Academies: accounting for VAT, for guidance

This document provides information for Academies and Free Schools on the new VAT scheme, and the implications the scheme has for accounting and reporting procedures. Further guidance will be available from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) in the coming weeks

Customs and Excise regional trade statistics : a note

United Kingdom Regional Trade In Goods Statistics, pro- duced by HM Customs and Excise, (Customs and Excise: Quarterly) provide up-to-date quarterly information on exports and imports and were introduced in 1999 “to support the economic decision-making of the devolved Scottish Parliament, Assemblies, and regional bodies within the UK.” Probing and analysis of the data which we undertook indicated a number of problems with the data, not least the wrongful inclusion in the Scottish data of a “catch all” UK category which for some industrial sectors represented almost 70% of the published Scottish data. The data, produced in the scope of National Statistics and “to high professional standards set out in the National Statistics Code of Practice”2 were therefore unusable for the stated purpose. In July 2003, a new methodology was introduced by Customs and Excise with the purpose of clearing up earlier data problems. This article considers whether the data are now fit for purpose, and concludes that many problems still exist

Can more revenue be raised by increasing income tax rates for the very rich?

This Briefing Note discusses how much scope there is to raise revenue from the very rich by increasing income tax rates and assesses in detail the amount of revenue that is likely to be raised by the government's proposed reforms. It extends analysis presented in the 2009 IFS Green Budget and updates some calculations in a submission to the Mirrlees Review. It also discusses information recently released by HM Treasury and HM Revenue & Customs concerning their methodology for calculating how much revenue these reforms will raise. The Briefing Note shows that there is considerable uncertainty over the revenue that could be raised from the very rich by increasing income tax rates, both because we cannot be certain about the distribution of incomes above £100,000 and because we cannot be certain how those affected will respond to the tax increase. It goes on to discuss under what conditions the measures in PBR 2008 could yield as much revenue as the Treasury is forecasting

The Low Pay Commission After Eight Years

The Low Pay Commission is the institution created in 1997 to introduce Britain’s first National Minimum Wage. The paper places the Commission in historical perspective and provides a summary assessment of the initial impact of the Minimum Wage. It describes and analyses the development of the Commission and its concerns, conduct and advice. Central to its performance has been its independent, ‘social partnership’ constitution. The conclusion emphasises the centrality of the Commission’s use of widespread consultation and academic research, and the unique asset of firm enforcement of the National Minimum Wage by HM Revenue and Customs

The long term effect of vocational qualifications on labour market outcomes

"London Economics were commissioned by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills to undertake an assessment of the long-term effect of vocational education and training on labour market outcomes. We combined learner attainment information from the Individual Learner Record (ILR) between 2002/03 and 2005/06, annual earnings information (between 2003/04 and 2009/10) and employment information (between 1999/00 and 2009/10) from HM Revenue and Customs, and benefit receipt and duration information (between 1999/00 and 2009/10) from the Department for Work and Pensions. The number of individuals contained in the ILR totalled almost 6.9 million learners that could be subsequently matched to the HMRC and DWP data sources (presented in Figure 1). For the analysis we retained both achievers and individuals who enrolled in the course but failed to achieve the qualification aim." - page 8

Food, Brexit and Northern Ireland: Critical Issues

This report is the third in our Food Brexit Briefing series. It argues that the absence of serious consideration of food flows into, out of and through Northern Ireland is a significant policy omission in the ongoing Brexit negotiations. There has been much talk of the importance of Northern Ireland, but next to no detailed attention to the food implications of Brexit for Northern Ireland. The report makes the case that there is an urgent need to get down to detail over border arrangements, contingency planning and resource allocation. This is too important to leave to last-minute makeshift or muddle. Food is central to the economy of Northern Ireland, and the continuing supply of safe, high quality, healthy food is currently dependent on the absence of border controls between Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, Great Britain and the rest of the European Union. Hundreds of thousands of tonnes of food criss-cross these borders every year. They are currently free from inspection because of shared, underpinning EU Single Market regulation. An unplanned or mishandled food border imposition is likely to have powerful, destabilising consequences for the integrated nature of food supply, trade and access within Northern Ireland for many years to come. It would raise important challenges for food safety, put jobs at risk, potentially constrain Northern Ireland’s access to health-supporting foods such as fruit and vegetables, and create opportunities for food fraud and crime. The report, by Gary McFarlane and Tony Lewis, both senior environmental health professionals and officers of the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health, and Professor Tim Lang, of the Centre for Food Policy at City, University of London, is based on a thorough review of food flows into, from and through Northern Ireland, and the practical experience of its authors. The report dismisses talk of ‘technological fixes’ to help maintain the smooth flow of goods as vague, unavailable now and unrealistic. It calls for all the governments and bodies involved in food and Brexit – the European Union, United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland itself – to set political differences aside in order to resolve the considerable practical challenges of cross-border food traffic. The authors make more than 30 recommendations to help that process