Communication

If you are thinking of making a gift to charity, this factsheet summarises how to make tax-effective gifts. You can get tax relief on gifts to UK charities if you give: under Gift Aid, through a Payroll Giving scheme, run by your employer, or by making a gift of certain shares or land.

Many companies are now completely reliant on the data stored on their network servers, PCs, laptops, mobile devices or in the cloud. Some of this data is likely to contain either personal information and/or confidential company information. Here we look at some of the issues to consider when reviewing the security of your computer systems, and how to minimise the risks of data loss.

Inheritance tax (IHT) is levied on a person’s estate when they die, and certain gifts made during an individual’s lifetime. Gifts between UK-domiciled spouses during their lifetime or on death are exempt from IHT. In this factsheet spouse includes married couples and registered civil partners. Most gifts made more than seven years before death will escape tax.

The National Minimum Wage (NMW) and National Living Wage (NLW) are the legal minimum wage rates that must be paid to employees. Employers are liable to be penalised for not complying with the NMW and NLW rules. HMRC is the agency that ensures enforcement of the NMW and NLW.

In order to avoid the danger of discriminating in some way, particularly unconsciously, employers must take care to develop and use recruitment procedures which will avoid the risk. Using sensible procedures will also inevitably improve recruitment decisions and the quality of the people taken on. Professional advice should be sought before any action is taken.

Travelling and subsistence expenditure incurred by or on behalf of employees gives rise to many problems. We highlight below the main areas to consider in deciding whether tax relief is available on travel and subsistence.