Taxes
Could you be caught by self assessment deadline?
Filed under: Taxes, Budgeting & Planning
This Saturday, 31 July, is the deadline for three things: outstanding income tax self assessment returns, as well as self assessment tax payments, and the renewal of tax credits.If your heart is sinking at the prospect of having to pay your tax bill, consider the consequences of late filing/payment. You'll end up paying hefty penalties so it's worth gritting your teeth and sorting out your tax affairs asap.
Doctors and dentists cough up £9m in unpaid tax - you could be next
Filed under: Taxes, Work & Careers
Doctors and dentists have handed over £9m in unpaid tax, after HM Revenue and Customs told them that if they didn't own up to having hidden earnings, the tax inspectors would be knocking on their doors.The cash came from 1,500 medical professionals. But that's still only 1 in 20 who were were sent letters by HMRC telling them that if they voluntarily disclosed undeclared income, they would only pay interest and a small fine.
Council wastes £36,000 on 'virtual town hall' in Second Life
Filed under: Taxes, Weird and Wonderful, Technology and Online
A local council has scrapped its £36,000 "virtual town hall" in Second Life because they realised after a year that it was a massive waste of money and no one was using it.Tameside Council, in Greater Manchester, paid for an island in the internet computer game and paid expensive geeks to build the "virtual town hall" which local residents could use to access services, saving them all the bother of making a phone call or simply going to the council's normal website.
New office to simplify 'spaghetti bowl' of tax laws
Filed under: Taxes, Budgeting & Planning
The government wants to untangle the "spaghetti bowl" of UK tax laws to reduce the burden on families and businesses.To this effect, chancellor George Osborne launched an Office for Tax Simplification this week – a move that was welcomed by business organisations (although unions were less enthusiastic).
Britons to miss out on £3.9 billion in tax credits
Filed under: Taxes, Families, Budgeting & Planning
Millions of people will either forget to claim their child tax or pension credits this year, or simply won't bother – which means they're losing out on a massive £3.9 billion.Nearly one out of every 10 of entitled families will probably fail to claim their child tax credits this year, resulting in £1.5 billion unclaimed. And as much as £2.4 billion of pension credits will also go unclaimed. Those entitled need to get their skates on and claim all available tax credits ahead of the 31 July deadline.
Shock rise in government borrowing. What does it mean?
Filed under: Taxes
The government announced yesterday that it had borrowed an incredible £15.2 billion in June, up from £14.9 billion the same time last year. It doesn't seem like a big success for George Osborne - and all this talk of 'cutting the deficit'. You'd be forgiven for wondering why we're going through all these tax hikes and spending cuts if we're just going to end up borrowing more. So should we be worried?
New graduate tax could end student loans
Filed under: Taxes, Loans, Work & Careers
Student loans to pay university tuition fees could be scrapped in favour of a new graduate tax, under proposals introduced by business secretary Vince Cable yesterday.In what could be the biggest shake up the higher education system has seen in a generation, graduates could face a tax based on their earnings instead of the current system where a set rate is repaid for student loans once graduates start earning more than £15,000.
Motoring fines cost us £87.4 million a year, but roads still no safer
UK drivers paid fines of £87,368,227 for speeding and red light offences during the financial year 2008-09, new figures show.But the road casualty rate has declined at a slower rate since speed cameras were introduced in the early 1990s than it did between 1978 and 1990, indicating that the alleged safety benefits of the cameras are exaggerated.
Neighbours share £49,000 council tax rebate - are you in the wrong band?
Seventeen neighbours have received a £49,000 rebate on their council tax after challenging their banding assessment. It just shows that if you believe you have been wrongly assessed and you put the effort in to stand up to the council and its often Kafkaesque world, you can come up trumps.The householders of Woodrow Crescent, Solihull were led in their charge by Cliff Morrey, a resident of the street for 20 years. He said: 'Of the 108 houses in my street, 22 were F-banded when it's believed they should have been E.
After the Budget, what's the damage?
Filed under: Taxes, Budgeting & Planning, Emergency Budget
Every Budget starts with some bonkers statistics about borrowing billions and paying trillions in interest on government debt. The figures get so huge that they start to lose their meaning. Likewise when the Chancellor gets to the detail of tax rises and spending cuts it's easy to get the overall picture - shopping will cost more, families will get less support, housing benefit is going to be reformed - but hard to know exactly what this means for our pockets. However, on day two, the details emerge from the depths of the HMRC, and it becomes clear just what the new measures will cost us.
