With 1st Contact’s determination to evaluate the affects of this current recession on the average person in the street and smaller and local companies, we definitely thought that an article along these lines was well over due!
Most recent reports state that the unemployment rate in the UK is rising and that changes might be imminent for personal tax benefits for most wage earners or households. The unemployment rate, in Wales for example, is the highest in the UK at 100,000 people, or 1 in every 14 people is out of work. The official rates are 7% for Wales, whereas it is 6.4% for England, Northern Ireland at 6.4% and Scotland is 5% according to the Office for National Statistics. The Bank of England chief officer Mervyn King has been warning that the UK is in a deep recession, among others in the global community.
With UK unemployment figures at a ten year high just shy of two million, something has to be done for the single personal tax payer. Households do not have the means to keep going at this rate and families will face bankruptcy or breakdown. A rescue plan has to be formed, just as it has been done for the corporations and banks, to keep the moral fabric of the UK in good standing. The UK is not alone in this struggle. It is not the failure workers. It is not the fault of the small business owners who struggle to keep their doors open.
In Wales, 65,000 people filed for Jobseekers’ Allowance which is 6.5% and quite a jump from last year’s rate. There are fewer job advertisements but on average 35 people seeking hiring for each one. So what can be done for Wales and the rest of the UK? It has been reported that a Conservative government might abolish income tax on savings for basic rate taxpayers and also raise the pensioners; personal allowance by £2000 to £11,490. Also, the party would give credit a shove and save some further jobs by a £50 billion National Loan Guarantee Scheme. This would help the small businesses with cash flow by delaying their VAT bills for up to six months. Incentives would be offered for new jobs and the Tories would also cut out National Insurance which would put more money in the pockets of the bread winners.
In the wake of massive job losses and an unforeseen number of white collar unemployed, new job career placement centres are being set up to assist with this folly. The Unemployment offices are not equipped to handle the banking or corporate unemployed as they come forth and they are trying to set up re-training courses, reports the Department for Work and Pensions. Never before have these numbers been seen. If re-training can be provided in a 12 week course via a college or university then these professionals could refresh their skills. Besides the personal tax breaks, perhaps the retraining will broker some change in the economy.
As an organisation, 1st Contact is totally committed to providing smaller and local companies with an essential life-line to survive this current recession. Please do not put off seeking guidance and support until a time when it will be too late. Contact us today and find out how we will be able to keep your company’s head above the water during these particularly difficult and unforgiving times.
1st Contact Tax offers specialist tax services to contracting professionals these services include: Contractor Accounting, Contractor Umbrella payroll, Personal Tax for Contractors, Limited Companies for Contractors and Contractor Financial Advice.