Draft Finance Bill 2017: Optional remuneration arrangements
The LITRG welcome the opportunity to comment on the draft Finance Bill clause 2 and Schedule 2. The proposals essentially limit the range of benefits that can be included in a salary sacrifice or flexible benefits arrangement to those related to pensions, cessation of employment, childcare, Cycle to Work and ultra-low emission cars. Whatever the merits of restricting salary sacrifice to a few benefits, the result is blatantly unfair to those paid at or near the national minimum wage (NMW) who cannot use salary sacrifice arrangements at all. As such, we recommend that the NMW Regulations be changed.
There are also a number of outstanding questions with regards to the draft legislation, mainly around the commencement and transitional provision clause (paragraph 25, Schedule 2).
The LITRG submission can be found here:
Meredith McCammond