Working parents across the UK will be delighted to hear that the Government has agreed to a six-month extension of the childcare voucher scheme. It has been estimated that around 80 per cent of working parents may be better off using Childcare Vouchers rather than the new tax-free childcare scheme. The voucher scheme allows employees… Read more…

A scheme, enabling parents of children aged 12 and under to benefit from up to £2,000 towards the cost of childcare, has now been extended to all working parents with children in the age group. The scheme provides a Government top-up worth £2 for every £8 contributed by parents, up to a maximum of £2,000… Read more…

A new study, prepared by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), has found that the UK’s average small business spends nearly three working weeks every 12 months complying with tax rules. This costs SMEs around £5,000 a year on average, according to the survey of 1,000 small businesses. Of the challenges they face, around half… Read more…

An apparently counterintuitive judgement was handed down last month by the Upper Tier Tribunal as it ruled VAT should be applied to the strawberry and banana flavours of Nesquik milk powder, but not to the chocolate equivalent. The case arose after Nestlé, the manufacturer of the powders made a repayment claim to HM Revenue &… Read more…

New data from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) shows that businesses in London and the South East account for 66 per cent of the Enterprise Investment Schemes (EIS) uptake. Despite accounting for 62 per cent of the UK economy, businesses outside London and the South-East only account for £610 million out of nearly £1.9 billion… Read more…

New research from finance and banking trade body, UK Finance, has found that debit card transactions will overtake those made with cash this year. Meanwhile, ATM usage peaked several years ago, with more than 2.9 billion transactions taking place in 2012, falling to 2.7 billion in 2016, which amounted to £6 billion less than in… Read more…

The Chancellor, Philip Hammond, has asked the Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) to undertake a review of the Inheritance Tax (IHT) system to ensure that it meets the needs of modern households. In a letter to the OTS, an independent branch of the Treasury, Mr Hammond said that the current system is “particularly complex” and… Read more…

The team at Salhan Accountants’ Chinese Bureau would like to wish you a Happy New Year and hope that 2018 brings a year of prosperity and good fortune. On 16 February, Chinese New Year marks the start of the year of the dog – the eleventh sign of the Chinese zodiac. Those born under this… Read more…

Former Conservative Treasury Minister, Lord Jim O’Neil has told the BBC that gloomy predictions for the post-Brexit UK economy are likely to be ‘dwarfed’ by global growth figures surpassing expectations. He said: “I certainly wouldn’t have thought the UK economy would be as robust as it currently seems. “That is because some parts of the… Read more…