Research Briefing
This note looks at the debate on the treatment of spouses and civil partners for the purposes of inheritance tax, principally in the context of the passage of the Civil Partnerships Act 2004, and the provisions in Budget 2005 to ensure the tax system treated each in the same way.
Research Briefing
In Budget 2012 the Government announced that from April 2013 it would introduce a cap on certain unlimited income tax reliefs. Initially many charities raised concerns that this could have a very serious impact on the incentives for those on higher incomes to make charitable donations. In December 2012 the Government confirmed it would proceed with the cap, though tax relief on charitable donations would be excluded from its scope. This note gives more details.
Research Briefing
All taxpayers are entitled to receive a personal allowance to set against their income for tax purposes. Individuals aged 65 and over have been entitled to receive an additional allowance; an extra addition has been made for those age 75 and over. This note gives details of the allowance and the Coalition Government's decision, first announced in Budget 2012, to phase it out from 2013/14.
Research Briefing
This note gives some background to the question of employment status and the difficulties it has caused in the construction sector, before discussing initiatives by both the Labour Government in 2009 and the Coalition Government in 2014, and more recent debates as to the possibility of a longer-term solution to this issue.
Research Briefing
The National Insurance Contributions (Termination Awards and Sporting Testimonials) Bill, Bill 381 of 2017-19, was presented on 25 April 2018.
Research Briefing
This note discusses the introduction of a new power, initially announced in the 2014 Budget, to allow HM Revenue & Customs’ to recover debts for both tax and tax credits directly from individuals’ bank and building society accounts.
Research Briefing
In December 2015 HM Revenue & Customs published Making Tax Digital - its strategy to implement a new system of digital tax accounts to be used by businesses, the self-employed and landlords. Following a consultation exercise, in July 2017 the Government confirmed its plans to roll-out digital tax returns, but with an amended timetable in light of concerns about the potential impact on businesses. This paper discusses the background to this reform.
Research Briefing
This briefing looks in detail at the Withdrawal Agreement negotiated between the EU and UK and finalised on 14 November 2018. It was endorsed by EU Member State leaders at a special European Council summit on 25 November and the UK Prime Minister promoted it in the UK Parliament and around the country. The Agreement was debated at length in Parliament on several occasions and has been voted on three times. But the House of Commons has not endorsed it. A second extension of Article 50 took exit day to 31 October 2019, but once again the UK is faced with the possibility of leaving the EU without an agreement if this agreement or another one is not ratified by the UK and the EU.
Research Briefing
In the 2017 Budget the Government confirmed that it would introduce legislation to amend the tax treatment of termination payments. Provision to this effect is made by s5 of the Finance (No.2) Act 2017. This note discusses the background to this reform.
Debate Pack
A Westminster Hall debate on IR35 Tax Reforms was held on Thursday 4 April 2019. The subject for debate was selected by the Backbench Business Committee. The Member leading the debate was Ged Killen MP.
Debate Pack
On Thursday 4 April the House debated a motion relating to the introduction of the 2019 Loan Charge. The subject for the debate had been selected by the Backbench Business Committee.
Research Briefing
This paper sets out direct tax rates and principal tax allowances for the 2019/20 tax year, as announced in the 2018 Budget on 29 October 2018. The paper outlines the conditions necessary for eligibility for these tax allowances, and provides a summary of the general tax position in straightforward cases.
Research Briefing
This note looks at the way that landlords have been able to offset their finance costs against tax, the changes made to these rules by s24 of Finance (No.2) Act 2015, and the debate there has been over their likely impact. It looks briefly at the introduction from April 2016 of higher rates of stamp duty on the purchase of additional residential properties, as the Government has explicitly linked these two measures as being targeted to help first time buyers.
Debate Pack
The Chancellor Philip Hammond presented the 2018 Budget on 29 October. The Finance (No.3) Bill 2017-19 was published on 7 November, and the Bill's Second Reading was on 12 November. It completed its consideration in the House of Commons on 8 January 2019, and the Finance Act 2019 received Royal Assent on 12 February 2019.
Research Briefing
Concerns about the impact of aviation on carbon emissions lead the Labour Government to review air passenger duty (APD) in 2008. A number of changes were made to the structure of the tax from November 2009. This historical note discusses this reform.
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