http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7036266.stm
Points that may impact small businesses:
But now comes the bad news. Couples who worked together and share the profits of the business, either by way of dividends or as profit withdrawn from a partnership, are to be targeted by new anti-avoidance rules.
The details of this are awaited, but documents already published show that in 2008/9 about £260m is expected to be raised from small businesses.
What is already clear is that the new rules are likely to apply not only to married couples, but to family members working together. It may thus have a disproportionately burdensome consequences for some ethnic minority business such as small corner shops. (So the Patels won't be voting Labour next year.
)
Of more concern even than the extra tax is the burden likely to imposed on small businesses. They will need to work out whether or not the tax applies, and if so, to what extent.
So the red tape may cost even more than the tax itself. (nothing new there then).
All businesses will be hit by the change to capital gains tax. Most of them would have benefited from the 10% rate of tax when they sold their business; now the same transaction will incur a rate of 18%. The silver lining, however, is that the new regime will be much simpler and easier to understand. (okay so I am going to pay almost double tax for the benefit of a simpler system?)
Cheap flights and the internet have together allowed people to move abroad but still work in the UK.
Many of these have claimed that they are not resident because they are outside the UK for many days a year. They were helped by the fact that days on which they arrive and depart are not counted as being days in the UK at all.
This will now change. Many of those who thought they were outside the clutches of the UK tax regime are in for a nasty shock. Some of these will be well known multi-millionaires living in Monaco, but it will also catch other less high-profile individuals.
People who come here from abroad, and regard the overseas country as their home, are known in legal jargon as "non-domiciled" or "non-doms".
Such people can currently avoid tax on assets held overseas.
When the Labour Party came to power in 1997 the new government argued that this was unfair and said it would make changes - but they have been silent on this issue for the past decade.
The government ridiculed the Tories' recent suggestion that such people should pay a £25,000 fixed rate in exchange for the right not to be taxed on other overseas income and gains.
But the small print of the PBR shows that from 2008, anyone who has lived here for seven out of the past 10 years will now have to pay £30,000 a year if they want to retain the benefit of the relief.
This means that an individual who was here as a student in 1998 for three years, went home to work from 2001 to 2004, and was then sent back to the UK by his employer, will fall within these rules from 2008. If he wants to stay within the old rules it will cost him £30,000 a year. (Have to laugh, New Lie said the Tory charge of £25K was ridiculous, unfair and not enforceable, and what have we here?
)
An interesting change to the rules affects people resident in the UK but with an Irish domicile. They were previously prevented from using the non-dom rules. They will now be able to do so - providing they pay the same fixed charge. This may be very good news for rich people of Irish origin whose wealth is overseas (not necessarily in Ireland).
Finally, a long-established tax avoidance scam called "source ceasing" - which allowed non-doms to rebadge income as capital and so avoid being caught by the UK tax rules - has finally been stopped after having been around for decades. (this might hurt quite a few IT contractors that are using their non-dom status here)
Despite the headline reliefs for married couples, this is a tax-raising budget with a major impact on family business and individuals with overseas interests.
The reform to the residence and domicile rules alone is expected to bring in between £500m and £800m a year; the changes to capital gains tax between £750m and 900m.
Overall, despite the generous IHT changes, by 2010-11 the overall tax take will go up by more than £1.4bn a year.
Tax, tax, tax, tax, tax....
Still want to vote Labour?
Points that may impact small businesses:
But now comes the bad news. Couples who worked together and share the profits of the business, either by way of dividends or as profit withdrawn from a partnership, are to be targeted by new anti-avoidance rules.
The details of this are awaited, but documents already published show that in 2008/9 about £260m is expected to be raised from small businesses.
What is already clear is that the new rules are likely to apply not only to married couples, but to family members working together. It may thus have a disproportionately burdensome consequences for some ethnic minority business such as small corner shops. (So the Patels won't be voting Labour next year.
)Of more concern even than the extra tax is the burden likely to imposed on small businesses. They will need to work out whether or not the tax applies, and if so, to what extent.
So the red tape may cost even more than the tax itself. (nothing new there then).
All businesses will be hit by the change to capital gains tax. Most of them would have benefited from the 10% rate of tax when they sold their business; now the same transaction will incur a rate of 18%. The silver lining, however, is that the new regime will be much simpler and easier to understand. (okay so I am going to pay almost double tax for the benefit of a simpler system?
)Cheap flights and the internet have together allowed people to move abroad but still work in the UK.
Many of these have claimed that they are not resident because they are outside the UK for many days a year. They were helped by the fact that days on which they arrive and depart are not counted as being days in the UK at all.
This will now change. Many of those who thought they were outside the clutches of the UK tax regime are in for a nasty shock. Some of these will be well known multi-millionaires living in Monaco, but it will also catch other less high-profile individuals.
People who come here from abroad, and regard the overseas country as their home, are known in legal jargon as "non-domiciled" or "non-doms".
Such people can currently avoid tax on assets held overseas.
When the Labour Party came to power in 1997 the new government argued that this was unfair and said it would make changes - but they have been silent on this issue for the past decade.
The government ridiculed the Tories' recent suggestion that such people should pay a £25,000 fixed rate in exchange for the right not to be taxed on other overseas income and gains.
But the small print of the PBR shows that from 2008, anyone who has lived here for seven out of the past 10 years will now have to pay £30,000 a year if they want to retain the benefit of the relief.
This means that an individual who was here as a student in 1998 for three years, went home to work from 2001 to 2004, and was then sent back to the UK by his employer, will fall within these rules from 2008. If he wants to stay within the old rules it will cost him £30,000 a year. (Have to laugh, New Lie said the Tory charge of £25K was ridiculous, unfair and not enforceable, and what have we here?
)An interesting change to the rules affects people resident in the UK but with an Irish domicile. They were previously prevented from using the non-dom rules. They will now be able to do so - providing they pay the same fixed charge. This may be very good news for rich people of Irish origin whose wealth is overseas (not necessarily in Ireland).
Finally, a long-established tax avoidance scam called "source ceasing" - which allowed non-doms to rebadge income as capital and so avoid being caught by the UK tax rules - has finally been stopped after having been around for decades. (this might hurt quite a few IT contractors that are using their non-dom status here)
Despite the headline reliefs for married couples, this is a tax-raising budget with a major impact on family business and individuals with overseas interests.
The reform to the residence and domicile rules alone is expected to bring in between £500m and £800m a year; the changes to capital gains tax between £750m and 900m.
Overall, despite the generous IHT changes, by 2010-11 the overall tax take will go up by more than £1.4bn a year.
Tax, tax, tax, tax, tax....
Still want to vote Labour?
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