Council tax meaning

Double tax treaties (DTTs) have a dual nature. They function simultaneously as: international agreements between contracting states, and elements of a contracting state’s domestic law For a DTT to take effect, each contracting state must: sign and ratify the treaty, and incorporate the treaty’s provisions into its domestic legislation In some jurisdictions, a DTT is given automatic domestic effect as soon as it is signed and ratified. Elsewhere, including the UK, a further legislative step is required. In the UK, the arrangements set out in a DTT (and any amending protocol) are brought into domestic law as schedules to Orders in Council and are published as statutory instruments (SIs). After the DTT has taken effect in the domestic law of both the UK and its treaty partner, and any additional formalities or procedures required by the DTT (such as exchanging diplomatic notes) have been completed, the DTT will come into force. The treaty will...

This Checklist summarises the Sentencing Council’s guidelines for sentencing corporate offences of fraud under the Fraud Act 2006 (FrA 2006), Theft Act 1968 (TA 1968), Value Added Tax Act 1994 (VATA 1994) and Customs and Excise Management Act 1979 (CEMA 1979) in the Crown Court and magistrates’ court This Checklist outlines the Sentencing Council’s approach to sentencing corporate fraud offences under FrA 2006, TA 1968, VATA 1994 and CEMA 1979 in the Crown Court and magistrates’ court. The Fraud Guidelines for corporate offenders are available here. The Sentencing Council also issues overarching guidance to be considered in all sentencing decisions, including: Totality guideline Overarching principles Overarching guideline on reduction in sentence for a guilty plea For guidance on using guidelines, see Practice Notes: Sentencing criminal offences—sentencing guidelines and resources and Sentences imposed following conviction. The General guideline: overarching principles (the General guideline) is to be applied alongside offence‑specific definitive guidelines. It considers seriousness and gives expanded direction on aggravating and mitigating...

What steps should be taken before instructing an enforcement agent?...

In this issue: Air emissions and climate change Energy for environmental lawyers Environmental disputes and proceedings Environmental permits and consents Environmental taxes, reliefs and incentives ESG and sustainability Hazardous substances and chemicals Marine Nature, biodiversity and habitat conservation Waste Waste producer responsibility regimes Water, flooding and drainage Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Air emissions and climate change DESNZ releases quarterly waste data reporting template for the UK ETS. The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) has issued a template for quarterly waste data submissions under the UK Emissions Trading Scheme (UK ETS). It is designed for waste operators to use when sending quarterly data reports to their regulator during the voluntary monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) period. See: LNB News 19/02/2026 50. AFME responds to European Commission consultation on climate resilience legislative framework. The Association for Financial Markets in Europe (AFME) has provided...

In this issue: Investigating criminal conduct Criminal procedure and evidence Sentencing Bribery, corruption, sanctions and export controls Consumer protection and cartels Environmental offences Financial services and pensions offences Fraud, forgery, tax and theft offences Health and safety and corporate manslaughter offences Local authority prosecutions Money laundering International Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Useful information Investigating criminal conduct Refusal to repurpose evidence in civil proceedings for criminal charging decision (WFZ v British Broadcasting Corp) The High Court has recently clarified the circumstances in which a party will be permitted to rely on witness statements outside the proceedings in which they were first served. In ongoing injunction proceedings aimed at stopping publication of a BBC investigative report into sexual abuse allegations, the court determined that the accused could not use sensitive excerpts from that report in representations to the...

In this issue: King’s Speech 2024 Criminal procedure and evidence Sentencing Bribery, corruption, sanctions and export controls Cybercrime and data protection offences Environmental offences Food safety and hygiene offences Fraud, forgery, tax and theft offences Health and safety and corporate manslaughter offences Local authority prosecutions Corporate Crime in Scotland Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Useful information King’s Speech 2024 King’s Speech 2024—criminal justice and law enforcement His Majesty the King outlined the government’s priorities and intended policies for the forthcoming parliamentary session at the State Opening of Parliament on 17 July 2024. As in November 2023, public safety was central to the address, and the new Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, pledged to clamp down on anti‑social behaviour, reclaim our streets and protect our borders. To achieve this, he set out plans to bolster policing and the criminal justice...

This Practice Note outlines the key rules for taxing income, capital gains, lifetime gifts and estates on death (inheritance tax), together with stamp duty land tax, on the basis of an individual who is UK-resident and domiciled. As tax legislation is frequently amended, this note is not, and must not be, treated as a replacement for specific professional advice where required. Income tax Individuals are charged to income tax on their overall income, with distinct regimes applying to different income streams and to qualifying outgoings that can be set against that income. The main categories of income include: pay from employment, or profits from a trade, profession or vocation (on which national insurance contributions are also due) rents from furnished or unfurnished property or land interest and dividend receipts overseas income (which may already have suffered foreign tax) A personal allowance is deducted from an individual’s total income before calculating the tax, provided their annual income (after deductions for...

Good character requirement Pursuant to section 6(1) of the British Nationality Act 1981 (BNA 1981) and Sch 1, para 1(1)(b), anyone seeking naturalisation as a British citizen is required to be of good character. This good character test equally covers applicants aged ten or above who seek registration as British citizens. That said, the good character rule does not apply to several categories of applications, notably those brought under: the statelessness routes in BNA 1981, Sch 2 BNA 1981, section 4B, for an eligible individual with no nationality other than as a British Overseas citizen, British subject under BNA 1981, British protected person, or British National (Overseas) BNA 1981, section 4C, for an eligible person born between 1961 and 1983 BNA 1981, sections 4G–4I, for an eligible person who could not previously obtain citizenship because their natural father was not married to their mother (save that, for BNA 1981, section 4F applications, the pertinent registration ground is BNA 1981, sections 1(3),...

EU legal principles For EU Member States, Council Directive 2006/112/EC (the VAT Directive) establishes the framework for a common VAT regime, which every Member State must transpose into its own legal order through domestic legislation. That national legislation must not only give proper effect to the VAT Directive, but be enacted and applied in a way that accords with a series of EU legal principles (the EU general principles). This was undoubtedly so in the UK while it remained an EU Member State. What has followed since the UK’s exit from the EU is covered in Practice Notes: Retained EU law and tax, Assimilated law and Assimilated law and tax. A summary of the key points appears at the end of this Practice Note; suffice it to say for now that EU general principles have not—contrary to some expectations or hopes—been consigned to the dustbin of UK fiscal history. This Practice Note concerns EU legal principles that commonly arose in a VAT context. It also addresses the duty on...

Basic Principles/Instructions for claiming 1 Statutory power for compiling an elected members’ allowance scheme The council, acting under powers granted by the Local Authorities (Members’ Allowances) (England) Regulations 2003, SI 1021/2003, hereby makes this scheme. It shall be known as the [ council name ] Members’ Allowances Scheme and takes effect from [ date ], remaining in force until amended or superseded by the adoption of a new scheme...

In England and Wales, the courts possess jurisdiction over divorce and judicial separation proceedings pursuant to Council Regulation EC 2201/2003 (often referred to as Brussels II bis)...