- Ukraine: Guidance for Employers
The Government’s Ukraine Extension Scheme opens on 3 May and will allow Ukrainians already in the UK on temporary visas to extend their stay in the country. Ukrainian nationals and their family members, who are granted a visa under the existing “Homes for Ukraine” refugee scheme or the new extension scheme will be given three years’ leave in the UK, as well as full access to work, rent, study, and public funds.
To explain the rules of these scheme, the Home Office, Department for Work and Pensions, Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, and the Refugee Employment Network have organised a webinar for employers on visa routes for Ukrainian nationals, how to carry out right to work/rent checks, and support and guidance for employers and landlords. There will be further information on how employers can help Ukrainian nationals who decide to take up employment whilst in the UK.
The webinar is 11-12am this Friday (29th April) and you can book your place on the following link:
- Online Sales Tax Consultation
HMT is undertaking a consultation on a new Online Sales Tax. Not to be confused with the Digital Services Tax is a tax on revenues from certain digital services, including social media, search engines, and online marketplaces, this proposed tax aims to address the imbalance between business rates paid by online retailers versus the level of business rates paid by “bricks and mortar” retailers and part of attempts to support high street businesses and preservice vibrant town centres.
While the focus of the consultation is looking at how such a tax could and should be applied to businesses that sell goods, the consultation does stray into asking whether such a tax should be applied to businesses that sell services which, if it happened, would have a considerable impact most tourism businesses that conduct sales online.
I’m in the process of putting together a Tourism Alliance response that highlights that the majority of tourism businesses are “bricks and mortar” businesses and, as such, applying this tax to their online sales would therefore amount to double taxation. If you have any point that you would like highlighted in the Tourism Alliance response, can you please let me know by next Wednesday.
The consultation closed on 20th May and the consultation document is available on the following link:
Please note the consultation on an online sales tax. Kurt has rightly raised the possibility this might extend to other commercial online activities and could affect inadvertently online sales to in-person events and hybrid and online meetings. May we urge you please to consider responding to the consultation or letting Kurt know of an impact this might cause (kurt.janson@tourismalliance.com).
May we take the opportunity to also mention the Inside Hospitality Report 2022 which has just been launched. The report explores experiences and barriers faced by Black, Asian and ethnic minorities, with chapters including career progression, racism, Diversity & Inclusion and education. More info and access to report here.