The advisory electricity rate for fully electric cars is 4 pence per mile.
Hybrid cars are treated as either petrol or diesel cars for advisory fuel rates.
The advisory fuel rates for petrol, LPG and diesel cars are shown in these tables.
Further information: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/advisory-fuel-rates#afr-1-september-2017-to-30-november-2017
Read MoreLatest figures show an increase in the number of people in Wales benefitting from UK Government support schemes at the end of July
New statistics show the support Wales has received from the government’s income support schemes rose last month.
The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) and the Self Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) were announced by the Chancellor at the start of the coronavirus pandemic in March as part of a package of measures to support jobs, businesses and individuals affected by the coronavirus outbreak.
22,400 more people in Wales are benefitting from the furlough scheme than were in June, taking the total number to 400,800.
2,000 more people are receiving the SEISS grant, with the cost of the SEISS scheme so far in Wales £295 million for a total of 110,000 claims.
Read MoreThe Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme has been used by many businesses throughout the UK during the pandemic as a way of keeping afloat and avoid laying off staff. This initiative has cost the government £30billion in claims alone.
HMRC were clear from the start that they would not accept misuse of the scheme. Backing this statement, they have now announced a new ‘clawback’ scheme designed to make those who claimed wrongly or unfairly pay. The proposal confirms that the furlough grants will be taxable, and if wrongly claimed, whether on purpose or in error, the payment will be taxed at a rate of 100%.
While this is encouraged by many, some businesses face uncertainty over claims they have made due to the confusing and unclear guidelines originally introduced by HMRC as the scheme went live.
Joanne Harris, technical commercial manager at Nixon Williams stated ‘while it is right that HMRC should take a tough stance on deliberate fraud in relation to these support schemes, the potential for genuine errors is high with the CJRS, particularly as government guidelines have been seemingly unclear and are changing frequently’.
Read MoreHMRC have confirmed that they have already started investigating furlough claims in their furlough payment guidance published on the Government website (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-for-wage-costs-through-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme).
In the guidance, the HMRC state that they will ‘check claims, and payments may be withheld or need to be paid back if a claim is found to be fraudulent of based on incorrect information’.
Richard Las, the acting director of the fraud investigation service at HMRC, said “The CJRS is part of the collective national effort to protect jobs. The vast majority of employers will have used the CJRS responsibly, but we will not hesitate to act on reports of abuse of the scheme.
“This is taxpayer’s money and any claim that proves to be fraudulent limits our ability to support people and deprives public services of essential funding.”
Employees concerned that their employer is abusing the system are also being encouraged to report them using the Government’s website.
This comes as HMRC announced the arrest of a 57 year old man involved in the first case of ‘furlough fraud’ after an investigation found a suspected £495,000 had been claimed fraudulently in this case alone. The arrest was in relation to other suspected multi million pound tax fraud and alleged money laundering offences.
Read MoreChancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, announced his ‘plan for jobs’ during his Summer Economic Update in Parliament. This is the second part of a three-phase plan to secure the UK’s economic recovery from coronavirus.
The plan involves a set of measures to support jobs throughout the country, give businesses the confidence to retain and hire new staff and provide people with the tools they need to get better jobs.
As part of the plan to support jobs, a Job Retention Bonus has been introduced to help firms keep workers who have been furloughed. UK employers will receive a one-off bonus of £1,000 for each furloughed employee still employed as of 31st January 2021.
A new £2 billion Kickstart Scheme will also be launched to create thousands of new jobs for young people across the country, aimed at getting 16-24 year olds who are on Universal Credit and at risk of long term unemployment into work.
Another scheme to help young people into work is the £1.6 billion investment in employment support schemes, training and apprenticeships. Incentives and funding will be provided to businesses who employ apprentices and young people in a bid to give young people the chance to enter into high quality jobs.
The Chancellor announced “Our plan has a clear goal: to protect, support and create jobs. It will give businesses the confidence to retain and hire. To create jobs in every part of our country. To give young people a better start. To give people everywhere the opportunity of a fresh start.”
Read MoreRishi Sunak has announced a rise in the tax threshold until March 2021, meaning that all properties bought in England and Northern Ireland will receive a temporary holiday on stamp duty on the first £500,000 with immediate effect. So what does this mean for you?
Stamp duty is tax paid by homeowners. The amount paid depends on where you are in the country and the price of your property.
The announcement of the stamp duty holiday means that for people completing a purchase on a main residence property costing up to £500,000 between 8th July 2020 and 31st March 2021, no stamp duty will be paid.
Properties of a higher value will only be taxed on the value above £500,000, meaning reduced tax rates for these buyers.
This is a big tax threshold increase from the £125,000 stamp duty threshold previously in effect in England and Northern Ireland.
Rishi Sunak has suggested that the average stamp duty bill will fall by £4,500, with 9 out of 10 people buying a home within the time limit paying no stamp duty at all.
These changes have been implemented in a bid to help buyers on the property ladder who may have taken a financial hit because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Read MoreFigures published today highlight how the UK government support schemes are protecting jobs and helping people across all four nations of the UK.
Latest figures show that up until 31st May, more than 6.4 million jobs were furloughed in England, more than 628,000 jobs furloughed in Scotland, 316,500 in Wales and nearly 212,000 in Northern Ireland.
Claims made in England for the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme totalled 2 million, with the cost coming to nearly £6 billion. In Scotland, 146,000 claims were made totalling £425 million, 102,000 claims made in Wales for £273 million and 69,000 claims for £198 million in Northern Ireland.
Across the whole of the UK, 70% of potentially eligible people made a claim through the self-employment scheme, with the average value of each claim amounting to £2,900.
Rishi Sunak, Chancellor of the Exchequer, said:
“Our unprecedented coronavirus support schemes are protecting millions of vital jobs and businesses across the whole of the United Kingdom – and will help ensure we recover from this outbreak as swiftly as possible.”
Read MoreLots of people rely on cars and vans to get around for work, and therefore it important to have your insurance and photocard driving licence up to date. If your photocard licence is due to expire soon, you may want to read the below.
The DVLA have today announced that drivers with a photocard driving licence due to expire between 1st February and 31st August 2020 will be granted a 7 month extension, beginning from the date of expiry in a bid to help drivers make necessary journeys without having to get a new picture to renew their licence.
The normal rules state that drivers are required to renew their photocard licence every 10 years, and bus and lorry drivers every 5 years. The new EU regulation introduced means photocards that expire between the stated dates will be automatically extended by a further 7 months, with drivers being sent a reminder to renew before the extension ends.
It is important to note that this is only the case for photocards. If your entitlement to drive is due to expire, you will need to renew the entitlement as normal.
Read MoreThe advisory electricity rate for fully electric cars is 4 pence per mile.
Hybrid cars are treated as either petrol or diesel cars for advisory fuel rates.
The advisory fuel rates for petrol, LPG and diesel cars are shown in these tables.
Further information: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/advisory-fuel-rates#afr-1-september-2017-to-30-november-2017
Read MoreThe HMRC have announced that the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme opens for applications today – weeks ahead of schedule.
From 8am this morning, eligible self-employed individuals will be able to apply for the scheme grant, worth 80% if their average monthly trading profits up to a maximum of £7,500.00. The single instalment can be expected to hit accounts within six working days of the claim.
Millions of people are expected to benefit from the scheme, which has been labelled as one of the most generous support schemes announced the any government in response to coronavirus.
Claims can be made between the 13th and the 18th May. These dates have been assigned to people based on their Unique Tax Reference numbers. They can be checked on HMRC’s online checker.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, said:
“We’re working ahead of time to deliver support to the self-employed and, from today, applications open for the millions of people eligible for the scheme.
“With payments arriving before the end of this month, self-employed across the UK will have money in their pockets to help them through these challenging times.”
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