For the SME community, the relevant scheduled changes from April 2018 are the rates paid for statutory purposes, a change to the tax treatment of payments made in lieu of notice, and the impact of new regulations from May regarding data protection of staff records. Changes in statutory payments From 1st April: Rates for statutory maternity pay, statutory paternity pay or shared parental pay rise to £145.18/week The national minimum wage for those aged 25+ rises to £7.83/hour From 6th April: Statutory sick pay rises to £92.05/week Employer contributions into a pension auto-enrolment scheme increases to a minimum of 2% Change to tax treatment of payments made in lieu of notice introduced From 6th April, the rules are being clarified, after years of ‘depending on what my accountant says’ when it comes to the tax treatment of pay in lieu of notice on the termination of an employee’s contract. All payments in lieu of notice … [Read more...]
What you need to know about the new Person of Significant Control Register
With the tax crack down governments in the G20/EU have agreed to have legislation in place for transparency in ownership of companies and LLP trusts. The UK has this now in place and all companies/LLP's must have a register and declare their Persons of Significant Control (PSC) to Companies House by June 2016 (Companies Act 2006 Part 21A). This is in addition to your normal company secretarial records you are obliged to keep. A PSC is defined as a person who has one of the following attributes; Directly or indirectly holds more than 25% of the shares Directly or indirectly holds more than 25% of the voting rights Directly or indirectly holds the right to appoint or remove a majority of the directors Otherwise has the right to exercise or actually exercises significant influence or control Has the right to exercise or actually exercises a significant influence or control over the activities of a trust or a firm which is not a legal entity but … [Read more...]
Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 (SBEE Act)
New legislation will require company owners to provide additional information to Companies House. The Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 introduces the Register of Beneficial Owners, which requires companies to submit details of all individuals who have at least 25% control. The register comes into effect on the 1 April 2016. As with the Annual Return, there will be a yearly requirement to update the document; however, changes should be updated when they arise. The legislation requires submission of details of owners with 25% control, but the process for determining control is complex. It addresses direct and indirect control, as well as dilution of control, which is particularly relevant if the UK Company is part of a global group. The public register will contain the following details: Name, country, nationality and date of birth Service address, residential address Date the individual became required to register Nature of his/her control and … [Read more...]
