A duty on vapes will be introduced from October 2026. Officials said the move was designed to
“protect young people and children from the harm of vaping”. The existing tax on tobacco will increase, to maintain the “financial incentive to choose vaping
over smoking”. This will raise a combined £1.3 billion by 2028/29.
Inflation
Inflation should fall below the 2% target set by the Government in a few months, according to the Office for Budget Responsibility report, Mr Hunt announced.
When he came to office inflation was at 11%, he said, whilst the latest figures show that it is now at 4%. Mr Hunt told MPs: “We have turned the corner on inflation.”
Debt and borrowing figures announced
Following OBR forecasts back in 2022 that headline debt would rise to above 100% of GDP, the Chancellor updated the Commons on projections for the next…
The record number of taxpayers submitting Self-Assessment tax returns was beaten in January, it’s
been revealed, with a new high of 11.5million being reached. That’s quite some number!
But, judging by the figures HMRC released, somewhere between 0.5million and 1.1million failed to send theirs in by the deadline of 31 January.
Of the 12.1 million expected to file for the 2022-2023 tax year 778,068 managed to file on the last day, with 61,549 submissions occurring during the
peak filing hour and 32,958 filed in the final hour.
The key stats released…
Read MoreIt’s nearly that time again when the Chancellor of the Exchequer rises to his feet
to address the House of Commons to deliver the latest Budget.
This Spring announcement – set for 6 March – is earlier than typical, with a General Election looming sometime later this year, in all
likelihood. The Government has to go to the polls by January 2025 at the very latest.
The news that the UK has slipped into a technical recession (two quarters of consecutive negative growth) has complicated matters for
Jeremy Hunt. He…
A surge of bogus tax refund phishing scams is feared by HMRC officials.
The Government body has warned self-employed people to watch out for fraudsters who are likely to want to target the 11.5 million or so
who have just recently sent in their Self-Assessment tax returns.
Scammers will attempt to dupe people about tax rebates by email, phone or texts that mimic government messages to make them appear
authentic.
Designed to use personal details for selling on to criminals, or to access people’s bank accounts, these attempts to lure…
Read MoreHave you overpaid on your pensions tax? HMRC has released information showing that
£38million worth of repayments were issued to thousands of savers (aged 55 and over) in the final quarter of 2023. More than 12,000 reclaim forms were processed.
In the main, it was individuals accessing their pensions flexibly who were impacted. The unexpected tax bills have arisen due to an ’emergency’ tax code applied to their
first withdrawal.
Analysis by investment broker AJ Bell indicated that since 2015, approximately £1.2 billion has been repaid to savers who were…
Read MoreScottish taxpayers earning more than £75,000 are set to pay a new higher rate of 45% from 2024-25. The Scottish Government has announced the change following its Budget. The change means Scotland now has six different income tax rates. The rest of the UK has three.
The ‘advanced’ band, as it has been called, will apply to those earning between £75,000 to £125,140. The starter, basic and intermediate threshold is set to rise with inflation, but the higher rate (43%) would still kick in at the same rate -…
Read MoreAs the Self-Assessment Income Tax deadline looms (31 January), HMRC has revealed that many people have opted into a scheme to pay their tax bills in instalments.
Nearly 44,800 people have sorted their tax bills totalling almost £148 million, by setting up a monthly payment plan called Time to Pay. HMRC also revealed 28,794 people used its app this time around to pay more than £42 million in tax owed.
More than 7.7 million people who file Self-AssessmentTax Returns have already filed theirs for the 2022 to 2023 tax year. We…
Read MoreYou may have seen one of the early 2024 tax stories popping up in many of the national newspapers relates to a so-called ‘side hustle tax’. Is it really a tax? No. Yet we’re seeing it reported as a ‘New Year tax clampdown’ and similar such descriptions. Unfortunately, it has led to concern, particularly on social media where some people have perhaps misunderstood or misinterpreted what’s happening.
At the centre of this is new data-sharing rules coming into force this month that will affect holiday homeowners, delivery drivers, and…
Read MoreIt might seem like only a few weeks ago that we had the Autumn Statement,
but already we’ve had news in the early days of 2024 that the next Budget is on its way. And with that, a swirling mass of rumours
about tax changes – particularly cuts, ahead of a General Election, which must be called by the end of this year. Earlier this month,
the Government announced the Budget will be delivered by The Chancellor Jeremy Hunt on 6 March 2024. That’s quite a lot earlier…