UK businesses are waiting for the right moment to start investing, says a leading accountancy body. The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) surveyed 500 of its members working within businesses and found that 62 per cent had a cash surplus this year, with 69 per cent expecting the same next year.… Read more…

Businesses are reminded that from 1 April 2015, one single unified rate of corporation tax of 20 per cent applies. The rate applies to all companies other than those with oil and gas ring fenced profits. Under the old regime, if a company had profits of more than £1.5 million it paid corporation tax at… Read more…

Businesses and families have been given assurances by the three main political parties that they will not increase VAT. Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls said on 24 March: “The next Labour government will not raise VAT”, describing it as “an unfair tax” that hit pensioners and the poorest hardest. The following day, he announced: “We will… Read more…

A ban on paperclips in an office and the cancellation of a custard pie fight were among hundreds of issues reported to health and safety myth busters. The Department of Work and Pensions announced on 25 March that more than 600 people had approached the Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) Myth Busters Challenge Panel in… Read more…

The Information Commissioner has told businesses they need to do more to inform consumers about the way their information is being shared. Christopher Graham’s comments on 18 March followed a survey of 1,575 people on data protection matters, which found that 85 per cent were concerned about how their personal information was passed or sold… Read more…

A “radical” review of business rates could bring in major changes to the way the annual charge is paid on 1.8 million properties in England. Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander announced the review on 16 March. It is due to report back by the 2016 Budget on issues including the structure of the… Read more…

Large companies will be made to publish their payment practices, as part of a government drive to level the playing field for small business. Under measures announced on 20 March, from April 2016 large companies would be required to publish their payment practices twice a year, disclosing details including: payment terms the average time taken… Read more…

A new step-by-step guide to help small businesses get ready for their automatic enrolment duties has been launched by the Pensions Regulator. The online guide, written specifically for employers with between one and 50 staff, explains how to complete key tasks such as knowing when to be ready, providing a point of contact for the… Read more…

Tax experts have given a cautious welcome to plans for digital tax accounts, saying that paper returns must remain an option. The 2015 Budget on 18 March included plans for what it called “a radical simplification of the tax system” that would see annual tax returns scrapped. It said that the government would transform the… Read more…

Budget Summary Fifty days before the General Election, Chancellor George Osborne today delivered his sixth and final Budget of this Parliament. Introducing the package of tax and spending plans to the Commons, Mr Osborne said: “Today I report on a Britain that is growing, creating jobs, paying its way. We took difficult decisions in the… Read more…