Sdlt Additional Rates On Acquisitions Of Additional Residential Property

On 1 December 2015, HMRC clarified to Practical Law Tax the additional rates of SDLT that will apply to acquisitions of additional residential property (for example, second homes and buy-to-let properties) with effect on and from 1 April 2016. If the total chargeable consideration provided for such a property exceeds £40,000, the entire consideration will be subject to SDLT at the following rates on a progressive basis: 3%: £0 - £125,000. 5%: over £125,000 - £250,000. 8%: over £250,000 - £925,000. 13%: over £925,000 - £1.5 million. 15%: over £1.5 million.   The announcement in the 2015 Autumn Statement was unclear and it transpired that practitioners and commentators had interpreted the announcement differently. Consequently, following an update published by the Law Society (see Law Society, Autumn Statement: changes to SDLT), Practical Law Tax contacted…

Whistleblowing What Constitutes The Public Interest

Since the qualifying period for claiming unfair dismissal was raised to 2 years, dismissed employees without the 2 year qualifying period will only be able to make claims if they can show that their dismissal was for a reason which is covered by a category deemed to be automatically unfair and does not require a qualifying period of employment. One of these categories is dismissal for making a "protected disclosure." The law is specific on what counts as a qualifying disclosure and to whom the employee must report it to. 1.    It must be a disclosure of "information" (an opinion alone is not enough) 2.    It must normally be made to the employer (although there are exceptions) 3.    It must in the reasonable belief of the worker "tend to show" either that:- (a)  a criminal…

The National Minimum Wage

Changes to the National Minimum Wage from 1st October 2015: £6.70 for those 21 years and over; £5.30 for those aged 18-20 years; £3.87 for those above school leaving age but under 18; £3.30 for apprentices. National Living Wage In April 2016 the "National Living Wage" will be introduced. For workers age 25 or over the national Living Wage will become a new legal minimum for workers aged 25 or over and will be set at £7.20 per hour. The government has published a policy paper explaining this at www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-living-wage-nlw/national-living-wage-nlw Comprehensive Information & Guidance on the NMW HMRC has published an extremely comprehensive collection of guidance, forms and case studies with information for employers on how to check that they are paying their employees the national minimum wage correctly. www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/nmwmanual/index.htm The application of…

Why Is It Important That You Make A Will

Because you work hard all your life to build up your assets, it is very important to be confident that, upon your death, these assets go the people you would want them to go to. If you do not make a Will (or if your Will is incorrectly drafted or executed, which is always a risk if you have, for example, made a "do it yourself" Will), then there is a chance that assets will not go where you want them to. The story below gives an example of what can go wrong, and the outcome of that. Chris was aged 60, a widower with no children.  Chris had a brother, Martin, to whom he was very close.  Martin had a family and was in financial difficulty because he had recently been made redundant.  Chris…