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Contents Income tax |
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Value Added Tax (VAT) thresholds The VAT registration thresholds increase with effect from 1 April 2000 as follows: the threshold for compulsory registration will be £52,000; the threshold for voluntary deregistration will be £50,000. |
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VAT lower rate The lower rate of VAT of 5% will be extended to apply to the following supplies: with effect from 1 April 2000 to the installation of energy saving materials including insulation, central heating control systems and solar panels; the installation, repair and maintenance of central heating systems and installation of home security goods for less well off pensioners and installation of heating measures in the homes of the less well off under Government grant funded schemes; with effect from 1 January 2001 to supplies of women’s sanitary products. |
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Other VAT measures Other VAT changes of importance include: the VAT charge arising on deregistration has a de minimis, below which the charge is ignored. This limit will rise from £250 to £1,000 with effect from 1 April 2000. After that date a business deregistering will no longer pay VAT if the value of their stock and assets on hand on which VAT has previously been recovered does not exceed £5,715; with effect from 1 April 2000 all charity advertising, including recruitment advertising will be a zero rated supply; the VAT fuel scale charges will rise by an average of 20%. Businesses must use the new scales from the start of their first accounting period beginning on or after 6 April 2000. |
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Charities A package of measures has been announced under the headline “Getting Britain Giving”. The intention is to “provide a significant boost for charitable giving” through changes to the tax system. The measures include: the abolition from 6 April 2000 of the £250 minimum limit for donations under the Gift Aid Scheme so that tax relief will apply to any donation, large or small, regular or one-off; allowing donations by non-resident companies and individuals made out of income or gains liable to UK tax to come within the Gift Aid Scheme; the facility to join the Gift Aid Scheme by phone or internet; the abolition from 6 April 2000 of the £1,200 limit on Payroll Giving; a 10% supplement on all donations to charities through Payroll Giving for three years from 6 April 2000; tax relief from April 2000 on gifts of listed shares and securities, unit trusts and other investments made by individuals or companies to charities; the exemption, within certain limits, of small amounts of income and gains of charities from trading. The new exemption will allow charities to undertake small trading and fund-raising ventures without the need to establish a subsidiary company; the extension of the existing VAT exemption for fund-raising events by allowing up to 15 events in any one location in a 12 month period to be exempt. |
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Internet filing and discounts The Chancellor has announced that: from April 2000, for one year only, taxpayers who file their self assessment income tax returns for the year to 5 April 2000 via the internet and pay their tax electronically will receive a one-off discount of £10; from April 2001, for one year only, small businesses that file their VAT returns or PAYE end of year returns via the internet in 2001/02 and pay the tax due electronically, will receive a one-off discount of £50 (or a double discount of £100 for both PAYE and VAT). An additional discount of £50 will be available to businesses paying tax credits - eg the Working Families Tax Credit if they also qualify for the PAYE or VAT discount. |
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Stamp duty The rates of stamp duty on transfers of property (excluding shares) have been increased. The new rates are as follows: 1% (1%) where the price is more than £60,000 but not more than £250,000; 3% (2.5%) where the price is more than £250,000 but not more than £500,000; 4% (3.5%) where the price exceeds £500,000. The new rates will apply to transfers on or after 28 March 2000 except where the transfer is under a contract made on or after 21 March 2000. The rate of duty on shares (normally 0.5%) remains unchanged. In order to boost R & D, transactions in intellectual property (eg patents and trademarks) will be exempted for transfers made on or after 28 March 2000. The Chancellor also announced a wide range of measures aimed at blocking certain avoidance devices. |
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Landfill tax As previously announced landfill tax will increase from £10 per tonne to £11 per tonne on 1 April 2000. Top of page / contents |