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The legislative rules that apply if a person dies without a Will, which set out who is responsible for the administration of their estate and who will inherit, are known as the rules of intestacy.

In England or Wales, the amount that the surviving spouse or civil partner can inherit under intestacy rules – the statutory legacy – has been increased from July 2023.

Under the Administration of Estates Act 1925 (Fixed Net Sum) Order 2023, the UK government has raised the statutory legacy sum from £270,000 to £322,000.

The previous sum was set at the start of 2020 and would usually be due for review in five years, but this period can be overridden by inflation increases of 15% or more.

This means that the uplift applied from 26th July 2023 is actually several months late, and the government’s failure to keep up with the consumer price index in this regard could mean some inheritors would have lost out on thousands of pounds.

At present, UK taxpayers who inherit properties located in the European Economic Area (EEA) can qualify for agricultural relief on Inheritance Tax in the UK.

However, since the UK left the EU, which the EEA is an extension of, the Inheritance Tax treatment of properties in the EEA is due to be brought in line with properties in the rest of the world – meaning EEA properties will no longer qualify.

The 2023 Spring Budget announced the government’s plans to change the geographical scope of Agricultural Property Relief (APR) and Woodlands Relief, restricting these Inheritance Tax reliefs to properties in the UK only.

Draft legislation has now been published confirming that this geographical restriction will be enforced next year from 6th April 2024.

This means that any property located in the Isle of Man, the Channel Islands, or non-EU EEA countries (Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein) will cease to qualify.

Though the High Income Child Benefit Charge (HICBC) has been in place for ten years now, many parents or guardians may still be unaware of its requirements.

It’s effectively a tax applying to any parent or guardian who earns more than £50,000 a year and claims Child Benefit for a child living in their home.

To pay this charge, the individual must file a Self-Assessment Tax Return – but many employees don’t realise this, because they are used to having taxes deducted from their earnings automatically through the PAYE system.

As a result of the lack of public awareness about the HICBC rules, thousands of families could be hit by surprise fines and expected to pay back years of Child Benefit.

To address widespread criticism surrounding this issue, the UK government has stated that they will introduce changes to allow taxpayers to pay the HICBC through PAYE.

According to the annual Sunday Times Rich List, the 350 richest families and individuals in the UK have a combined wealth of £796.5 billion.

At a time when many people in the UK are struggling to afford necessities like food and heating, it’s not surprising that campaigners are using the Rich List to renew calls for a wealth tax to reduce the growing inequality between the richest and poorest.

This would be a tax on net wealth, rather than a levy on specific income or asset types. A one-off wealth tax has been proposed before by the Wealth Tax Commission.

Back in 2020, the think tank suggested a 5% tax on wealth above £500,000, payable over five years, which could have produced around £260 billion. Despite receiving considerable media attention, the government seemed to take no notice.

A few years on, several organisations have come together to campaign for a different wealth tax on the very richest, which could raise up to £22 billion a year.

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) revealed in June that the estimated tax gap has stayed at 4.8% for the 2021–2022 tax year, the same as the revised figure for 2020–2021.

Published annually, the Measuring Tax Gaps report analyses the difference between the amount of tax HMRC expected to take and the amount of tax actually paid.

While the headline figure shows the tax gap hasn’t changed in percentage terms, in monetary terms, the difference has increased from £31 billion the year before to £35.8 billion in 2021–2022.

The tax gap percentage has likely remained stable despite the monetary difference because tax liabilities also rose from £643 billion the previous year to £739 billion, in turn likely due to inflation and fiscal drag.

Overall, the tax gap has been gradually falling over the years from 7.5% in 2005, as the government has continued to adjust policies to address the tax evasion, criminal activity, and general carelessness that contribute to it.

Here’s what the latest figures reveal about what’s causing the tax gap, and what this could mean for businesses and self-employed individuals.

The Department for Business and Trade has published a list of 202 companies that failed to pay their lowest-paid workers the minimum wage.
Ranging from major high street retailers to small businesses and traders, the named companies have altogether underpaid 63,000 workers.
Not only have these employers been ordered to repay their workers, but they also face penalties of almost £7 million for breaching the law.
The naming and shaming of non-complying companies and charging of penalties makes it clear that no business is exempt from paying the minimum wage.
However, with even major retailers being caught out, it is also clear that statutory minimum wage rules can be complicated, and compliance can be difficult.
Let’s look into some of the reasons for these failures, and how other employers can learn from them to avoid breaking minimum wage laws.