Summertime Begins 2011

Summer time will start on Sunday 27 March at 1.00am GMT throughout European Union Member States. The Clocks go forward an hour. This means that at 1.00am (GMT) the UK will move to 2.00am British Summer Time (BST).

The 9th EC Directive on summer time harmonised, for an indefinite period, the dates on which summer time begins and ends across member states as the last Sundays in March and October respectively. Under the Directive, summer time begins and ends at 1.00am GMT in each Member State. Amendments to the Summer Time Act to implement the Directive came into force on 11 March 2002.

Time zones are the responsibility of individual Member States and vary across the EU. The UK is not planning to move to Central European Time.

Plumbing Profession Told to Tighten up Tax Affairs

Plumbers, gas fitters and heating engineers are being targeted by the tax authorities in a clampdown on tradespeople failing to declare their earnings and pay tax.

Under the tax plan, plumbers, gas fitters, heating engineers and members of associated trades who have tax to pay which they have not yet told HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) about can come forward by 31 May to tell the department of their intention to disclose what they owe. If they make a full disclosure, most face a low penalty rate of 10 per cent, with a maximum of 20 per cent. They have until August 31 to make their disclosure and arrange for payment to be made.

After that date, using information pulled together from various sources, HMRC will carry out targeted investigations aimed at those who have failed to come forward and make a full declaration. Substantial penalties or even criminal prosecution could follow.

The plumbers’ tax safe plan (PTSP) is the first initiative in a campaign focused on tradespeople. It is designed to make it easy for those in the plumbing industry to put their tax affairs right - and keep them that way.

Mike Wells, HMRC’s Director of Risk and Intelligence, said:

“Our aim is to make it as easy as possible for plumbers to come forward, make a full disclosure and benefit from a reduced penalty.

“We will be using various intelligence sources to target plumbers who have not declared their full income. I strongly urge any in this group who think they may owe tax on their income to get in touch with HMRC and get their tax affairs in order simply and on the best available terms.

“This is the first step in enabling those with undisclosed income or gains to avoid a full tax investigation with much higher penalties. The message is clear: contact us before we contact you.”

The tax plan operates in two stages:

* From 1 March to 31 May, plumbers can register with HMRC to “notify” that they plan to make a voluntary tax disclosure.
* By 31 August, those who have registered must have told HMRC about tax due and have made arrangements to pay any tax interest and penalties due. This is called “making a disclosure”.

How do plumbers let HMRC know that they intend to make a tax disclosure?

* Online by completing a notification form at www.hmrc.gov.uk/plumberstaxsafeplan
* Ring HMRC on 0845 600 4507

A dedicated team will be on hand to help.

The benefit of the Plumbers Tax Safe Plan is that those who make a full disclosure:
* Will be offered a simple and straightforward way to put their tax affairs right; and
* Will be charged a low penalty rate – (10 per cent for most who sign up, with a maximum rate of 20 per cent).