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Are you facing a skills shortage?
Small businesses are experiencing skills shortages in both their workforce and their recruitment processes, causing concerns for future productivity. The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) surveyed 1,203 small business owners and found that 46% lack a fully proficient workforce. Additionally, almost a third (30%) of business owners who have recruited in the last 12 months…
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Limited company to Sole trader status – act now.
Disincorporation relief will not be extended beyond its 31 March 2018 expiry date. The relief was introduced in April 2013 in a bid to remove the tax burdens when small business owners want to change from a limited company to a sole trader or partnership. It allows companies to transfer certain assets, such as land,…
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Limited companies – what you need to know
Audits may be a thing of the past, but certain annual reports still apply. If you’re a business owner, you may be familiar with the process of submitting your accounts for official inspection by an independent body. This is known as an audit. You may also breathe a sigh of relief as most small businesses…
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Autumn Budget mentions
A range of measures designed to boost business and productivity were announced in Autumn Budget 2017. Amid a background of discontent surrounding business rates, chancellor Philip Hammond revealed future increases will be determined by the Consumer Prices Index measure of inflation from April 2018. The measure comes into effect two years earlier than originally planned…
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R&D Tax credit claims hits new high
Research and development (R&D) tax credit claims by small businesses climbed to £1.345 billion in 2015/16, according to HMRC. The revenue recently released R&D data for the previous financial year that shows claims increased from £1 billion in 2014/15 to hit another record high last year. The total number of claims for R&D credits in…
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Class 2 NI – update
Chancellor Philip Hammond has delayed the decision to abolish class 2 national insurance contributions (NICs) by 12 months. The policy, which was first announced by Hammond’s predecessor George Osborne in 2016, would have seen class 2 NICs incorporated in reformed class 4 NICs from April 2018. Self-employed workers earning less than £6,025 in 2017/18 can…
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VAT threshhold frozen to 2020
Small businesses breathed a collective sigh of relief when chancellor Philip Hammond resisted calls to lower the VAT registration threshold in Autumn Budget 2017. The Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) made eight core recommendations for the government to clarify the VAT system ahead of the chancellor’s speech on 22 November 2017. It called the current…
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How is your business performing? – measures to use.
What are the best ways to assess your firm’s performance? Changing market conditions make it more important than ever to measure your business’ performance on a regular basis. The impact caused by recent events, such as the vote to leave the EU in June 2016 and the snap general election, have added to the uncertainty…
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Reducing corporation tax on patent income
Reducing corporation tax due on patent income. The patent box regime applies a reduced rate of corporation tax to profits attributable to qualifying patents and similar intellectual property (IP). Unincorporated businesses can’t qualify for the patent box. The patent box tax rate has gradually been reduced to 10% since the introduction of the regime in…
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Apprenticeship levy – offsetting the cost
Almost a quarter (23%) of businesses paying the apprenticeship levy has no understanding of how it works – six months after its introduction. 56% of more than 1,400 firms surveyed by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) did not expect to recover their payment, despite receiving an annual allowance to offset against the bill. As…
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Investment and Brexit
Businesses are in no rush to make investments amid the ongoing uncertainty of Brexit, according to the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW). More than one in four businesses are delaying investment decisions as the government continues negotiations with the EU. As a result of their collective cautiousness, 61% of those firms…
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Late payments and cash flow
Two-thirds (66%) of small businesses are feeling the effects of clients who fail to pay their bills on time, research shows. Banking group Close Brothers polled 900 small business owners and found the problem was particularly serious for 87% of SMEs in Northern Ireland, 73% in London and 72% in the South West. Late payments…
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National living wage – the under 25’s
Workers under the age of 25 are missing out on more than £6,000 a year because they are not entitled to the national living wage (NLW). Charity group Young Women’s Trust polled 4,010 people aged between 18 and 30, finding the average young worker is paid £3.45 an hour less for doing the same work…
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Best Advanced Taxation exam mark in the world
We are delighted to announce that one of our up and coming accountants James Cox has achieved the best ACCA exam mark in the world, yes that’s right worldwide. With a mark of 93 in his September 2017 Advanced Taxation exam he continues his progress with outstanding success. As your accountants we are constantly working to give you the…
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Pensions – Managing automatic re-enrolment
Once you’ve been running auto-enrolment for three years you’ll need to re-enrol workers. Over the last five years there has been a seismic shift in attitudes towards retirement saving. Auto-enrolment means workplace pensions are now regarded by many employees as a normal part of working life. Although detractors argue that minimum contributions lull people into…
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VAT and three-party transactions – the minefield explained
A guide to the VAT implications of having three entities involved in a transaction. VAT can get very complicated when there are three parties involved in a transaction. This may happen in an agency situation where one party is arranging for the supply of goods or services in return for a commission, but it can…
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Finance Bill 2017-19 round up – what you need to know
The government has published Finance Bill 2017-19, containing a number of changes that will affect both savers and investors. Many of the measures in the Bill were expected in April 2017 but were withdrawn due to the snap general election, which took place on 8 June 2017. Most of them have now been reinstated with…
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Sole traders and cash issues
Nearly half (41%) of self-employed people struggle to save any money each month, leaving them exposed to financial problems. Insurer LV= surveyed 9,495 self-employed workers and found one in three could not survive for more than three months if they lost their income. Nearly two thirds (62%) of respondents said monthly bills eat up the…
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Buy-to-let tax regulations and rent increases
Landlords are increasing rent prices due to the recent introduction of buy-to-let tax regulations, according to a study. Estate agent Your Move analysed rental prices on around 20,000 properties and found the average rent in England and Wales rose by 3.1% in the past year to £874. The rise in rental prices can be attributed…
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Paper tax return deadline 31st October
The deadline to submit your self-assessment paper tax return for the 2016/17 tax year is 31 October 2017. All income received during the tax year running from 6 April to 5 April must be accounted for in your tax return. To report your income, claim tax reliefs or any outstanding repayments, you need to complete…
