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The Queen’s Speech 2019 outlined several Brexit-related Bills, including an Immigration and Social Security Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) Bill, designed to end free movement within the UK after Brexit and to lay the foundation for a new, modern and global immigration system. The Bill will also reaffirm the government’s commitment to the right to remain for resident EU citizens “who have built their lives here in the UK”. The main elements of the Bill are: Ending the free movement of EU citizens under UK law The power...

The Governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, has unveiled the design of the new £20 note featuring the artist JMW Turner. The new note will be launched on 20 February 2020 and will join the current £5 and £10 notes in being printed on polymer, a thin flexible plastic. The new plastic £20 note will include a number of new security features including two windows and a two-colour foil, making it very difficult to counterfeit. The Governor said: 'Our banknotes celebrate the UK’s heritage, salute its culture,...

A reminder that the current National Minimum Wage (NMW) and National Living Wage (NLW) rates came into effect on 1 April 2019. The NLW is the minimum hourly rate that must be paid to those aged 25 or over. The current rate for the NLW is £8.21. The hourly rate of the NMW (for 21-24 year olds) is £7.70. The rates for 18-20 year olds are £6.15 and the rate for workers above the school leaving age but under 18 is £4.35. Finally. the NMW rate for apprentices is £3.90. The rates are updated every April. It is...

Entrepreneurs' Relief (ER) can be valuable relief when selling your business, your shares in a trading company or your interest in a trading partnership. Where ER is available, Capital Gains Tax (CGT) of 10% is payable. This rate applies to qualifying lifetime gains of up to £10 million. However, it is important to remember that there are qualifying conditions that must be met to ensure you are eligible to benefit from the lower 10% rate. If you are selling all or part of your business, then both of the following must apply in order...

There used to be a form that had to be completed advising HMRC if you were returning to live in the UK from another country. Whilst this form was abolished some time ago, there are still various actions that you may need to take if you are returning to live and work in the UK. In most cases, if you return to live in the UK you will be classed as resident in the UK and you will be required to pay UK tax on your UK income and gains and any foreign income and gains. Your exact liability to Income Tax will depend on whether you are a resident and...

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Sajid Javid, has announced that he is planning to hold his first Autumn Budget 2019 on Wednesday, 6 November 2019. However, this date is based on the UK leaving the EU with a deal on 31 October 2019. At the time of going to press, this was certainly not a foregone conclusion. The Chancellor did confirm that if the UK leaves the EU without a deal then the Government would act quickly to announce emergency measures to support the economy, businesses and households. This would then be followed by a Budget in the...

There is a special exemption from Inheritance Tax for cash gifts made on or shortly before the date that the relevant wedding or civil partnership ceremony takes place. The amount of tax relief varies depending on the relationship between the donor and the recipient. Each parent (including step-parents) can gift up to £5,000 tax free Grandparents and Great grandparents can each gift up to £2,500 Any other person can each gift up to £1,000 If the value transferred by the gift is more than the amount of the available...

The start of the 2019-20 tax year marked a fundamental change to the way Income Tax is calculated for people who live in Wales. The new Welsh rates of Income Tax (WRIT) is payable on the non-savings and non-dividend income of those defined as Welsh taxpayers. The definition of a Welsh taxpayer is generally decided on the question of where the taxpayer lives. It should be noted that in order to be a Welsh taxpayer, an individual must be a UK resident for tax purposes – an individual who is not UK tax resident cannot be a Welsh...

The Scottish rate of Income Tax (SRIT) commenced on 6 April 2016 and is administered by HMRC on behalf of the Scottish Government. The SRIT is payable on the non-savings and non-dividend income of those defined as Scottish taxpayers. This means that Scottish taxpayers who also have savings and dividend income, need to consider the UK rates as well as the Scottish rates when calculating their Income Tax bill. Scottish taxpayer status applies for a whole tax year. It is not possible to be a Scottish taxpayer for part of a tax year. The...

HMRC has automatically registered many businesses to use simplified import procedures should the UK leave the EU without a deal on 31 October 2019. The scheme, called the Transitional Simplified Procedures (TSP) will make importing from the EU bloc much easier, especially for businesses completing customs processes for the first time. The TSP will allow most businesses to transport goods from the EU into the UK without having to make a full customs declaration at the border and to postpone paying any import duties. In most cases, businesses...