April is the cruellest month, wrote the poet TS Eliot. Well, personally, I prefer it to November and February but certainly as far as new legislation is concerned, April is a fertile time, which usually means more grief for independent businesses.
Next month the government will introduce stakeholder pensions which are designed to encourage moderate earners (making between £9,500 and £21,600 pa) to save for their retirement. Initially, It will not be compulsory for either employers or employees to contribute to a stakeholder pension but by October it will be compulsory for employers with more than five employees to provide access to a pension scheme, unless they already provide suitable arrangements for all their employees.
And April offers another deadline: duty paid marks will be introduced on all packets of cigarettes and hand-rolling tobacco. Retailers have until July to remove all packs of unmarked tobacco from their shelves. After that date anyone found possessing or selling cigarettes without the marking could be fined £5,000.
Finally, the Climate Change Levy will apply to commercial and industrial energy users from April 1. This includes fuel for lighting, heating and power for appliances by commercial premises among others. A charge of 0.15p/kWh for coal and gas and 0.43p/kWh for electricity will be applied to bills.
It is estimated that this will raise about £1bn in the first year. Compensation for this will be provided through a 0.3% cut in employer national insurance contributions (this won't totally compensate for retailers who have part-time employees who do not work enough hours to be liable for NI contributions).
There will be a scheme in place to provide 100% capital allowances for firms investing in energy efficient equipment. For more information contact the Climate Change Levy helpdesk (HM Customs & Excise) 0161 827 0332.
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