Effective immediately, HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) have introduced a new rule in regards to directors’ loan accounts. Directors’ loan accounts allow a company director to withdraw money from their company in surplus of a salary or a dividend. The amount can be over any money the director has put in, however tax is accrued… Read more…

A third of a list of ‘sensitive’ start-up business names that otherwise would have been subject to approval before official registration has been cut by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS). Businesses that want to use words such as ‘Authority’, ‘Board’, ‘European’, ‘Group’, ‘International’ and ‘National’ and their Welsh equivalents have now been… Read more…

A friendly online reminder designed to help employers keep up to date with their Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE) has been introduced by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC). The electronic message informs the employer that they have not sent one or more of the Full Payment Submissions (FPS) that were expected for the last month. Acting as a… Read more…

Self-Assessment (SA) is set to be transferred completely online in a bid to make the process easier for the individual, HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has announced. The paper to screen transformation will see online filers receive all official communications electronically, and as HMRC received 7.6 million digital SA submissions in 2011/12, which equates to… Read more…

According to research carried out by the ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants), the majority of start-up SMEs (small to medium-sized enterprises) do not seek professional financial advice in favour of cutting costs and doing it themselves. However, in the midst of a turbulent economy, accountants can be the nurturers start-ups need to grow. ACCA… Read more…

The automatic enrolment scheme, devised to ensure people have a better chance at a comfortable retirement by saving into a workplace pension has seen great success, as the Pensions Regulator announce over two million people have opted in to automatic enrolment. In an economy where only one in three workers is retiring with a personally… Read more…

Effective from 1 January 2015, alterations to the European Union (EU) VAT place of supply will affect businesses who provide broadcasting, telecommunications and e-services to consumers, as they will be required to keep records about the variety of electronic services they supply, to whom they supply them to and to where they are supplied. Businesses… Read more…

Business Secretary Vince Cable has launched a funding campaign in a bid to help the UK’s some 4.9 million small firms to develop. Earlier this month, Mr Cable unveiled the first ‘funding allocation’ from the British Business Bank’s investment programme, which is designed to supply debt finance to small businesses. The first £45 million of… Read more…

When an employee can be heard as well as seen is when a business inevitably reaps the benefits, which is why employee ownership is a highly protractible business model designed for the longevity of not only the retention of a firm’s workforce, but for the company as a whole. According to the One Year On… Read more…

Employers associated with Employer Financed Retirement Benefit Schemes (EFRBS) will be receiving letters from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) regarding an opportunity to reconcile any outstanding liabilities they may hold ascertaining to the scheme. Traditionally used for non-domiciled employees in an account generally located offshore, EFRBS are grounded on Employee Benefit Trusts to pay staff… Read more…