Tax Officers Will Have a Strike on Monday
About 20,000 tax advisers will conduct walkouts and strikes on Monday due to alleged privatization. Workers in call centers and inquiry offices for tax returns will also conduct a similar strike on January 31, in line with the last day of online self-assessment returns. According to the Public and Commercial Services Union, the strikes are done in opposition to the decision of the UK government in getting two private firms in conducting trail runs of handling calls and inquiries regarding tax returns. The two firms who were enlisted in the test run were Sitel and Teleperformance. However, the HMRC issued a statement saying that the information regarding outsourcing tax returns inquiry jobs is not true. According to a spokesperson from the Revenue, “The project is not about outsourcing or replacing HMRC jobs. It is ultimately about finding ways to improve the service we provide to our customers.”
Interest Rate in the UK Remains at 0.5%
Interest rates in the United Kingdom are still at it the record low 0.5 percent according to the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee. The 0.5 percent interest rate has been kept since March 2009. There was no announcement of any increase in the interest rate anytime soon even when the Bank has plans of having quantitative easing. Last October 2011, the Bank said that it will inject an additional £75 billion into the country’s economy. According to the Office for National Statistics, there was a sharp increase in the output from the industrial and manufacturing sector in November 2011. There was also no change in the interest rates inthe eurozone as it remains at 1 percent, according to the European Central Bank. The country’s economic growth was characterized as stagnant during the last quarter of 2011, according to the figures that have been released by the National Institute of Economic and Social Research. Growth was only at 0.1 percent, barely enough to be away from any hint of recession at the moment.
New Retirees in the UK to Have Lower Pensions this 2012
Senior citizens in the UK who are going to retire soon should not expect to receive high pensions compared to those who have retired in the last four years. According to a survey done by Prudential Insurance Company involving 1,003 participants who are set to retire this 2012 showed that the predicted annual retirement income has decreased by £3,100 since year 2008 to £15,500. This amount includes income that is generated from the state, company and other private pensions. About 20 percent of the retirees in the UK have only below £10,000 to use for all expenses during the year. Those who reside in London have the highest pension incomes of them all. According to Vince Smith-Hughes from Prudential, “The impact of the credit crunch, banking crisis, recession, and concerns over the eurozone, has been reflected in the fact that expected retirement income levels have hit a five-year-low.”
New Rules for Credit Union Now Enforced
New rules have been created and are now enforced in order to free up credit unions and enable them to function more effectively along with big financial institutions. The changes are made under the Legislative Reform Order (LRO). Financial cooperatives are now going to pay interest on the savings for the very first time and go above and beyond the conventional market. Credit unions are characterized as non profit organizations that are under the management of their members. The changes that have been outlined will help them to give the proper services to the community groups, businesses of every size and other social enterprises. Before the implementation of the new rules for credit unions, their coverage is only limited to a common bond that members of the credit unions share. These are usually found in the same area, same business industry or employer, or the same association. With the changes, credit unions can now get new members from other groups, and even go beyond their usual geographical coverage.
