Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne has announced there will be a surprise second Budget in July. Following the Conservative victory in the 7 May general election, he confirmed on 16 May that there would be a summer Budget on 8 July. Writing in the Sun newspaper, Mr Osborne said: “I am going to take… Read more…

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has updated its guidance on the way it contacts customers to help them recognise “phishing” emails. Phishing involves emailing someone in order to fraudulently obtain personal or financial information such as passwords and credit card or bank account details. The emails often include a link to a bogus website encouraging… Read more…

Small business owners are running the risk of costly mistakes by failing to make use of expert advice when setting up their enterprises, according to new research. A survey of 1,507 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) for insurer Aviva found that two in five (38 per cent) relied on advice from family or friends, while… Read more…

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has revealed that it collected £513.5 billion in tax in the 2014-15 financial year. HMRC’s latest monthly report, published on 23 April, revealed that the total annual tax take has soared by £166 billion since 2003-04, when the figure stood at £347.5 billion. VAT made up a fifth of the… Read more…

Tax specialists have welcomed a government announcement that it is delaying legislation introducing an exemption from income tax for ‘trivial’ benefits in kind (BIKs). Trivial benefits provided by employers include gifts such as a box of chocolates at Christmas or a bouquet of flowers for an employee who has had a baby or is absent… Read more…

The British Business Bank is opening its ENABLE Guarantee programme to all banks that lend to smaller UK businesses, following completion of the first transaction under the scheme. The programme encourages participating banks to lend more to smaller businesses by reducing the capital they need to hold to support such lending. The first transaction, with… Read more…

Fraudsters are using a new scam to target small firms with established finance facilities, according to a small business finance specialist. Ashley Business Finance warned other businesses to beware after two of its clients, in Wigan and Manchester, lost more than £100,000 between them. In both cases, the fraudsters met their victims at networking groups.… Read more…

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…