Category: General

Property repossessions, There have been a significant number of measures introduced to help those experiencing financial difficulties because of coronavirus. Throughout the course of the pandemic, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has sought to ensure that lenders provide tailored support to mortgage borrowers who continue to face payment difficulties due to the crisis.

Since 1 April 2021, suspension on blanket property repossessions where homeowners are significantly in arrears was ended. This change is subject to any government restrictions on repossessions, but lenders may now be able to take steps to enforce a possession order and repossess homes. This should only be done as a last resort and a lender shouldn’t start repossession action unless all reasonable attempts to resolve the position have failed. Prior to 1 April 2021, lenders could only repossess homes with the agreement of the homeowner or if there were other exceptional circumstances.

Lenders have offered options to homeowners such as:

• making no payments for a temporary period
• making reduced payments for a temporary period
• changing the mortgage term to make payments more affordable

The deadline for applying for many of these assistance options ended on 31 March 2021. However, the FCA’s updated guidance states that since 1 April 2021, if you are newly affected by a coronavirus (or if it starts affecting you again) your lender should provide support tailored to your circumstances, this may include a payment holiday if that is appropriate.

Lockdown changes Even the unseasonably cold weather does not seem to have stopped people in England getting their first taste of normality for many months as many restrictions were lifted on 12th April 2021.

The full list of changes that came into effect in England Lockdown from 12 April 2021 are listed on GOV.UK as follows:

• non-essential retail can reopen
• personal care services such as hairdressers and nail salons can reopen, including those provided from a mobile setting
• public buildings such as libraries and community centres can reopen
• outdoor hospitality venues can reopen, with table service only
• most outdoor attractions including zoos, theme parks, and drive-in performances (such as cinemas and concerts) can reopen
• some smaller outdoor events such as fetes, literary fairs, and fairgrounds can take place
• indoor leisure and sports facilities can reopen for individual exercise, or exercise with your household or support bubble
• all childcare and supervised activities are allowed indoors (as well as outdoors) for all children. Parent and child groups can take place indoors (as well as outdoors) for up to 15 people (children under 5 will not be counted in this number)
• weddings, civil partnership ceremonies, wakes and other commemorative events can take place for up to 15 people (anyone working is not included in this limit), including in indoor venues that are permitted to open or where an exemption applies. Wedding receptions can also take place for up to 15 people, but must take place outdoors, not including private gardens
• self-contained accommodation can stay open for overnight stays in England with your household or support bubble
• care home residents will be able to nominate two named individuals for regular indoor visits (following a rapid lateral flow test)
• you should continue to work from home if you can and minimise the amount that you travel where possible

The next major batch of changes are not expected to take place in England before 17 May and will include the opening of more indoor entertainment attractions, overnight hotel stays, increased numbers allowed at life events and the possibility of more international travel.

Regional variations can be viewed on regional government websites.

HMRC has been very strict on tax avoidance scheme to loot innocent tax payers.

In a recent attempt, HMRC and the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) have come together to jointly target misleading marketing by promoters of tax avoidance schemes.

HMRC and the ASA can jointly issue an Enforcement Notice to companies irresponsibly advertising tax arrangement schemes in a bid to clamp down on those breaking the rules.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/hmrc-and-asa-launch-new-action-to-disrupt-promoters-of-tax-avoidance-schemes

The joint enforcement notice aims to disrupt the activity of promoters and protect people from being presented with misleading adverts which may tempt them into tax avoidance.

The ASA is clear that advertisers are required to ensure that their marketing communications are legal, comply with the law and do not incite anyone to break it.  As such, ads for any arrangements or schemes which are illegal will break the ad rules as well as the law.

HMRC has also launched a new campaign titled ‘Tax avoidance: don’t get caught out’ warning and educating contractors about how to identify if they are being offered a tax avoidance scheme, and the pitfalls of using these schemes. The campaign urges taxpayers to help avoid unwittingly entering into arrangements that HMRC are likely to be seen as tax avoidance.

The HMRC’s campaign is asking the public to:

• Stop – don’t sign anything that you are uncomfortable with or don’t understand
• Challenge – check for warning signs. If you’re unsure, seek independent professional advice
• Protect – if you think you have been offered a tax avoidance scheme, report it to HMRC.

For example, a number of schemes have targeted workers returning to the National Health Service (NHS) to help respond to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.

If you need any further advice feel free to contact us to book a free consultation.

People donate huge amounts to charities, to ensure charity work continues in the country. It has been estimated that almost £350,000 of charitable donations last year ended up in the pockets of criminals.

Government recently issued advice to reduce this activity. They said:

The vast majority of fundraising appeals and collections are genuine, however criminals can set up fake charities, or even impersonate well-known charitable organisations, to deceive victims.

https://www.apexaccountants.tax/hmrc-investigation/

Action Fraud has teamed up with the Charity Commission, the regulator and registrars of charities, and the Fundraising Regulator, the independent regulator of charitable fundraising in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, to help the public make sure their donations go to the right place this Christmas.

Clearly, this bogus activity represents just a small proportion of overall donations made to reputable charities, but donors should be wary. Further advice to donors included in their press release says:

• Make sure the charity is genuine before giving any financial information. Look for the registered charity number on their website. You can check the charity name and registration number at www.gov.uk/checkcharity;
• You can also check if a charity is registered with the Fundraising Regulator. All charities registered here have made a commitment to good fundraising practice;
• If you’re approached by a collector on the street or at your door, ask to see the collector’s ID badge. You can also check whether the collector has a licence to fundraise with the local authority, or has the consent of the private site owner;
• Don’t click on the links or attachments in suspicious emails, and never respond to unsolicited messages and phone calls that ask for your personal or financial details – even if it’s in the name of a charity
• To donate online, type in the address of the charity website yourself rather than clicking on a link. If in any doubt, contact the charity directly about donating;
• Be cautious when donating to an online fundraising page. Fake fundraising pages will often be badly written or have spelling mistakes. When donating to an online fundraising page, only donate to fundraising pages created by someone you know and trust.

After making these checks, if you think that a fundraising appeal or collection is fake, report it to Action Fraud online or by calling 0300 123 2040.

If you need any further advice feel free to contact us.

Beware from tax refund scams fraudsters are continuing to target taxpayers with scam emails in advance of the 31 January deadline for submission of Self-Assessment returns.  In fact, over the last year, HMRC received more than 846,000 reports about suspicious HMRC contact.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/phishing-and-bogus-emails-hm-revenue-and-customs-examples/phishing-emails-and-bogus-contact-hm-revenue-and-customs-examples

A number of these scams purport to tell taxpayers they are due a tax rebate or tax refund from HMRC and ask for bank or credit card details in order to send the refund. The fraudsters use various means to try and scam people including making contact by phone calls, texts or emails. In fact, fraudsters have been known to threaten victims with arrest or imprisonment if a bogus tax bill is not paid immediately.

Please visit our Tax Services page to know about our tax services.

HMRC’s dedicated Customer Protection team to identify and close down scams but is advising customers to recognise the signs to avoid becoming victims themselves. For example, genuine organisations like HMRC and banks will never contact customers asking for their PIN, password or bank details.

If you think you have received a suspicious call or email claiming to be from HMRC you are asked to forward the details to [email protected] and texts to 60599. If you have suffered financial loss you should contact Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or use their online fraud reporting tool.

If you are looking to know more about this, feel free to contact us.

The Help to Buy equity loans scheme is a government initiative for those who are either looking to buy their first home or are home movers on new-build homes in England with a purchase price of up to £600,000. The Help to Buy equity loans provide a low-interest loan towards the deposit. The loan is interest free for the first 5 years. New home buyers need a 5% deposit, and the government lends up to 20% of the value of the home (up to 40% for London).

The Help to Buy equity loan scheme has helped more than a quarter of a million people to buy a home. Since the start of the scheme on 1 April 2013, 272,852 property sales have been completed.

The government is also announcing an extra measure to protect existing customers who have experienced severe delays as a result of coronavirus.

Click here to know more about Tax planning services

The deadline for the homes to have been finished in order to comply with the equity loan scheme has been extended from 31 December 2020 to 28 February 2021 to ensure home buyers do not miss out if there has been a delay in construction due to the pandemic. The deadline for the legal completion of the sale will remain the same – 31 March 2021. The completion of sale deadline may be extended further to 31 May 2021 if a reservation was in place by 30 June 2020. These changes apply to the equity loans scheme in England and not to similar schemes in Northern Ireland, Scotland or Wales.

Separately, the government’s new Help to Buy scheme, which will replace the current scheme, will come into place from 1 April 2021 and run until March 2023 as planned and there are no plans for further extensions. The new scheme introduces property price caps and is restricted to first-time buyers only, supporting people onto the housing ladder.

If you are looking to know more about it; feel free to book a no-obligation call with us.

University students have been warned by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) that fraudsters are targeting them with a wave of fake tax scams.

HMRC is warning new students starting university that they could be targeted by scammers trying to steal their money and personal details.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/hmrc-urges-universities-to-warn-new-students-of-tax-scams-danger

As new students start the academic year they can be particularly vulnerable to tax scams. Coupled with an increase in remote working due to the pandemic can leave students particularly exposed to the work of fraudsters. Fake emails, which use university addresses in a bid to appear legitimate, may tell people that they are owed money and encourage them to send their personal details.

Many tax scams are directly targeting university students. Fraudulent emails and texts will regularly include links which take students to websites where their information can be stolen.

HMRC has written to universities, via Universities UK, asking them to help ensure their students know how to spot a scam and to raise awareness of this issue. These scams can offer fake tax refunds or help with claiming Covid-related financial support. HMRC has also seen frauds offering spurious support with reclaiming council tax, purporting to be from TV Licensing, the DVLA or ‘GovUK’.

Students can also be approached to act as ‘money mules’, with offers of reward to transfer funds through their own, genuine financial accounts, inadvertently laundering criminal funds.

Commenting on the warning, the Chief Executive of Universities UK, said:

‘The security and welfare of students is always a priority for universities. The message to students, at what is a particularly stressful time, is to remain vigilant and question anything that seems unusual. Any student who fears their account may have been misused is encouraged to speak to either university support services, their bank, or to the police via Action Fraud.’

If you are looking for more information; please book a call with us.

The Communities Secretary, Robert Jenrick, has announced that over 100 towns in England will each be given new funding for towns up to £1 million to kick start regeneration projects and give areas a boost.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/100-places-to-benefit-from-new-towns-fund

The funding to be received varies between £500k and £1m per town. The money will be available to help support projects such as new green spaces, the creation of pop-up businesses spaces, pedestrianising streets to encourage walking or cycling and creating new community hubs to support those living alone.

Projects such as Burton on Trent’s High Street regeneration, for which the town has been awarded £750,000, will see improvements to make the high street a more pleasant place to visit with new bus access and cycle lanes so the public can more easily visit.

In Newcastle-under-Lyme, the £1 million funding will boost the town’s regeneration plans, helping to demolish unloved buildings to make way for a new chapter in the town’s history.

These funds are part of the overall £3.6 billion Towns Fund commitment by government to ensure that spending is decentralised and gives power to local authorities on how they spend money to regenerate their areas. As part of the scheme, each area is receiving support to develop Town Deals – a vision and strategy to improve the local area.

This list consists of 45 of the 101 Towns Fund areas who have had their funding confirmed at part of Budget, announced by the Chancellor on Wednesday 3 March 2021. Funding equates to £1.02 billion in total.

Due to coronavirus disruption, it is currently taking up to six weeks to renew or replace a passport online. It can take even longer if you apply by post or if applying for a first adult passport. Their offices and the premium and fast track services are currently closed.

However, you may be able to get a passport urgently to travel for compassionate reasons or work, or to prove your identity. For example, if you are applying for a job, mortgage or benefits.

Compassionate reasons to travel include:

• you or someone you care for needs urgent medical treatment in another country
• a family member or friend in another country is seriously ill or has died

Valid reasons for urgent travel to another country could apply if, for example, you work:

• for an airline or haulage company
• offshore, for example on a rig
• for government or local government and you’re doing business abroad
• in healthcare
• for social services and you need to travel with children
• for the armed forces or the police

You can pay for a faster service if you need a passport within the next 3 weeks.

You need to book a passport office appointment and pay online. You can book an appointment up to 3 weeks in advance.

Check current coronavirus (COVID-19) travel advice before travelling. If your passport application is successful, it does not mean you’re currently allowed to travel.