A scheme using Employee Benefit Trusts (EBTs) as a means of remunerating directors and staff has been defeated by HMRC in a recent Supreme Court case. Such schemes had been used by many employers to avoid PAYE and national insurance contributions (NICs) and involved complicated trust structures and “loans” to the employees. The Supreme Court […]
Networking tips for Introverts
Business networking seems easy and tends to come naturally to extroverts. But what if you are an introvert? What do you do if attending a networking event is your worst nightmare? The good news is you can still master the art of networking. Arrive early Arrive early when there are fewer people and it is […]
New Government Childcare Schemes
Working parents can start applying for two new Government childcare schemes launching this year – Tax-Free Childcare which begins immediately and 30 hours free childcare which starts in September. This means that working parents of children, aged under 4 on 31 August 2017, can now apply through the new digital childcare service for Tax-Free Childcare […]
Creating a learning culture in your Firm
Creating a learning culture in your business involves a lot more than finding the right mix of training courses and seminars. It’s about creating a mindset among your team. Leading businesses such as Apple, Google, SAP, American Express have embraced learning cultures and tend to outperform their competitors in their respective market sectors. So how […]
Second finance bill this Autumn
It has also been announced that the second Finance Bill will legislate for all policies that were included in the pre-election Finance Bill but had to be dropped in order to rush through the Finance Act 2017 before the snap general election in June. The Government has re-confirmed that all policies originally announced to start […]
What do future leaders look like?
True leadership skills must be learned and practiced before they become second nature. So what do future leaders look like and how can you help them to develop their skills? Some members of your team will be high performers but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they will be natural leaders. An individual’s past performance is […]
Thinking of Winding up your Company??
Up until 6 April last year, the distribution of cash to shareholders on the winding up of a trading company by a liquidator, was usually taxed as a capital gain, potentially taxed at just 10% with the benefit of entrepreneurs’ relief. However, last year’s Finance Act introduced a targeted anti-avoidance rule that may tax such […]
Making Tax Digital – Delayed!
The Government has responded to pressure from accountants and other interested parties and announced the delay of Making Tax Digital for Business to 2020 at the earliest. Quarterly VAT reporting using the new system will be mandatory from 2019. In a further U-turn, three million small businesses and buy to let landlords below the VAT […]