The Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010 (Act) was signed into law on 19 July 2011. The purpose of the legislation is extend to registered civil partners the same tax treatment as is currently provided to married couples under the Tax Acts. It was anticipated that the Act would extend a similar tax treatment to cohabitants however the rights of cohabitants with regard to tax legislation have not being significantly increased in this Act.
Most people look forward to the annual pay-and-file deadline with as much relish as root canal treatment; the Sunday Business Post devotes its personal finance section this weekend to mitigating the pain.
A Sunday Times reader asks personal finance expert Jill Kerby if he is liable for tax on dividends earned from shares in the UK, which have already been taxed there.
Ms Kerby advises that tax is liable here, as the share dividend is treated as income. Any UK tax already paid is not refundable.
“Because the UK tax is non-refundable, top-rate taxpayers need to pick and choose shares carefully, concentrating on those likely to generate capital gains rather than income,” Kerby advises.
Anyone planning to change their working arrangements after the birth of a child should recognise the likely tax implications, according to a report in The Sunday Business Post.
As many as 8,500 public servants will retire in the coming months to avail of current benefits that are due to expire in February and over fears lucrative lump sums will be taxed in future, according to The Sunday Business Post.
