Directors have been told that they now have only four months to save their company from being struck-off from the Companies House Register if they do not reply to formal letters from registrars. In a warning to directors, Companies House has said that those who are late in filing their company accounts, and don’t reply… Read more…

A comprehensive survey conducted by the British Business Bank has revealed that lending to small and medium-sized businesses in the UK is growing for the first time since the financial crisis began. The Government-backed lender welcomed the renewed availability of bank debt in its Small Business Finance Markets Report, which increased for four consecutive quarters… Read more…

The creation of new business taxes risks undermining the economic recovery, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has warned. The CBI said the Apprenticeship Levy (AL), National Living Wage (NLW) and the growing burden of business rates amounted to a £29 billion raid on companies over the next five years. Speaking during their Budget submission,… Read more…

A study by Hitachi Capital Finance has revealed that the UK’s small businesses can expect three tough periods in 2016 when cashflow will be restricted. According to their report, which has been put together using data from its small business customers, April, July and October are likely to be lean months where cash reserves are… Read more…

Dividends have been a very tax-efficient way of making savings in National Insurance Contributions (NIC) and Income Tax contributions for a number of years, with many business owners and shareholders choosing a smaller salary, plus an additional remuneration package paid as dividends. However, this is all set to change from next month as the income… Read more…

Some of the UK’s biggest companies are said to be preparing to impose a £10,000 a year cap on workplace pension contributions; a sharp reduction from the current £40,000 annual allowance. Employers that hire tens of thousands of staff are apparently looking to apply a blanket £10,000 limit on what can be paid into a… Read more…

The buy-to-let market is set to change following Chancellor George Osborne’s announcement last November that landlords would pay a three per cent Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) surcharge, with effect from 1 April 2016. In addition, mortgage interest tax relief changes, due to be phased in from April 2017, will mean thousands of buy-to-let landlords… Read more…

According to a report called The New Internationals from commercial insurer RSA, the UK’s SMEs are EU-dependent, with 82 per cent seeing European markets as important to their future growth. Some 52 per cent say it is very important whilst 24 per cent describe themselves as a European business. More than half (56 per cent)… Read more…