete a new monthly return of all payments to subcontractors, an increase (to 20%) in the standard rate of tax deduction, the introduction of a higher rate deduction of 30% and the removal of the need to hold vouchers and certificates.

If you are worried about the scheme or would just like to clarify any of the changes, call anyone here at Raffingers Stuart who will be happy to help.

Voluntary NICs

The recently published Pensions Bill includes a proposal to reduce the number of years of national insurance payments needed to qualify for the full state pension from 44 for men and 39 for women to 30 for both.

As a result it will no longer be necessary for many people who have been paying voluntary top-up national insurance contributions - many of whom do so at the instigation of the Revenue - to continue to do so. Unfortunately the Revenue have stated that they will only refund voluntary contributions made since May 25 2006 on the basis that earlier payments were “paid properly at the time in accordance with the law and in line with Government policy”.

So much for national insurance not being a tax then!

Illegal bank charges?
There has been a great deal of press coverage recently about the legality of bank charges - in particular those levied as penalty charges for breaching agreed borrowing limits.

The law states that any penalty charges banks levy on their customers must be proportional to the actual costs they incur. Consumer organisations have therefore questioned whether a £35 charge is really a fair reflection of the cost of sending out a letter when someone goes 1p over their limit and so far all the evidence suggests that banks are settling claims quickly so as to avoid a court challenge to these charges.

A whole host of websites offering helpful advice on how to claim have been set up and a simple Google search should be enough to point you in the right direction.

Revised Companies Act
The government has confirmed the implementation timetable for the new Companies Act 2006 - which contains one of the most wide ranging reviews of company law in decades - and it will be effective in stages up to October 2008.

Amongst the many changes are new statutory duties for directors, increased protection for minority shareholders, the
shortening of the deadline for filing company accounts and the removal of the need for private companies to have a company secretary.

Working from home
Revenue and Customs have issued new guidance on the costs that can be offset against income by anyone who currently works from home or runs an office from there.

The new guidance is a significant relaxation of the rules and will result in potentially much greater relief for expenses. Our clients can rest assured that we will be dealing with this on their behalf but if you would like to know more, please ask us and we will be happy to explain further.