Tag: Treasury

The press release issued by HM Treasury on 17 November 2022.

• Chancellor unveils a plan for stability, growth, and public services.
• Tackling inflation is top of the priority list to stop it eating into paycheques and savings, and disrupting business growth plans.
• To protect the most vulnerable the Chancellor unveiled £26 billion of support for the cost of living including continued energy support, as well as 10.1% rises in benefits and the State Pension and the largest ever cash increase in the National Living Wage.
• Necessary and fair tax changes will raise around £25 billion, including an increase in the Energy Profits Levy and a new tax on the extraordinary profits of electricity generators.
• Decisions on spending set to save £30 billion whilst NHS and Social Care get access to £8 billion and schools get an additional £2.3 billion reflecting people’s priorities. -To deliver prosperity, he’s also committed to infrastructure projects including Sizewell C and Northern Powerhouse Rail, along with protecting the £20 billion R&D budget.

Jeremy Hunt outlined a targeted package of support for the most vulnerable, alongside measures to get debt and government borrowing down. The plan he set out is designed to fight inflation in the face of unprecedented global pressures brought about by the pandemic and the war in Ukraine.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt said:

There is a global energy crisis, a global inflation crisis and a global economic crisis. But today with this plan for stability, growth and public services, we will face into the storm. We do so today with British resilience and British compassion.

Because of the difficult decisions we take in our plan, we strengthen our public finances, bring down inflation and protect jobs.

To protect the most vulnerable from the worst of cost-of-living pressures, the Chancellor announced a package of targeted support worth £26 billion, which includes continued support for rising energy bills. More than eight million households on means-tested benefits will receive a cost-of-living payment of £900 in instalments, with £300 to pensioners and £150 for people on disability benefits.

The Energy Price Guarantee, which is protecting households throughout this winter by capping typical energy bills at £2,500, will continue to provide support from April 2023 with the cap rising to £3,000. With prices forecast to remain elevated throughout next year, this equates to an average of £500 support for households in 2023-24.

Working age benefits will rise by 10.1%, boosting the finances of millions of the poorest people in the UK, and the Triple Lock will be protected, meaning pensioners will also get a rise in the State Pension and the Pension Credit in line with inflation.

The National Living Wage will be increased by 9.7% to £10.42 an hour, giving a full-time worker a pay rise of over £1,600 a year, benefitting 2 million of the lowest paid workers.

The Chancellor also announced a £13.6 billion package of support for business rates payers in England. To protect businesses from rising inflation the multiplier will be frozen in 2023-24 while relief for 230,000 businesses in retail, hospitality and leisure sectors was also increased from 50% to 75% next year.

To help businesses adjust to the revaluation of their properties, which takes effect from April 2023, the Chancellor announced a £1.6 billion Transitional Relief scheme to cap bill increases for those who will see higher bills. This limits bill increases for the smallest properties to 5%. Businesses seeing lower bills as a result of the revaluation will benefit from that decrease in full straight away, as the Chancellor abolished downwards transitional reliefs caps. Small businesses who lose eligibility for either Small Business or Rural Rate Relief as a result of the new property revaluations will see their bill increases capped at £50 a month through a new separate scheme worth over £500 million.

To protect high-quality front-line public services, access to funding for the NHS and social care is being increased by up to £8 billion in 2024-25. This will enable the NHS to take action to improve access to urgent and emergency care, get waiting times down, and will mean double the number of people can be released from hospital into care every day from 2024. The schools budget will receive £2.3 billion of additional funding in each of 2023-24 and 2024-25, enabling continued investment in high quality teaching and tutoring and restoring 2010 levels of per pupil funding in real terms.

All other departments will have their Spending Review settlements to 2024-25 honoured in full, with no cash cuts, but will be expected to work more efficiently to live within these and support the government’s mission of fiscal discipline. To improve public finances, from 2025-26 onwards day to day spending will increase more slowly by 1% above inflation, with capital spending maintained at current levels in cash terms. This means departmental spending will still be £90 billion higher in real terms by 2027-28, compared with 2019-20 while £30 billion of public spending will be saved.

To raise further funds, the Chancellor has introduced tax rises of £25 billion by 2027-28. Based around the principle of fairness, all taxpayers will be asked to contribute but those with the broadest shoulders will be asked to contribute a greater share.

The threshold at which higher earners start to pay the 45p rate will be reduced from £150,000 to £125,140, while Income Tax, Inheritance Tax and National Insurance thresholds will be frozen for a further two years until April 2028. The Dividend Allowance will be reduced from £2,000 to £1,000 next year, and £500 from April 2024 and the Annual Exempt Amount in capital gains tax will be reduced from £12,300 to £6,000 next year and then to £3,000 from April 2024.

The most profitable businesses with the broadest shoulders will also be asked to bear more of the burden. The threshold for employer National Insurance contributions will be fixed until April 2028, but the Employment Allowance will continue to protect 40% of businesses from paying any NICS at all.

In addition, the government is implementing the reforms developed by the OECD and agreed internationally to ensure multinational corporations pay their fair share of tax. And as confirmed last month, the main rate of Corporation Tax will increase to 25% from April 2023.

To ensure businesses making extraordinary profits as a result of high energy prices also pay their fair share, from 1 January 2023 the Energy Profits Levy on oil and gas companies will increase from 25% to 35%, with the levy remaining in place until the end of March 2028, and a new, temporary 45% levy will be introduced for electricity generators. Together these measures will raise over £55 billion from this year until 2027-28.

To ensure fiscal discipline while providing support for the most vulnerable, the Chancellor has introduced two new fiscal rules, that the UK’s national debt must fall as a share of GDP by the fifth year of a rolling five-year period, and that public sector borrowing in the same year must be below 3% of GDP. Overall, the Autumn Statement improves public finances by £55 billion by 2027-28, and the OBR forecasts both of these rules to be met a year early in 2026-27.

To ensure prosperity in the future, the Chancellor recommitted to the £20 billion R&D budget and made numerous infrastructure commitments. Sizewell C nuclear plant will go ahead, with the EDF contract to be signed at the end of the month, providing reliable, low-carbon power to the equivalent of 6 million homes for over 50 years.

The Chancellor also confirmed commitments to transformative growth plans for our railways including High Speed 2 to Manchester, the Northern Powerhouse Rail core network and East West Rail, along with gigabit broadband rollout.

Plans for the second round of the Levelling Up Fund were confirmed, with at least £1.7 billion to be allocated to priority local infrastructure projects around the UK before the end of the year. In further efforts to level up the UK, a new Mayor will be elected in Suffolk as part of a devolution deal agreed with Suffolk County Council, and the government is in advanced discussions on mayoral devolution deals with local authorities in Cornwall, Norfolk and the North East of England.

Many of today’s tax and spending decisions apply in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. As a result of decisions that do not apply UK-wide, the Scottish Government will receive around an additional £1.5 billion over 2023-24 and 2024-25, the Welsh Government will receive £1.2 billion and the Northern Ireland Executive will receive £650 million.

The press release issued by HM Treasury on 17 November 2022.

The shift to Electric Vehicles is continuing at pace as the UK moves to net zero.    Therefore from 2025, road tax will be introduced for EVs so all motorists begin to pay a fair share.   Support for charging infrastructure is continuing.

The press release issued by HM Treasury on 16 November 2022.

More than 401,300 families benefitted from £44.4 million in government funding towards childcare costs in September 2022, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has revealed.

Compared to September 2021, the latest Tax-Free Childcare statistics show the number of families who are using Tax-Free Childcare has increased by 85,475. But thousands of families are still missing out on the top-up which could save them up to £2,000 a year per child towards the cost of their childcare.

Tax-Free Childcare provides working families, earning up to £100,000 a year, with financial help towards childcare. For every £8 paid into a Tax-Free Childcare online account, families will automatically receive an additional £2 from the government. This means they can receive up to £500 every three months (£2,000 a year), or £1,000 (£4,000 a year) if their child is disabled.

The top up payments can be used to pay for any approved childcare for children aged 11 or under, or up to 17 if the child has a disability whether your child goes to nursery, a child minder, has term-time wraparound care or goes to a holiday club.

Myrtle Lloyd, HMRC’s Director General for Customer Services, said:

We know childcare can be expensive so using Tax-Free Childcare can make a huge difference to household finances. To find out more, search ‘Tax-Free Childcare’ on GOV.UK.

Families could be eligible for Tax-Free Childcare if they:

• have a child or children aged 11 or under. They stop being eligible on 1 September after their 11th birthday. If their child has a disability, they may get up to £4,000 a year until they are 17
• earn, or expect to earn, at least the National Minimum Wage or Living Wage for 16 hours a week, on average
• each earn no more than £100,000 per annum
• do not receive tax credits, Universal Credit or childcare vouchers

A full list of the eligibility criteria is available on GOV.UK.

Opening an online Tax-Free Childcare account is straightforward and can take around 20 minutes to sign up. Accounts can be opened at any time, money can be deposited and used straight away or when it’s needed. Unused money in the account can be withdrawn at any time. Go to GOV.UK to register to get started.

The government has launched an awareness raising advertising campaign to ensure families get the childcare support they are entitled to. Visit Childcare Choices to learn about the options and find out the best childcare offer for families.

The government is offering help for households. Check GOV.UK to find out what cost of living support, including help with childcare costs, families could be eligible for.

The press release issued by HM Treasury on 16 November 2022.

Ben Hamilton, 34, from Middlesbrough, has been sentenced to 15 months imprisonment, suspended for 18 months, after being convicted under the Companies Act following abuse of the Bounce Back Loan financial support scheme in 2020.

Hamilton was director of Netelco Ltd, a telecommunications design and installation business based in Bishop Auckland.

The company had been incorporated in 2018 and in May 2020 Hamilton applied for a £25,000 Bounce Back Loan from his bank on behalf of his business. Under the Bounce Back Loan scheme, genuine businesses impacted by the pandemic could take out interest-free taxpayer-backed loans of up to £50,000.

The loan was paid into the company bank account on 14 May 2020 and the following day Hamilton filed paperwork with Companies House to have the business dissolved.

The striking-off application to dissolve the company was explicit that interested parties and creditors, such as a bank with an outstanding loan, must be notified within seven days of making an application to dissolve a company. The form also highlighted that failure to notify interested parties is a criminal offence, however Hamilton did not follow these rules.

The company was dissolved in December 2020, and was subsequently identified as likely Bounce Back Loan fraud as part of the government’s forensic counter-fraud work.

Hamilton did not co-operate with the Insolvency Service criminal investigation team, nor attend an interview when given the opportunity. Only when the Insolvency Service obtained a Proceeds of Crime Act restraining order on his bank accounts did he engage with the investigation, at which point he repaid the Bounce Back Loan in full.

He pleaded guilty to charges under the Companies Act 2006 at Teeside Magistrate’s Court on 14 October. He was sentenced on 15 November at Teeside Magistrate’s Court.

In addition to the suspended sentence, Hamilton was ordered to pay £2,500 in costs.

Julie Barnes, Chief Investigator at the Insolvency Service said:

This was a clear case of attempted fraud by a company director who thought he could abuse the Covid-19 financial support schemes and get away with it.

Even though Ben Hamilton has now repaid the loan, this sentence sends a clear warning to others that attempting to defraud taxpayers is not acceptable, and when prosecuting the Insolvency Service will use all of the tools in its armoury, including the Proceeds of Crime Act, to prevent criminals from retaining their benefit from crime”.

Ben Hamilton is of Middlesbrough and his date of birth is August 1988.

Netelco Ltd (company reg no. 11266825).

The sentence result was announced at Teeside Magistrate’s Court by judge Recorder Anthony Hawks.

The press release issued by HM Treasury on 15 November 2022.

Philip John Mottram, 55, from Sheffield, appeared at Sheffield Magistrates Court on 10 November 2022 where he was sentenced before District Judge Redhouse to a 12-month Community Order requiring 80 hours of unpaid work in the community and up to 10 rehabilitation activity requirement days. He also had to pay costs of £2,000 and Victim Surcharge of £60.

The court heard that Mottram was the sole director of Urbandeli Ltd, which traded as a café called Urban Deli on Campo Lane in Sheffield, until the business went into liquidation in March 2017.

But liquidators discovered that Mottram had been banned as a director for a year in April 2016, after a case had been brought against him by Companies House for failing to provide a copy of the company accounts.

Disqualified directors are banned from forming, managing or promoting companies for the duration of their ban. People who breach the terms of the disqualification are committing a criminal offence and could be fined and/or go to prison for up to 2 years.

Mottram also ignored requests by Urbandeli’s liquidators to hand over company books and records – a legal requirement during a company’s liquidation.

The liquidators shared their findings with the Insolvency Service, which triggered an investigation. But Mottram failed to answer investigators’ questions about his role in the company while he was banned as a director.

Following the investigation Mottram was charged with four separate offences, but twice failed to turn up to court hearings, which led to his arrest.

He previously pleaded guilty at Sheffield Magistrates Court to failing to hand over company books to liquidators, and to being in charge of a company during his one-year ban as a director.

Julie Barnes, Chief Investigator at the Insolvency Service, said:

Philip Mottram had scant regard for his disqualification as a company director, didn’t cooperate with investigators and showed little respect for the courts.

This type of criminality has a huge impact on the confidence of the UK Business community. Mottram’s sentencing will be a warning to others that the Insolvency Service is committed to bringing lawbreakers to justice.

The press release issued by HM Treasury on 15 November 2022.

Liam Mccreadie, 26, from Aberdeen, has been disqualified as a director for 4 years after failing to pay more than £1.1 million in taxes and not submitting tax returns for his two companies.

Mccreadie was the sole director of two companies that both traded as a call centre business.

Lakemere Global Holdings Ltd, was incorporated in October 2017 and traded as AGO Outsourcing in both East Kilbride and Newcastle until it went into liquidation in October 2019, owing more than £794,000.

His other company, EK Sales Ltd, was incorporated in September 2017 – just a month before Lakemere went into liquidation – and took over trading as AGO Outsourcing until it also went into liquidation in October 2020, with debts of more than £515,000.

The call centre sites had been billed by AGO Outsourcing managers as “state of the art” sales centres, but had reportedly become subject to disputes with staff over payment of wages by October 2019.

The liquidation of the two companies led to an investigation by the Insolvency Service which found that Lakemere Global Holdings Ltd had not submitted tax returns between May and October 2019 and owed business and employee-related tax of around £629,000.

Investigators also discovered that EK Sales Ltd had failed to submit tax returns between December 2019 and August 2020 and owed business and employee-related tax of around £513,000.

Across both companies, the repeat abuse of tax led to a debt to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) of more than £1,143,000.

The Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy accepted a disqualification undertaking from Liam Mccreadie, after he didn’t dispute that he had failed to ensure that both Lakemere Global Holdings Ltd and EK Sales Ltd submitted returns and payment to HMRC, and caused the companies to trade to the detriment of HMRC in respect of business and employee-related tax.

His disqualification starts on 7 November 2022 and lasts for 4 years. The ban prevents Mccreadie from directly or indirectly becoming involved in the promotion, formation or management of a company, without the permission of the court.

Steven McGinty, Investigation Manager at the Insolvency Service, said

“The Insolvency Service will rigorously pursue traders who seek an unfair advantage over their competitors by not paying tax to the Government.

“If you run a limited company, you have statutory protections as well as obligations. If you fail to comply with your obligations, The Insolvency Service will investigate you and you could lose the protection of limited liability.

“Mr McCreadie has paid the price for failing to do that, as he cannot now carry on in business other than at his own risk.”

The press release issued by the Treasury on 10 November 2022.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer has this day appointed Katherine Anne Green to be Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead.

The press release issued by the Treasury on 10 November 2022.

• New figures released today reveal the full effect of UK sanctions on Russia – with over £18 billion frozen and reported to OFSI.
• The figure, released in OFSI’s Annual Review, is around £6 billion more than held across all other UK sanctions regimes.
• The UK and its allies have imposed the most severe sanctions Russia has ever faced, sanctioning more than 1,200 individuals and more than 120 entities.

New data released today (10th) reveals the full effect of UK sanctions on Russia – with £18.39 billion of Russian assets frozen and reported to the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI).

The figure, released for the first time in OFSI’s Annual Review, demonstrates the key role the UK has played in standing up to Russia following their illegal invasion of Ukraine. It is nearly £6 billion pounds more than reported across all other UK sanctions regimes.

In conjunction with its allies, the UK has imposed the most severe sanctions Russia has ever faced, designating more than 1,200 individuals, over 120 entities and freezing the assets of 19 Russian banks with global assets of £940 billion since they began their illegal invasion.

Economic Secretary to the Treasury, Andrew Griffith said:

As staunch defenders of democracy, the UK is united with its allies in opposition to Russia’s barbaric and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. We have imposed the most severe sanctions ever on Russia and it is crippling their war machine.

To make sure we are doing all we can to keep the pressure on Putin’s corrupt cronies we are more than doubling OFSI’s headcount. Our message is clear: we will not allow Putin to succeed in this brutal war.

FCDO Minister of State, Anne-Marie Trevelyan said:

When Putin invaded Ukraine he assumed we would sit idly by. He was wrong. Instead, the UK and our international partners have stood shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine in their fight for territorial integrity and political independence.

Today’s report shows the scale of UK sanctions – freezing over £18 billion of Russian assets to stop Putin funding his war machine. We will continue to ramp up our sanctions to exert maximum economic pressure on the Russian regime until Ukraine prevail.

By implementing these sanctions alongside our international partners, the UK is degrading Russia’s military machine. Despite the Russian regime’s attempts to firefight, GDP is predicted to decline by up to 6.2% in 2022 when compared to pre–invasion forecasts, and decline a further 2.3% in 2023. 60% of Russia’s foreign reserves have been immobilised, Russia’s exports have plummeted, and imports of critical goods have dropped by 68% from sanctioning countries.

The £18.39 billion figure is a significant contribution to the $30 billion of frozen Russian assets reported by the Russian elites, proxies, and oligarchs (REPO) taskforce in June. All this is having a major impact on the Russian military complex – vital semiconductors are now being scavenged from fridges and soviet-era equipment is being sent to the front line.

In order to ensure that the most stringent financial sanctions in history on Russia have not adversely affected the UK’s private and voluntary sectors, where appropriate OFSI has worked with businesses and granted general and specific licences allowing UK businesses to move away from Russian facing positions without an increased risk.

These licences have been granted where sufficient evidence has been provided and are often for basic needs and legal fees. The careful granting of these licences by OFSI in line with legislation, has helped UK individuals and businesses to function throughout a challenging period and helped maintain the UK’s place as a centre for financial stability.

The Russia sanctions regime will continue to play a major part of the OFSI’s work for as long as Putin’s illegal war against Ukraine continues. The government has committed to ensuring that OFSI is fully resourced, more than doubling its headcount.

The press release issued by the Treasury on 10 November 2022.

Bounce Back Loans were government-backed loans designed to support businesses through the Covid pandemic. Under the rules of the scheme, companies were allowed to borrow up to 25% of their 2019 turnover, up to a maximum of a £50,000.

Malcolm Forbes, Avin Habash and Kamil Ozkan were directors of three separate companies that applied for Bounce Back Loans. But each caused their companies to abuse the covid support scheme, which was only uncovered after the companies entered into liquidation.

Malcolm Forbes, from Portsmouth, was the sole director of Nija Bite Limited, which operated as a takeaway called Iroko Lounge on Onslow Road in Southampton and a mobile food stand.

Enquiries uncovered that Malcolm Forbes received the maximum £50,000 Bounce Back Loan having submitted an application that declared a turnover of £225,000. However, Malcolm Forbes grossly exaggerated the company’s turnover, which was closer to £24,000 and this would have only entitled Nija Bite Limited to a £6,000 loan.

Liverpool’s Avin Habash, was the sole director of Hot Spot Liverpool Limited, which traded as Hot Spot, a takeaway in Liverpool city centre on Temple Court .

Avin Habash caused the company to apply for a Bounce Back Loan and secured £50,000 claiming a turnover of £200,000. Investigators, however, found that Hot Spot Liverpool Limited’s actual turnover was closer to £100,000, which should have only entitled the eatery to circa £26,000.

And Kamil Ozkan, from West Rainton, Houghton le Spring, was the sole director of Papa Peterlee Limited, trading as Martinos Italian Kitchen on York Road in Peterlee.

Investigators discovered that Papa Peterlee Limited successfully received a £50,000 Bounce Back Loan. But instead of using the loan for the economic benefit of the company, Kamil Ozkan caused the company to transfer up to £37,500 to his personal account.

The 3 restaurateurs are now banned from directly, or indirectly, becoming involved in the promotion, formation or management of a company, without the permission of the court.

Mike Smith, Chief Investigator for the Insolvency Service, said:

Covid support schemes provided a lifeline to businesses, protecting jobs and preserving businesses. However, Malcolm Forbes, Avin Habash and Kamil Ozkan flagrantly abused that support when they either personally benefited from the loan or exaggerated turnover to secure more money than they were entitled to.

The three restaurateurs have now been removed from the corporate arena and creditors will be protected from any further harm. Their bans clearly demonstrate that we will not hesitate to take action against directors who have abused Covid-19 financial support like this.

The press release issued by HM Treasury on 9 November 2022.