• Research Briefing

    Scotland Bill [Bill No 115 of 2010-11]

    The Scotland Bill was published on 30 November 2010, and is scheduled for second reading on 27 January 2011. The Bill contains provisions to give the Scottish Parliament greater responsibility for raising its own revenue, in addition the borrowing powers of the Scottish Government are extended. The Bill also changes the boundary of devolved powers by amending some of the reserved matters in the Scotland Act 1998. Some new matters are devolved, some are reserved. The Bill also proposes small changes to provisions concerning the Scottish Parliament and the Scottish Government.

  • Research Briefing

    National Insurance Contributions Bill: Committee Stage Report

    The National Insurance Contributions Bill increases the rates of National Insurance contributions (NICs) paid by employees, employers and the self-employed from April 2011 – and provides for the regional employer contributions holiday for new businesses. The Bill was published on 14 October and given a second reading in the Commons on 23 November. It was considered in Public Bill Committee in four sittings between 2 and 9 December. It was not amended.

  • Research Briefing

    National Insurance Contributions Bill [Bill 79 of 2010-11]

    In its first Budget on 22 June 2010 the Coalition Government confirmed that the rates of National Insurance contributions (NICs) for employees, employers and the self-employed would rise by 1% from April 2011. The Government also stated that it would legislate to introduce a three-year regional NICs ‘holiday’ for new employers. Under the scheme new businesses may qualify for a deduction of up to £5,000 from the employer NICs that would normally be due, for each of the first ten employees they take on in their first year of business. However, new businesses in Greater London, the South East Region and the Eastern Region are specifically excluded from the scheme. The purpose of this Bill is to implement these two measures.

  • Research Briefing

    Finance (No.2) Bill 2010

    The Finance (No.2) Bill contains a series of minor and technical measures, most of which were announced in the then Labour Government's March 2010 Budget. The enactment of these measures was delayed by the timing of the 2010 General Election. In its first Budget on 22 June, the Coalition Government announced it would introduce two Finance Bills in 2010: the first to be passed for the summer recess to implement its key priorities, the second to be introuced in the autumn to clear these inherited measures. This note sets out the chronology of these events and a checklist of the Bill's contents.

  • Research Briefing

    Capital gains tax : the 2008 reforms

    In the 2008 Budget the Labour Government introduced a major reform to capital gains tax, introducing a new single rate of tax set at 18%, and withdrawing 'taper relief', which had been designed to encourage longer-term investment in business assets. This note examines the background to this reform.

  • Research Briefing

    Capital gains tax : background history

    Capital gains tax (CGT) was first introduced in 1965 on gains made on the disposal of assets by individuals, personal representatives and trustees. This note provides a short history of the tax up to 2007.

  • Research Briefing

    Inheritance tax and probate

    In 2003 the Government introduced a new Direct Payment scheme, to deal with a problem created by the interaction between the conditions placed on an estate before a grant of probate is issued, and the requirements to pay inheritance tax on that estate. This note describes the introduction of the new scheme.

  • Research Briefing

    Tax Law Rewrite : the final Bills

    In November 2009 two Bills to rewrite corporation tax and international tax legislation were introduced in the Commons - the last two Bills in the Tax Law Rewrite Project, launched in 1996. This note examines the background to the project, and the preparation of these last two Bills.

  • Research Briefing

    Direct taxes: rates and allowances 2010/11

    This paper sets out the main changes to direct tax rates and allowances announced in the Budget on 24 March 2010. It lists the principal personal allowances which will be available against income tax in the tax year 2010/11, and outlines the conditions for eligibility for these allowances. The paper summarises the general tax position in straightforward cases and deals only with tax allowances. No reference is made to cash benefits provided under the social security system, or to child tax credit and working tax credit.

  • Research Briefing

    Climate change levy

    The climate change levy was introduced in April 2001, charged on electricity, gas, liquefied petroleum gas and solid fuels, when supplied to business. This note gives a short history of the levy, and the impact it has had in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

  • Research Briefing

    Additional personal allowance

    Lone parents, and married parents whose partner was incapacitated, were once entitled to claim the additional personal allowance, while they cared for at least one child. This note gives a short description of this tax allowance and the Government's reasons for its being withdrawn from April 2000.

  • Research Briefing

    Widow’s bereavement allowance

    From 1980 to 2000 widows were entitled to receive a tax allowance - the widow's bereavement allowance (WBA). In April 2000 the allowance was withdrawn as part of a wider reform in state benefits for widows and widowers. This note gives a short history of the WBA, and the efforts of widowers who lost their spouses before the WBA was withdrawn to claim it.

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