The number of businesses receiving export support has increased by 50 per cent in the last financial year, the government has announced. UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) helped 47,960 businesses to export for the first time or find new markets in 2013-14, Trade Minister Lord Livingston said on 20 October. The figures show that the… Read more…

Small and medium-sized businesses are being urged to become more proactive in protecting themselves against online fraud. Research has revealed that 60 per cent of small businesses suffered a malicious breach in the past year and half had a serious incident. The worst breaches disrupted operations for small businesses for an average of seven to… Read more…

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is to increase the amount of money it can take through PAYE to settle tax debts from April 2015. At present, HMRC can recover up to £3,000 in tax owed by adjusting a taxpayer’s Pay As You Earn (PAYE) tax code. The process, known as coding out, can be used… Read more…

The government has published draft legislation introducing new measures to help smaller businesses source the finance they need. The legislation, which forms part of the Small Business Enterprise and Employment Bill, will introduce a requirement that banks turning down small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) for loans must offer to share their details with government-designated platforms… Read more…

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is warning taxpayers to be on their guard against fraudulent phishing emails. A total of 74,743 scam emails were reported to HMRC’s dedicated phishing email account between April and September, a 70 per cent increase on the same period in 2013. Over the same period, HMRC worked with other agencies… Read more…

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has updated its advisory fuel rates, applying to all journeys on or after 1 September 2014. HMRC-approved advisory fuel rates apply where employers reimburse employees for business travel in their company cars, and where employees reimburse the cost of fuel used for private travel in a company car. There is… Read more…

New guidance has been published to help employers support employees following bereavement. Workplace expert Acas, which published the guide on 17 September, said that research had found that a third of employees who had suffered bereavement in the past five years felt they had not been treated with compassion by their employer. Acas’ new guide… Read more…

An estimated 11,000 UK medium-sized businesses could benefit to the tune of £8 million a year as a result of planned changes to accounting rules. The measures, which would bring the EU’s new Accounting Directive into UK law, would allow companies to prepare and file simpler, less detailed accounts with Companies House. These documents currently… Read more…

Hundreds of thousands of small businesses have been urged to check when they need to meet their new workplace pensions duties. The call from the Pensions Regulator, the UK regulator of work-based pension schemes, follows research published on 24 September revealing that 19 per cent of small employers (employing between five and 29 people) and… Read more…

Thousands of UK businesses supplying digital services across the European Union (EU) will be able to register for a new online VAT service from 20 October. Signing up to the VAT Mini One Stop Shop (VAT MOSS) means they will not have to register for VAT separately in each EU member state where they do… Read more…