Perks under fire

A while back, our old friends at HMRC were cracking down on the self-employed. This time it’s the turn of those on the corporate payroll. Not content with taxing the company car towards the brink of extinction, the government is now considering proposals to tax workers’ parking spaces as a ‘benefit in kind’ (the chair you are currently sitting on will very likely follow before to long), as well as taxing employers for having the effrontery to provide car parking facilities. Of course parking a car in many of our major cities has long been a major challenge, resulting in many employers paying for taxis home when their staff have to work late. Now new guidelines from the Revenue and Customs have shifted this particular perk into the ‘benefit in kind’ box, so expect your tax bill to rise unless you can prove real necessity – and heavy bags, the horrors of much late night public transport or simply being worn out will not count.