Legislation - Page 16

Alan Scott-Davies, senior legal claims advisor, Harris Fowler Solicitors, and Legal Lifeboat Services, looks at the little details...

The contract hire industry is broadly united in its view that new consumer rights legislation will not have an impact on salary sacrifice car and employee car ownership (ECO) schemes, although dissenting voices have emerged suggesting that certain types of scheme will need to be reappraised.

HM Revenue and Customs has opened a consultation on employee benefits in kind.

Four out of five British motorists admit to having broken the law while driving in the past year, a survey suggests.

Tens of thousands of tax workers will hold rolling strikes across the UK in a dispute over job cuts, which could have an impact on queries with HMRC.

Fraudulent ‘slam-ons’ – road traffic accidents deliberately caused in order to claim for whiplash compensation – increased by 51% in 2013, according to claims fraud data from Aviva.

An academic is arguing that higher prison sentences could fail to act as a deterrent against ‘death-by-driving’ offences, and that it is the punishment for underlying offences that should instead be revised.

Anti-fraud firm, APU, has welcomed the Government’s announcement of new measures to tackle the increasing number of dishonest motor insurance claims, but says it could have gone further.

The Government will need to significantly increase investment in the road network if traffic forecasts prove to be correct, MPs have warned.

Alastair Kendrick, of MHA MacIntyre Hudson, puts forward the case for BIK reform.

Company car drivers and their employers face a potential tax bombshell if a new vehicle emissions test is introduced from 2017.

Chancellor George Osborne has been accused of discouraging the take-up of ultra-low emission vehicles (ULEVs) following changes to company car tax rates announced in the Budget.

More than half the UK’s vehicle fleet operators believe the Budget will be good for their business, a poll has shown.

The Government’s plan to create a new drug drive limit has moved a step closer following the results of two public consultations.

Fleet managers must return to the drawing board in compiling company car choice lists if benefit-in-kind tax increases over the next five years are to be kept to an absolute minimum for employees.

Alan Scott-Davies, of Legal Lifeboat, looks at any legal precedent set in previous sleep apnoea cases.

The 2014 Budget held mixed news for fleets, says Martin Brown, managing director at Fleet Alliance, which manages around 14,000 vehicles on behalf of corporate clients.

Fleet Logistics International has said the Budget represented mixed news for fleet operators and lamented the newly announced 2% tax increase for company cars in 2017/18 and 2018/19.

The Chancellor has missed a major opportunity to support ultra-low emission vehicles in his 2014 Budget, according to the BVRLA.

The 2014 Finance Bill saw revisions to the Company Car Tax bands and VED rates increased in line with RPI.

Brake and bereaved families are calling for tougher charges and penalties for drivers who kill and injure, to provide justice for victim families and deter risky driving.

Alphabet is calling for the Government to provide further certainty on electric vehicle (EV) subsidies in the Budget tomorrow (Wednesday, March 19).

Alastair Kendrick, from MHA Macintyre Hudson, looks at the tax implications of car sharing.

The two main fleet trade bodies are calling for clarification in the Budget on long-term company car tax rates and measures to make plug-in vehicles more attractive to fleets.

Employees could have to pay National Insurance on company car and private fuel benefits if proposals from the Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) are adopted by the Government.

A series of tax changes that would have a major impact on the fleet industry are being considered by the Government.

The OFT has opened a public consultation on its provisional decision to accept formal commitments offered by Epyx that aim to address its competition concerns.

Alan Scott-Davies, law expert from Legal Lifeboat Services, looks at the risk management process from a legal viewpoint.

A cleaning company boss has been fined £183,000 after an employee was killed while working on machinery in the company’s depot.

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has left petrol and diesel Advisory Fuel Rates (AFRs) at the same level, while increasing one out of the three LPG bands.

Improved charging infrastructure is the number one factor that would persuade more fleets to add electric vehicles (EVs) to their choice lists, trumping financial incentives such as the Government plug-in car grant scheme, according to recent research.

The government should use the Budget to encourage business take-up of ultra-low emission vehicles (ULEVs).

An employer’s efforts to claw back costs incurred through damage to a company vehicle by an employee have been ruled unlawful.

Proposals from the Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) could potentially eliminate more than 90% of P11Ds.

Ignorance of dangerous driving legislation and a lack of driver education could see fleets fall foul of the law, new research suggests.

Councils are making millions of pounds from company car and van drivers caught straying into bus lanes.

A new range of Audi ‘Ultra' models will be spearheaded in the UK by the new A6 Ultra, which will offer emissions of 114g/km and a benefit-in-kind tax bracket of 17%.

A string of measures have been called for by ACFO, the fleet operator association, in the 2014 Budget.

Businesses have been warned to be vigilant in implementing creative and aggressive car and van schemes that might impact on the amount of tax HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) believes should be paid.

Accountancy firm MHA MacIntyre Hudson has questioned whether efforts to claim back overpaid National Insurance Contributions (NICs) will succeed.