HMRC HELP FOR THEIR CUSTOMERS The amount of information supplied nowadays by HMRC for taxpayers (or customers as they like to call us, even though we have no choice but to pay tax and to pay it to a monopoly!) is increasing all the time. You might assume that we take a cynical view of [...]

HOW THE NON-TAXABLE CHILD BENEFIT IS TO TURN INTO TAXABLE INCOME! As a complex way of restricting the child benefit to those with income up to £50,000 per year, from 7 January 2013 the benefit will be taxed. And we thought the idea was to simplify the workings of the benefits and tax systems! There [...]

GETTING ROUND THE NEW RESTRICTIONS TO 100% TAX RELIEF ON BUYING EQUIPMENT As we mentioned in the February edition of Tax E-News, the £100,000 annual investment allowance reduces dramatically to £25,000 from 1 April 2012. If that is a problem, and your company needs to spend, say, £40,000 in the year on equipment, one solution [...]

THE CGT EXEMPTION USING THE NEW SEED ENTERPRISE INVESTMENT SCHEME (SEIS) I have mentioned this new tax-based scheme before, and more details are now emerging before the scheme starts on 6 April 2012. One novel feature is that the capital gains tax (CGT) payable on the disposal of ANY chargeable asset in the tax year [...]

THE AUTUMN STATEMENT George Osborne stood up in the House of Commons recently to update MPs on the government’s plans based on the latest forecasts for the UK economy from the Office for Budget Responsibility. The Office for Budget Responsibility report – published twice a year – is its assessment of the UK economy’s likely [...]

WATCH OUT FOR BIG INCREASE IN COMPANY CAR TAX FOR SOME There is a sharp increase in the taxable car benefit on many company cars with effect from 6 April 2012. This is by reference to a new emissions scale which creates an income tax charge (and Class 1A national insurance liability) for the private [...]

HOW HMRC CAN MAKE A DISCOVERY The tax authorities are entitled to look at and ask questions on any tax return within an enquiry window which normally ends 12 months after the tax return was filed with them. But they can also do this outside that window, by making what is termed a discovery, if [...]

There are many things to consider when making the decision to start up a family company, but one of the deciding factors is usually the financial benefits. In family companies, directors and shareholders are usually the same people, and as such they can benefit from the company in various ways, for example the payment of [...]

Unusually, for this edition of Tax E-News we are mainly concentrating on attractive tax saving opportunities which are planned for the future rather than having an immediate impact. We are doing this because these opportunities do need to be looked at now in view of the high level of tax breaks associated with them. Before [...]

VAT DEFAULTERS If you know of any trader who should be VAT registered but is not for some reason, please do both them and us a favour by suggesting they meet us for an informal chat. That is not meant to sound ominous – the point is that HMRC have just launched a campaign to [...]

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF HMRC? Probably unwise to ask you that, but do you recognise the following thoughts? HMRC sees the small business area as a source of tax leakage and as a result of its robust approach it is feared by many small businesses Small businesses and their advisers spend too much time [...]

COLLECTING TAX DEBTS THROUGH PAYE Over recent years, HMRC has concentrated its debt collection resources, out of necessity, on high-value debts. Unsurprisingly, say HMRC, this has led to a considerable increase in the number of small debts, particularly those less than £1,000 in value. In most cases, the low value of these debts meant that [...]

SAVING NATIONAL INSURANCE CONTRIBUTIONS With the nasty increase in NICs applying from 6 April 2011 it is worth looking at ways of reducing the effects. This could involve, in the right circumstances, paying a bonus by 5 April 2011. In that way the extra 1% NICs payable by the employee form 6 April will be [...]

PAYE FORMS FOR EMPLOYERS HMRC will now no longer routinely issue paper Employer or Budget Packs, or indeed any employer information by post. These will be replaced by online guidance and downloadable applications, as part of the cost reduction exercise. Where we deal with all your payroll work, there will of course be nothing to [...]

BUSINESS RECORDS CHECKS HMRC have just announced a consultation on their planned programme of checks of business records within the small and medium enterprise (SME) sector. They attempt to justify the introduction of this programme by claiming that research by the OECD suggests (to HMRC that is) that poor business record keeping is responsible for [...]

PENSION SCHEME CONTRIBUTIONS NEW 3 YEAR CARRY FORWARD Yet more news on the pension scheme tax relief regime from 6 April 2011. It is now apparent that if you do not use all of your new £50,000 annual contribution limit you can carry it forward for a maximum of 3 years. This gives plenty of [...]

Val Wishart is a Chartered Accountant and became a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in 1988. She has worked in both large multinational companies and small owner managed businesses and has experience of working in Scotland and in Europe. Her varied experience provides her with a good solid business knowledge and an ability [...]

THE GOVERNMENT’S ATTACK ON TAX EVASION The Government has announced further funding for measures which involve a more robust criminal deterrent against tax evasion, experts on large businesses, investigators for offshore evasion, cyber-crime teams, further registration checks, debt collection agencies and freight and detection technology to prevent alcohol and tobacco smuggling. The Treasury reckon this [...]

NIC HOLIDAYS If you start a new business outside Greater London, the South East and the Eastern regions of the UK, you should qualify for a holiday from employer national insurance contributions. The holiday scheme applies to the first 10 qualifying employees that a new business employs in its first year of business, with a [...]