Tax changes for April 2015 report in brief

At Omni Chartered Accountants, we believe in keeping things simple. 

So, with this in mind, here is our guide to the recent tax changes that came into effect on Wednesday 1 April 2015.

• The Corporation Tax rate was reduced to 20%
• The new Diverted Profits Tax was introduced
• The bank levy was increased from 0.156% to 0.21%
• Air Passenger Duty was restructured - abolishing bands C and D
• Hospice charities, blood bikes, search and rescue, and air ambulance charities are now eligible for VAT refunds
• Business rates changes (England only):
• The business rates multiplier has increased from 48.2p to 49.3p (47.1p to 48.0p for small business multiplier). This includes the 2% inflation cap
• The Small Business Rate Relief scheme has doubled for a further year - providing 100% relief for businesses with a single property with a rateable value of less than £6,000, and tapered relief with a rateable value of £6,000 - £12,000
• The business rates discount for shops, pubs, cafes and restaurants with a rateable value of £50k or below has increased from £1,000 to £1,500
• The cultural test for high-end TV tax relief has been modernised and the minimum UK expenditure requirement for all TV tax reliefs has reduced from 25% to 10%
• A new tax relief on the production of children’s television has been introduced
• The amount of banks’ annual profit that can be offset by carried forward losses has been restricted to 50%
• Two new bands for the Annual Tax on Enveloped Dwellings (ATED) have been introduced
• Capital Gains Tax exemption for wasting assets will only apply if the corporate selling the asset has used it in their own business
• An investment allowance for North Sea oil and gas, replacing the existing offshore field allowances and simplifying the existing regime, has been introduced
• A reduced rate of fuel duty to methanol will apply - the rate is 9.32 pence per litre
• Fuels used to generate good quality electricity by CHP (combined heat and power) plants for onsite purposes are exempt from the Carbon Price Floor
• Climate Change Levy main rates have increased in line with RPI
• The VAT registration threshold has increased from £81,000 to £82,000 and the deregistration threshold from £79,000 to £80,000
• Scottish government’s Land and Buildings Transactions Tax (LBTT) will replace Stamp Duty Land Tax in Scotland
• The associated companies rules have been replaced with simpler rules based on 51% group membership
• The standard and lower rates of landfill tax have been increased in line with RPI

We would love to hear from you if your business has been affected by any of the changes – in either a positive or negative way. Please join in the conversation on our Facebook page, or Tweet us @OmnitasTax!

If you would like no-nonsense, general tax advice then we are also here to help; you can request a free of charge call back from our website or click here to contact us via our website contact form and we will get back to you promptly for an initial chat.