Taxes
Women bearing brunt of budget cuts
Filed under: Taxes, Families, Budgeting & Planning
Women in London are paying twice as much as men for the Government's cuts in public spending, a new report claimed.Research for London mayoral hopeful Ken Livingstone showed that women are more heavily affected by cuts in housing benefit and pension changes.
Keep your savings from the taxman
Tax can decimate your savings returns – in some cases halving them - so it is worth taking steps to protect your nest egg from the taxman by using tax-efficient vehicles such as Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs) and pension funds.
Here, we look at the impact tax can have on your returns, and offer advice on the best ways to avoid it.
Energy bills to soar as green taxes treble
Filed under: Taxes, House and Home
We need to save the planet, and you're going to have to pay for it - personally - through a massive increase in your energy bills. A think tank, Policy Exchange, estimates that green taxes are going to have to treble by 2020, making your energy bills massively more expensive. But can this really happen, or are they just trying to scare us?
Speed cameras could be run by private firms
Private companies may soon issue speeding fines. Speed cameras have been disappearing in the last few months since central government stopped funding them. Safety groups say this has led to a huge increase in speeding, with many people injured or killed by speeding drivers as a result. So a radical new approach has been suggested.
Beware the new tax scam
The taxman has issued a warning to beware of a new scam from people pretending to be calling from HMRC. It's hard to believe the taxman is on our side for a change, but it's worth being aware of the scam and knowing what you can do to protect yourself.So what's going on?
HMRC allows late tax credit calls
Families who missed Saturday's deadline to renew their tax credits because they couldn't get through on a busy helpline can call back today.HM Revenue & Customs said its tax credit helpline was "extremely busy" on Saturday, and it would look "sympathetically" on late callers.
The taxman is set to get tougher
Filed under: Taxes, Entrepreneur
The taxman is showing no mercy. Anyone charged with paying a portion of their taxes through self-assessment knows it's a difficult business. The administration, the financial planning, working out what you need to have set aside for the payment date, and then actually having the money in the account - it's little wonder that so many people fall short.And now HMRC has announced that if you fail to pay, they are going to call in the heavies.
Could you be caught by self assessment deadline?
Filed under: Taxes, Budgeting & Planning
This Saturday, 31 July, is the deadline for three things: outstanding income tax self assessment returns, as well as self assessment tax payments, and the renewal of tax credits.If your heart is sinking at the prospect of having to pay your tax bill, consider the consequences of late filing/payment. You'll end up paying hefty penalties so it's worth gritting your teeth and sorting out your tax affairs asap.
Doctors and dentists cough up £9m in unpaid tax - you could be next
Filed under: Taxes, Work & Careers
Doctors and dentists have handed over £9m in unpaid tax, after HM Revenue and Customs told them that if they didn't own up to having hidden earnings, the tax inspectors would be knocking on their doors.The cash came from 1,500 medical professionals. But that's still only 1 in 20 who were were sent letters by HMRC telling them that if they voluntarily disclosed undeclared income, they would only pay interest and a small fine.
Council wastes £36,000 on 'virtual town hall' in Second Life
Filed under: Taxes, Weird and Wonderful, Technology and Online
A local council has scrapped its £36,000 "virtual town hall" in Second Life because they realised after a year that it was a massive waste of money and no one was using it.Tameside Council, in Greater Manchester, paid for an island in the internet computer game and paid expensive geeks to build the "virtual town hall" which local residents could use to access services, saving them all the bother of making a phone call or simply going to the council's normal website.
