The HICBC was introduced on 7 January 2013 and applies to couples where:

• One partner has received Child Benefit payments after 7 January 2013, and
• Either partner has income in excess of £50,000 a year. The person with the highest income, if both are over £50,000, will be liable to pay the charge.

 It will not apply if the person entitled to receive Child Benefit stops their claim for a complete tax year (or for the period 7 January 2013 to 5 April 2013, for the tax year 2012-13).

 In effect, the charge recovers the actual Child Benefit received using a graduated scale. 1% of benefit received will be recovered for every £100 the highest earner’s income exceeds £50,000. Accordingly, if the highest earner’s income exceeds £60,000, all of the Child Benefit received will be clawed back.

 The partner with the highest income in excess of £50,000, and where either partner received any Child Benefit payments from 7 January 2013 to 5 April 2013, will need to declare the benefit received on their Self Assessment tax return for 2013.

 If you are not registered for Self Assessment you must do so by 5 October 2013.

 If you are concerned that you may be caught by the HICBC, and would like assistance with the registration or reporting process, please call.

Readers will be aware that there a multitude of emails circulating on the internet purporting to be from HMRC. In almost all cases these will be some form of scam, attempting to gather personal information from you in exchange for the promise of a tax refund or similar inducement.

HMRC have confirmed, on numerous occasions, that they do not email taxpayers. They may telephone, send you a letter or knock on your door, but they will not send you an email.

However, if someone does turn up at your door, purporting to be from HMRC, how do you know the person is who they say they are? To deal with this HMRC have issued instructions: how to check a caller’s ID.

‘To provide a safeguard against bogus callers in these situations, HMRC has introduced a new Field Force Verification Helpline.
To access the helpline, customers [taxpayers] should follow these simple steps:

• Ask to see the Collector’s photo ID
• Make a note of the ID number on the photo ID
• Call 0300 200 3862
• Provide HMRC with the ID number you’ve noted

The operator will then be able to confirm to you whether or not your caller is genuinely an HMRC Collector.

Every customer visited, from now onwards, will be given a copy of a leaflet showing the rights and responsibilities by the Collector on arrival at the customer’s premises. This also includes the Field Force Verification Helpline number.’
 

Businesses should be aware that HMRC polices the National Minimum Wage (NMW) legislation. Not only do they fine employers who breach the regulations, they also enforce the payment of underpaid wages to staff.

HMRC have recently released figured confirming that 26,000 workers were paid less than the minimum wage.

• 708 employers had been fined with charges of up to £5,000, after it reviewed 1,693 complaints in 2012-13, and
• affected workers were given an average of £300 each in back-pay.

Investigated cases included the illegal use of interns, unpaid extra hours and workers being forced to buy company clothes as uniform. The NMW is currently £6.19 an hour for workers aged 21 or over.

From 1 October 2013 the NMW rates are:

• 21 and over: £6.31 per hour
• 18 to 20: £5.03 per hour
• Under 18: £3.72 per hour
• Apprentices under 19 years or in the first year of their apprenticeship: £2.68 per hour.

If you are unsure if your working practices comply with the NMW legislation you should take professional advice.