Updates for Businesses: 13th September 2021

Proposed NIC and Dividend Tax Rates

It is proposed that there will be a 1.25% rise in National Insurance Contributions (NICs) from April 2022 paid by both employers and workers and will then become a separate tax on earned income from 2023 - calculated in the same way as NIC and appearing on an employee's payslip.

Note that the 1.25% increase applies to the Class 4 contributions paid by the self-employed on their profits as well as the Class 1 contributions paid by employees increasing the rates to 10.25% and 13.25%. The employers Class 1 rate will increase from 12.8% to 14.05% however many small businesses are able to set off a £4,000 employment allowance against their employers NIC liability.

Many workers operating through personal service companies to whom the new “off-payroll” working rules apply will also be caught by the proposed measures.

The 1.25% additional levy doesn’t just apply to national insurance contributions, it is proposed that the income from share dividends, earned by those who own shares in companies, will also see a 1.25% tax increase. This would mean that after the £2,000 tax free dividend allowance the rate of tax would be 8.75% for basic rate taxpayers, 33.75% for higher rate taxpayers and 39.35% for those with income in excess of £150,000 a year.

Details of the proposals are set out in the following document. 

UK Transition Help for Businesses

The Department for International Trade (DIT) have launched a new service for exporters. If you are a UK business and you want to sell goods or services abroad, use this service to ask the DIT export support team a question.

You can ask any question for your business, including on:

• exporting to new markets

• paperwork you need to sell your goods abroad

• rules for a specific country where you want to sell services

Click here to ask the export support team a question.

Check How to Import or Export Goods

There is a new government tool check on how to import or export goods, which provides step by step tailored guidance. Use this service to get information about importing and exporting, including:

• how to register your business for trading

• which licences and certificates you need for your goods

• paying the right tax and duty for your goods

• how to make declarations for your goods to clear the UK border

• which paperwork you need to keep

You will need to know:

• where the goods are coming from or going to

• the commodity code for the goods

Click here to check how to import or export goods.

If you have any questions on the above please don't hesitate to contact us.