Robert Maas is one of the UK's acknowledged experts in the taxation of the various forms of the employment and in this well established guide he brings that expertise by providing clearly laid out commentary on the scope of the taxation of income from employments and pensions, the distinction between employment and self-employment, the means for identifying deemed employment income and the rules around expenses and benefits. The book also deals with an extensive range of ancillary matters, including termination payments, pensions, residence and domicile rules, employee incentives, PAYE, and the use of intermediaries.
This new edition is bought up-to date with the two Finance Acts published in 2017 as well as FA 2018. Among the key areas of law to change are the following: -
- Changes to the IR35 rules for those in the public sector: Responsibility for operating the current intermediaries' rules moves from an individual worker's intermediary (typically a personal service company (PSC)) to any public sector, agency or third party paying that intermediary. In addition, the 5% allowance currently available to those who apply the IR35 rules to reflect the costs of administering the rules will be removed for those who work in the public sector.
- Optional remuneration arrangements: The tax treatment changes where a benefit-in-kind (BIK) is provided through 'optional remuneration arrangements' (OpRA) (for example salary sacrifice and flexible benefit arrangements) so that, with effect from 6 April 2017, the BIK is chargeable to income tax and Class 1A employer NICs (but not Class 1 NICs), even if the BIK is normally exempt from tax and NICs, at the greater of the amount of salary given up in exchange for the BIK and the cash equivalent of the BIK
- Overseas pensions: a closer alignment of the UK tax treatment of payments out of 'foreign pension schemes' with the UK's domestic tax regime and pension schemes used for those employed abroad
- The conditions that a pension scheme has to meet to be a qualifying overseas pension scheme (QOPS) or a qualifying recognised overseas pension scheme (QROPS) are also being updated
- Changes to the tax and NIC treatment of termination payments
- Changes to the disguised remuneration rules as part of the Governments commitment to further tackling tax avoidance