Umbrella company contractors and other freelance workers have been warned to be cautious of schemes that claim to be HMRC approved, when really they are referring to the reference number allocated to a scheme.
The Bank of England base rate is to remain at its historically low rate of 0.5%, at least for the immediate future, the Monetary Policy Committee has announced.
HMRC has launched a consultation asking for opinions on the introduction of real-time information into the PAYE taxation system.
Umbrella company contractors hampered by poor broadband connections could welcome recent government announcements.
The increased cost of travelling to work will encourage more people to abandon trains and buses and get on their bikes next year, according to reed.co.uk. Train fares are set to rise by up to 13% in the new year.
Although the government spending cuts may not have a direct impact on everybody, it’s worth bearing in mind the underlying message that the coalition is trying to get through.
There is a mixture of cautious optimism and trepidation amongst freelancers as we start the countdown to 2011. We still have to see the full impact of the government’s CSR and a lot of umbrella company contractors are feeling anxious about their future prospects.
Although many people in the UK say they are worried about the state of their own finances, 67% of them have not made any changes to their saving habits since the recession started two years ago.
Umbrella company contractors should start considering their retirement now. Recent research, carried out by Defaqto, shows that 44% of adults in the UK are not confident that they will be able to sustain a reasonable standard of living once they retire. That’s a rise from 38% last year.
Contractors will no doubt be pleased to learn that the job market is improving and there has been an increase in the number of vacancies being advertised.
On Monday, George Osborne and Vince Cable announced a fundamental review of the steps all areas of Government are taking to promote the best conditions to encourage growth in the private sector.
