The Financial Secretary to the Treasury, David Gauke MP, has confirmed in a letter to the Treasury Select Committee that HM Revenue & Customs plans to require businesses to make quarterly tax returns using “designated software packages” as part of its Making Tax Digital (MTD) initiative. Previously, it was understood that businesses would be able… Read more…

The Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 provided for a range of measures which will affect the information you give to Companies House. A number of the more significant measures in the Act came into effect on 30 June. These include the introduction of confirmation statements, the requirement for information on people with significant… Read more…

On 23 June 2016 the UK public spoke and decided to take the country out of the EU. As the UK begins the process of leaving the EU, many businesses will be wondering what is around the corner.  The first thing is that the UK is unlikely to leave the EU within the next two… Read more…

From 6 April 2016, the annual Rent a Room limit increased from £4,250 to £7,500 for the 2016/17 tax year. The Rent a Room scheme allows owner occupiers and tenants to receive tax-free rental income if they provide furnished accommodation in their main home. Automatic exemption from rental income occurs if the gross receipts are… Read more…

According to the latest figures around 3,000 suspected cases of serious tax evasion were referred by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) for specialist investigation for the second year running last year. This is an eight per cent increase in the number of cases handed over to the Revenue’s dedicated evasion referral team by its local… Read more…

The National Association of Commercial Finance Brokers (NACFB) is advising SMEs to read the fine print when seeking finance after its number of rejected lenders skyrocketed in the last two years. A growing number of so-called ‘bandwagon’ lenders and ‘flatpack’ finance providers have entered the commercial finance market and are posing a significant threat to… Read more…

July 2016 will see the introduction of a new set of tax collecting powers that HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) will be able to use when it believes tax is due that is not covered by a self-assessment tax return. The Finance Bill 2016 heralds the introduction of a new tax assessment system similar to… Read more…

The Queen’s Speech in May saw the government announce its intention to bring the proposed Criminal Finance Bill before Parliament that will hold UK companies responsible for failing to prevent their staff facilitating tax evasion anywhere in the world by creating a new criminal offence for corporations that do not take action. The announcement follows… Read more…

Since the start of the new financial year on 6 April 2016, employment intermediaries have had to consider whether a person is subject to supervision, direction or control (SDC) in their work when deciding whether travel from home to work and subsistence expenses can be paid to workers. Many Managed Service Company (MSC) providers have… Read more…

This is a question that is often asked of accountants, but how can you spot a fake email purporting to be from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC)? To help businesses, HMRC has issued new guidance that lays bare some of the techniques used by fraudsters and gives a comprehensive guide on how to tell a… Read more…