Share dealing losses, National living wage, VAT on telecoms services

Last week we examined a case concerning share dealing losses which provides hope to all day traders. You need to warn your clients about the NMW rate rise on 1 April 2016 and about a change in VAT treatment on wholesale telecoms services which applies from 1 February 2016.

This is an extract from our topical tax tips newsletter dated 21 January 2016 (5 days before we publish an extract on this blog). You can obtain future issues by registering here>>>

National living wage 
The national minimum wage (NMW) rate normally increases with effect from 1 October. Many employers will be geared up to include such changes in their annual pay reviews. However, the next rate change applies from 1 April 2016. 
  
In his Summer Budget on 8 July 2015 George Osborne stole the opposition's clothes by announcing a “National Living Wage” of £7.20 per hour, to be gradually increased to £9 per hour by 2020. In fact the living wage is just another NMW rate, with all the same legal requirements. It must be paid to workers aged 25 and older for pay periods that fall on and after 1 April 2016. 
  
The NMW for those workers is currently £6.70 per hour, so a 50p per hour increase is significant. It will push the weekly wage for a worker on 35 hours up from £234.50 to £252, and cost the employer an extra £19.91 per week including employer's NI. Where the worker is enrolled in a company pension under auto-enrolment the total cost to the employer will be higher. 
  
You can help your clients identify which employees should receive a pay rise from 1 April, and budget for this extra cost. Remember company owner/directors don't have to pay themselves the NMW or living wage as long as they don't have a contract of employment with their company. Family members living in the employer's home also are not entitled to the NMW. 
  
The employment allowance is increasing from 6 April 2016 from £2,000 to £3,000 for most employers. One-man companies won't qualify for the employment allowance in 2016/17. 
  
The extra £1,000 of allowance will be available to off-set the additional employers' NIC payable on the compulsory wage increases for workers entitled to the living wage. However, the employment allowance can't be used to off-set the cost of pension contributions, or the actual wage increase itself.  

This is an extract from our topical tax tips newsletter dated 21 January 2016 (5 days before we publish an extract on this blog). You can obtain future issues by registering here>>>

The full newsletter contained links to related source material for this story and the other two topical, timely and commercial tax tips. We've been publishing this newsletter weekly since 2007; it's clearly written and focused on precisely what accountants in general practice need to know about each week. You can obtain future issues by registering here>>>