01 August 2014 
Amanda Darley, Head of Operations and Engagement
On 31 July the Office of Tax Simplification (‘OTS’) issued its final report on employee expenses and benefits, specifically covering the issues of accommodation benefits and termination payments, but also mentioning some other expenses/benefits issues. As part of the OTS review, BUFDG met with OTS to discuss the issue of accommodation benefits and how this affects the sector, as well as feeding in to some of the general benefits such as removal expenses (many thanks to Steve Carter and Kerry Sykes for their assistance with this).
The report is 87 pages long, so a 4-page summary of the main points and recommendations is available on the BUFDG website.
The report makes several long term and short term recommendations in relation to accommodation benefits, in particular:
In relation to termination payments, the OTS admits that whilst recognising that this is an area of great confusion and uncertainty “the work we have done has not pointed the way to an obvious single answer as to how the system should be changed. Consequently, although we have a preference for one particular route, the proposals that we have put forward in this chapter are of a more exploratory nature than in some of our reports.”
The report favours a new income tax relief available in circumstances where the employee qualifies for a statutory redundancy payment, instead of the current £30,000 exemption, whilst also discussing other possible solutions. It also makes some short term recommendations.
