Author: Glenn

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) is warning that scammers are sending text messages about fake DVSA parking penalty charges. The text messages warn people that they have a ‘parking penalty charge’, and that if they do not pay on time, that they might:

• be banned from driving
• have to pay more
• be taken to court

The text message reads "Dvsa notice for you: You have a parking penalty charge due on 2024/9/30. If you do not pay your fine on time, Your car may be banned from driving, you might have to pay more, or you could be taken to court. Please enter your license plate in the link after reading the information, Check and pay parking penalty charge. Thank you again for your co-operation. Dvsa."

The initial text message has been followed up with scam reminders:

• DVSA Fixed Penalty Office:
• Today is the last day to pay your ticket due to your long term delinquency, if you do not pay your ticket on time you may be required to pay more in the future, and we reserve the right to prosecute you. Please be patient and open the link below to process your ticket.
• Thank you again for your co-operation.

Another scam reminder says:

• DVSA Fixed Penalty Office last notification:
• You have not paid your ticket within the stipulated time. Today is the last time to notify you to pay. We will ban your car from driving on the road starting tomorrow and transfer your parking ticket to the court. Please wait until you receive the information. Process your ticket as soon as possible in the link.

Another scam message says:

• EWHC notice for you:
• We are preparing to prosecute you for the materials handed over by DVSA. Because you have not paid your parking penalty charge for a long time. Today is the last day for payment.
• If you do not pay within today, we will prosecute you. Please read the information and enter your license plate to check your parking ticket.

DVSA advises that it does not issue or deal with parking fines.

Civil Partners enjoy the same tax and other advantages as married couples.

To set up a civil partnership in England or Wales, both partners must be eligible, meaning they are over 18, not already married or in a civil partnership and not closely related. The rules may be different in Scotland, Northern Ireland and outside the UK.

You and your partner will need to give notice of your intention to form a civil partnership at your local register office. You must have lived in that registration district for the past 7 days. You and your partner will need to give notice separately if you live in different registration districts. You do not have to do this on the same day.

You'll need to provide various original documents proving your identity, address, and if applicable, evidence of the dissolution of any previous marriage or civil partnership.

The ceremony can take place at a register office or an approved venue. Unlike a wedding, no legal vows are required, but you will sign a civil partnership document in front of witnesses, making it legally binding. After the ceremony, you will receive a civil partnership certificate.

Forming a civil partnership grants rights similar to marriage, particularly regarding inheritance, pensions, and tax responsibilities.

For more detailed information, you can visit the UK government’s official site on civil partnerships: GOV.UK – Civil Partnerships.

There are special VAT rules that allow two or more companies or limited liability partnerships, commonly referred to as ‘bodies corporate’, to be treated as a single taxable person for VAT purposes known as a VAT group.

These bodies corporate can register as a single taxable person or VAT group if:

• each body has its principal or registered office in the UK; and
• they are under common control, for example, one or more company is a subsidiary of a parent company.

The VAT group registration is made in the name of the ‘representative member’, who is responsible for completing and submitting a single VAT return and making VAT payments or receiving VAT refunds on behalf of the group.

This is particularly helpful for those whose accounting is centralised. As a VAT group is treated as a single taxable person, there is usually no requirement to account for VAT on goods or services supplied between group members. Only one VAT return is required for the whole group. However, all members of the VAT group remain jointly and severally liable for any tax debts.

There are other important points to be aware of in respect of a VAT group registration. For example, the representative member must have all the necessary information to submit a VAT return for the group by the due date. The partial exemption de minimis limits apply to the VAT group as a whole and not the members individually.

The freezing of tax thresholds often leads to a phenomenon known as fiscal drag. When tax thresholds remain unchanged, taxpayers will likely pay more tax as their earnings rise without a corresponding increase in allowances. As a result, more people are “dragged” into higher tax brackets or into paying tax for the first time. This process effectively acts as a stealth tax.

While fiscal drag is not uncommon, its impact depends on three key factors, the government setting of thresholds and allowances, inflation and wage growth.

How thresholds are determined is critical, especially in periods of high inflation.

Adjusting thresholds in line with inflation or another index is referred to as "indexation." The government’s policy of increasing certain thresholds annually based on inflation is known as "uprating." However, this policy is not always implemented. When thresholds are frozen, tax revenues increase for HM Treasury without any corresponding rise in tax rates.

You can typically claim tax relief on private pension contributions up to 100% of your annual earnings, subject to certain limits. Tax relief is applied at your highest rate of income tax, meaning:

• Basic rate taxpayers receive 20% pension tax relief
• Higher rate taxpayers can claim 40% pension tax relief
• Additional rate taxpayers can claim 45% pension tax relief

For basic-rate taxpayers, the initial 20% tax relief is usually applied by the employer. Higher and additional rate taxpayers can claim the extra relief through their self-assessment tax return.

Taxpayers can claim on their self-assessment return for private pension contributions as follows:

• 20% relief on income taxed at 40%
• 25% relief on income taxed at 45%

Alternatively, taxpayers can contact HMRC to claim the relief if they pay 40% income tax and do not submit a self-assessment return.

These rates apply in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, but there are some regional variations for Scotland.

There is an annual allowance of £60,000 for pension tax relief. Taxpayers can carry forward any unused allowance from the previous three tax years, provided they made pension contributions during those years. The lifetime limit for pension tax relief was abolished as of 6 April 2023.