ERISA and the Internal Revenue Code broadly prohibit transactions between employee benefit plans or Individual Retirement Accounts and certain “parties in interest” or “disqualified persons”. However, certain transactions are exempted from such prohibition. One such exemption applies to transactions involving independent qualified professional asset managers, which includes banks, savings and loan associations, insurance companies and … Continue Reading
On Saturday, August 8th, President Trump issued an executive order titled “Memorandum on Deferring Payroll Tax Obligations in Light of the Ongoing COVID-19 Disaster” (the “Order”). The Order provides for the deferral of certain payroll taxes. The Order will be effective for wages paid on or after September 1, 2020 and will have to be … Continue Reading
On Tuesday, 21 July 2020, the Government announced further good news for companies operating enterprise management incentive (EMI) share option schemes that will allow them to continue to grant new options to individuals who: have been furloughed under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS), or have taken unpaid leave, or have had their working hours … Continue Reading
The coronavirus (COVID-19) ‘lock-down’ has necessitated large swathes of the working population to perform their duties from home. As a result, working-from-home has become the ‘new normal’ for many employees in recent months. Employers will be considering how best to assist their employees to work most efficiently and effectively from home while the lock-down endures. … Continue Reading
Late on Friday, 26 June 2020, with little fanfare, the Chancellor of the Exchequer tabled a new clause for inclusion in the Finance Bill 2020 (FB 2020) during its Report stage in the House of Commons. It addresses a key concern around furloughed employees who hold enterprise management incentive (EMI) options (as discussed previously on … Continue Reading
In our blog post dated May 7, 2020, we noted that the IRS Question and Answers regarding the Employee Retention Tax Credit (the “ERTC” & the “Q&As”) stated that an employer cannot claim an ERTC for qualified health care expenses, unless it also pays the employee other wages during the relevant time period. We further noted … Continue Reading
New guidance issued by the US Internal Revenue Service in the form of Q&As posted on its website, clarify the Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC) provisions contained in the CARES Act. The guidance is more restrictive than anticipated, and employers may face difficult decisions about claiming the tax credits. Our latest publication explores this issue … Continue Reading
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act provides employers a number of economic relief programs, including deferral of employers’ share of quarterly social security tax deposits and forgivable Payroll Protection Program (PPP) loans. The IRS recently released a set of frequently asked questions and answers regarding the CARES Act’s deferral of quarterly Social … Continue Reading
Employee retention is a high priority for businesses grappling with the profound impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Employee share schemes remain a versatile and valuable way to retain important employees. However, many may not have considered the unexpectedly adverse tax consequences that some of the UK government’s business support measures (including, for example, … Continue Reading
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), commonly known as the “coronavirus” has raised many challenges for businesses. Among those challenges are the variety of employee related issues being raised. In addition to complying with various employment laws, including the new emergency leave laws and tax credits (see our blog), employers also have to consider the impact on … Continue Reading
With most employer’s minds currently focused on the upcoming changes to the IR35 regime, it’s important they do not forget about forthcoming updates to the tax treatment of termination payments which are also due to take effect next month. Employer’s NIC on Termination payments Currently, the only tax on termination payments made to employees to … Continue Reading
Since 6 April 2018 companies have been unable to grant new EMI options, because the existing EU state aid approval expired without fresh approval having been received. So there has been much excitement today at the news that the EU Commission has now given state aid approval, and companies can now grant new EMI options. … Continue Reading
Football, football teams, footballers, footballer’s pay… a comprehensive review of the case law on the taxation of termination payments… this one has got it all! The match… the case (HM Revenue & Customs v Tottenham Hotspur Limited) concerns termination payments made to Peter Crouch and Wilson Palacios. The facts are relatively straightforward. Both player’s contracts with Tottenham … Continue Reading
The report resulting from the Taylor Review of Modern Working Practices (the Taylor Review), ‘Good Work‘, was finally published on 11 July 2017. The Taylor Review’s primary focus was new ways of working, the ‘gig’ economy, worker rights and responsibilities, and employer freedoms and obligations. Although tax was not (formally at least) within its remit, … Continue Reading
Alongside the almost complete reversal of recent cuts in the main rate of corporation tax (returning it to 26% by 2020-21 – a rate not seen since 2011 or, rather, the time of the last Labour government), the proposal to introduce a so-called ‘Robin Hood’ tax on financial derivatives (a proposal mired by its own complexity … Continue Reading
In a previous post, we were less than wholly welcoming to the Government’s proposals for the simplification of the tax and NIC treatment of payments in the context of the termination of employment. The proposals were put out to consultation in July 2015 and a report on the responses, launching further consultation on the draft … Continue Reading
At the Autumn Statement last week the Government announced that it had responded to the Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) report on employment status originally published in March and it was “taking forward the majority of its recommendations”. Now, 9 months after the March report, a letter from HM Treasury has emerged indicating which of … Continue Reading
Friday last week saw the release of an almost comical consultation document setting out HMRC’s proposals for the simplification of the tax and NIC treatment of termination payments. As many people will know, the tax treatment of termination payments depends on the reason for the payment. The most often confused aspect is whether a payment … Continue Reading
In several posts last year, we charted the development of the new HMRC rules for the online registering, self-certifying and making of annual returns for share plans, and indeed all arrangements under which employees receive shares. Now the dust has settled, the teething troubles have been ironed out and the templates for the new “end-of-year” returns … Continue Reading
As the dust settles on the eagerly awaited HMRC v Martin decision (see our previous blog post), thoughts are inevitably turning to how that decision impacts on an employer’s approach to clawback payments, particularly in the world of variable remuneration. Whilst the judge in the Martin decision was clear that his conclusion turned on the … Continue Reading
You don’t need to have a season ticket at Ibrox to be familiar with the difficult few seasons that Rangers FC has faced, both on and off the pitch. Despite securing promotion to the Scottish Championship earlier this year, the club and its fans are still feeling the effects of this famous name going into … Continue Reading
As detailed in our recent blog post, HMRC have targeted the use of dual contracts by non-domiciled high earners. The new legislation is now in force and it is expected to bring in £245 million over the next four years. There were a couple of tweaks from its prior incarnation so to be clear, the new … Continue Reading
The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in United States v. Quality Stores, Inc., No. 12-1408.,188 L. Ed. 2d 413, has broader implications for employers than its legal holding. On its face, the holding is that supplemental unemployment compensation benefits paid to terminated employees after a reduction in force or closing of an operation are subject … Continue Reading
