From 6 April 2000 a new scheme is introduced to pay the national insurance on awards given to employees. This new scheme applies only if: the award is not in cash, such as goods or vouchers; the award is provided by a third party; and the third party gives the award because of the employment....Read More

Criticism of the way tax law is made has been voiced by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales in 2000. It notes that: the 101 hours of parliamentary time devoted to debating Finance Act 1999 led to just seven non-government amendments; the 1999 Act was more than three times the size of...Read More

Various measures have been announced to simplify and promote payroll giving. This has had a very low take-up in the UK despite being one of the main sources of charitable giving in the US. Only 1% of employers even offer the scheme, although 21% of employees said they would use it if available. The new...Read More

Income tax and national insurance deducted from workers’ pay while an administration order was in effect has the same statutory priority as tax when the administration order is made. Administration is a form of insolvency arrangement under which the administrator can keep a business alive in the hope of selling all or some of it....Read More

The government has announced plans to consider granting zero business rates to farms which are used for pony-trekking, riding lessons and livery stables. This is part of a £200 million package of support to help farmers. [2000]Read More

The government and seven banks have joined forces to fund a telephone helpline for small businesses that get into financial difficulties. The helpline is being launched in July 2000 and be available through the Small Business Service. The service will provide counselling and self-help advice. [2000]Read More

Two separate initiatives by the Department of Trade and Industry are intended to counter white collar crime. The first is the Management of Information programme under which six projects have been funded to find ways of countering hacking and similar computer-related crime. Other elements to be examined include: preventing malicious seizing up of Internet services;...Read More

Two directors have been disqualified for operating a Phoenix company fraud. International Pricebank Conferences Ltd maintained a respectable front in their business of organising conferences on international finance. Behind this front, the two disqualified individuals acted as shadow directors of various Phoenix companies which incurred all the debts and then were put into liquidation, leaving...Read More

A hire purchase agreement which included an option to buy was not an agreement to buy for the purposes of contract law. A company entered into an agreement to hire machinery to another company. Under the agreement, the hirer paid £2.5 million for the hire over seven years. At the end of this period, the...Read More

An Internet provider agreed to pay libel damages for defamatory material published on the Internet. This is seen as a landmark case showing that the Internet is subject to laws and is not quite the free-for-all that had been feared. Laurence Godfrey, a physicist, was awarded £15,000 libel damages by the High Court for defamatory...Read More