The previous Chancellor announced at the Budget in March 2016 that the government would consider restricting the range of Benefits in Kind (BiKs) that are exempt from Income Tax and National Insurance. In August, HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) launched its formal consultation on the changes – which proposes that almost all BiKs should be… Read more…

As part of a raft of recently launched consultations, the government has unveiled its latest plans for the changes to non-dom status announced by the previous Chancellor in his 2015 Budget. Under the plans, non-doms who are deemed to be long-term residents will be required to pay UK tax on their worldwide income. The changes… Read more…

Figures published recently by the Prudential have shown a significant increase in the total amount put away by UK workers towards their pension pots. UK workers’ pension contributions last year amounted to more than £9.3 billion – a 17 per cent increase on the 2010/11 tax year and the second highest figure in the last… Read more…

If your business only uses one property and that property has a rateable value of less than £12,000, you may be due a Business Rates refund if you have not already claimed small business rate relief. You may also be eligible for a refund if you have taken on new premises in the past year,… Read more…

Academics from the Bucharest University of Economic Studies and the International Federation of Accountants have found a strong link between a firm having a good relationship with its accountants and its overall performance after examining more than 90 studies. Amongst the studies they examined was Australian research into the relationships between SMEs and their accountants… Read more…

With the confusion and uncertainty of the last few months it is easy to forget the upcoming changes to the buy-to-let sector. Landlords who own residential properties as a private individual can currently claim income tax relief on the total cost of finance on those properties, such as interest on mortgages and loans. However, under… Read more…

A new survey by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has revealed a staggering lack of knowledge about alternative finance options amongst businesses. The BCC survey of 1,000 businesses has shown that, while 93 per cent of firms were familiar with traditional bank overdrafts, only 19 per cent were aware of newer mezzanine finance options.… Read more…

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has announced that it is making changes to the deduction of student loan repayments from employees’ pay with the introduction of two types of student loan. These have been referred to as plan one and plan two and relate to each individual employee’s student loan arrangements. These new changes will… Read more…

In May we reported concerns that changes to the rules on Entrepreneurs’ Relief would lead to retrospective taxation. The Government now appears to have taken note of these concerns and amended the Finance Bill 2016 to remove the possibility of retrospective taxation – at least in some circumstances. Entrepreneurs’ Relief was introduced by the Treasury… Read more…

The Financial Secretary to the Treasury, David Gauke MP, has confirmed in a letter to the Treasury Select Committee that HM Revenue & Customs plans to require businesses to make quarterly tax returns using “designated software packages” as part of its Making Tax Digital (MTD) initiative. Previously, it was understood that businesses would be able… Read more…