George Osborne is delivering his Budget speech Wednesday of this week. It will be interesting to see if his plea for ideas to help smaller businesses has received a sympathetic ear. Here’s what a number of organisations have requested: British Chambers of Commerce The BCC have made three recommendations: A £100m scheme to pay businesses […]
Reducing tax evasion and avoidance
Just in case you have missed the news – that HMRC are stepping up their campaigns to stop tax avoidance and evasion – you may be interested to read the following quotes from HMRC and the Treasury: “Issue The difference between the revenues that in HM Revenue & Customs’ (HMRC) view should come in, and […]
Protect Your Pension from 55% Tax Charges
HMRC has just issued a reminder that the deadline to protect large pension funds from the decrease in the lifetime allowance is fast approaching. Lifetime allowance. There is a limit to the size of a pension pot that qualifies for tax breaks. If your pension fund exceeds this limit, the lifetime allowance, then there will be […]
Defining Your Brand
Branding is much more than a logo. Whether you sell products or services, your brand is as much about a customer experience as it is about corporate colours. So, now that we are entering 2014, why not take a look at your brand. Can you write down, in a few lines, what your brand is […]
Budget speculation
Speculation is rife that George Osborne is under pressure to pre-empt possible interest rate increases next year by offering tax cuts in the forthcoming Budget announcements on 19 March. Polling day for the 2015 general election is 7 May so an announcement to increase the basic personal allowance (presently £10,000) may be an option as […]
Tax Diary March/April 2014
1 March 2014 – Self Assessment tax for 2012/13 paid after this date will incur a 5% surcharge. 1 March 2014 – Due date for Corporation Tax due for the year ended 31 May 2013. 19 March 2014 – PAYE and NIC deductions due for month ended 5 March 2014. (If you pay your tax […]
Entrepreneurs’ Relief
Having spent many years building a business, entrepreneurs can still look forward to a maximum tax hit of just 10% when they sell their business, as long as they have organised their business affairs so that they qualify for the CGT Entrepreneurs’ Relief. Basically, you will need to demonstrate that you meet certain criteria for […]
Compensation for flood victims
The following announcements were posted to the GOV.UK website last month. They provide details of some of the compensation being offered to businesses affected by last month’s flooding across the UK: Cash compensation Measures include: A £5,000 repair and renewal grant for all affected householders and businesses. The aim is to top up money received […]
Expected tax changes in the Budget 2014
The government has already published certain draft clauses for the Finance Bill 2014. We have listed below some of the more topical changes disclosed. Changes for the tax year 2014-15: Personal Tax: Individuals born after 5 April 1948 will be entitled to a personal tax allowance of £10,000. Employees will be able to increase the […]