An untimely sick day has not helped my appraisal of the budget this week. Not that much untoward really seems to have happened with a lightening of the austerity for the NHS and some welcome minor tax changes (to call them cuts, when all it is the thresholds not being moved up to increase tax, is something only true lefty could hold out as true).
In the long-term there are some details, buried in the report, on the continuing changes in the property world to balance up more the benefit of being an onshore holder of property. This is to slow the pace of offshore acquisitions and holdings of UK property in foreign funds for tax advantageous reasons. This will slowly lead to a disincentivising of holding UK property for overseas buyers (relative to other jurisdictions), given we are the best place in the world by miles, these changes are a good idea as they will slowly help improve the tax base.
Most importantly, all these years in parliament and our own contributor here BQ has finally, finally managed a bit of pork-barrelling for his own BQ industries - maybe too little, too late. But the direction on reducing business rates for small businesses is a very long-overdue and worthy idea. Congratulations Bill!
4 comments:
Those on the high street have to face the rates.
Rateable values of £30k-£100k easy.
This is really only a reduction for hairdressers and new estate agents.
Another problem is by making this rate relief, rather than abolish the rates for a sales or profit tax, it is not a permanent reduction.And is not applicable to second premises. The big, big , big killer of small business expansion.Opening a second estate agents not only means your second, less profitable by definition, business pays more in costs. Your FIRST business also now has to pay rates as relief is lost.
I had to fight this a few years ago. We rented our little shop & workshop on the ground floor. An additional office room became available directly above us, so (unwittibgly) we took that on as an office and computer display area. Trouble was it was rated separately and as BQ says that made 2 premises so we lost the rate relief on the ground floor and were expectyed to pay full rates for the room on the first floor too.
I did manage to get it re-rated as one premise eventually but the initail demand in effect quadrupled the rates (we were paying 50% of the GF)so add 50% of the GF plus 100% of the FF).
The IR35 changes are foolish except as a short term measure. In the long term fewer people will step away from secure employment to go solo if they are taxed as a "temp" despite zero holiday/sick pay/pension. For IT people the "control and direction" clauses are damn stupid - just because you tell your sparky where you want the sockets, and he has to conform to building regs, doesn't mean he's your employee.
IT contractor here. IR35 reform is not going to work in the private sector like it has in the public sector. Lots of companies rely on the flexibility of contract workers and will ensure that they tick all the boxes that allow them to remain outside IR35.
The companies don't want to employ permies and the contractors don't want to be permies, so it won't happen.
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