Latest statistics released by the Centre for Economics and Business Research have shown that unemployment rates will soar to 10 percent in the North of England and 11 percent in Wales in the next five years.

In a recent tribunal between Patmore and HM Revenue & Customs, judge Barbara Mosedale ruled in favour of David Patmore, stating that dividend income paid to his wife did not qualify under Section 660a as a settlement.

Danny Alexander, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, has issued a warning that overall taxation will not be cut within the next five years.

A report has recently been published by Synovate and KPMG in conjunction with the Retail Think Tank expressing the opinion that the UK retail sector will not be affected unduly by the VAT rise in January 2011.

Advice has been offered to school leavers by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC).

Research carried out by PeoplePerHour.com has shown that Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) are more likely to employ IT freelancers rather than employ a permanent member of staff.

The government has confirmed that the Jobsearch scheme will be extended. The scheme has been a valuable source of help for many executive job seekers over the past 15 months. The scheme has been given the go ahead to operate till March 2011.

Research carried out by financial services company MGM Advantage has shown that 95 percent of people approaching retirement age, including umbrella company contractors, are not ready for the financial changes they will face.

HM Revenue & Customs introduced a new system in 2009 to deal with the PAYE aspect of taxes. The system was supposed to simplify procedures and increase accuracy for taxpayers and HMRC. However, news has recently revealed that the system has produced an extra 15.7 percent of tax underpaid and a further 148 percent of tax overpaid.

Classifying the status of your workplace is essential for contractors who are claiming travel and subsistence expenses. You can only claim expenses for travel to and from a temporary place of work, which is defined by HM Revenue & Customs. There are many conditions to satisfy and contractors have to be aware of these before claiming for travel costs. If HMRC deems that your place of work is permanent, you may have to pay tax and national insurance on the amounts claimed.