Where a company makes a trading loss that cannot be relieved against other profits that year, or the previous year, the unrelieved loss can be carried forward against future profits from the same trade that incurred the losses. This carry forward also applies where the trade is transferred to another company under common control (basically […]
Restriction of Buy to Let interest
In the Summer Budget it was announced that mortgage interest relief for buy to let landlords would start being phased out from 2017/18 onwards and restricted to basic rate only from 2020/21. Now that the Finance Bill has been published the full impact of this change is starting to emerge and for some landlords this […]
Some customers are more equal than others
Businesses will always say that all of their customers are important to them. However, when it comes to making money, your best customers are always going to be the ones who buy the most from you. So how do you identify which customers you should focus on? First segment your customer list, and separate your […]
VAT on mixed supplies
Care needs be taken when invoicing if your business makes supplies, some of which are standard rates and others which are potentially zero rated or exempt for VAT. A recent VAT Tribunal case has reinforced the rule established in the Card Protection Plan case that if the supply comprises a single service from an economic […]
The 80 / 20 Rule
The Pareto principle (also known as the 80–20 rule, the law of the vital few, and the principle of factor sparsity) states that, for many events, roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes. Management consultant Joseph M. Juran suggested the principle and named it after Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto who, while […]
New rules for Dividends from 2016 / 17
In the Summer Budget we outlined the new rules for the taxation of dividends that will apply from 6 April 2016. Further guidance has now been published by HMRC setting out how the new rules will operate and it seems the rules don’t work as many people expected. As previously reported, there will be no 10% […]
Embracing Diversity
Diversity is an economic and legal priority in business. It increases the bottom line, encourages innovation and steers businesses away from legal issues. Business owners, managers and employees at every level need to find ways to embrace and respect diversity in their departments and across the entire business. We all have biases Bias is a […]
Downsize (or Upsize) to save on Inheritance Tax?
From 6 April 2017 an additional Inheritance Tax (IHT) Residence Nil Rate Band (RNRB) starts being phased in to enable individuals to pass on their family home to direct descendants. The additional nil rate band starts at £100,000 and rises to £175,000 for deaths after 6 April 2010. When fully phased in the additional nil […]
Apple iPad Pro
The iPad Pro follows the general design principles of the iPad Air 2, but on a significantly larger scale. Aside from the increase in screen area, there are some key design differences, each corresponding to a functional difference. One is that there are four speakers, as opposed to the twin speakers on the iPad Air […]