We are delighted to announce that Dr. Anjulika Salhan has been selected to receive the Editor’s Choice award from CEO Insights (visit them at https://www.ceoinsightsindia.com). This award recognizes outstanding leaders who have demonstrated innovation and excellence across several key parameters while delivering high levels of customer satisfaction.

It is an annual distinction that showcases the exceptional leadership skills of individuals who have made significant contributions in their respective fields. We are honoured to have Dr. Salhan as part of our community and applaud her achievements in advancing her profession.

Dr Anjulika Salhan is currently the Managing Director at System Holdings, Salhan Accountants, and Xpert Technologies.

System Holdings are fintech specialists who use the latest tech to help all sorts of businesses across the world to be more flexible and meet their customers’ needs. System Holdings (system-holdings.co.uk)

Salhan Accountants offer an outstanding and comprehensive accountancy service that encompasses every aspect of finance from investment advice, HR outsourcing, budgeting, yearly accounts and tax litigation support to name a few. Services – Accountants Birmingham and Droitwich (salhanaccountants.co.uk)

Xpert Technologies provide software solutions that are changing the game for small and medium-sized businesses all over the UK. Xpert Technologies – Accountancy software for small businesses (xpert-technologies.co.uk)

As a fintech entrepreneur and two-time recipient of the English Women’s award, Anjulika is a dynamic individual who consistently pioneers new technological and software solutions to address complex challenges within the accountancy industry.

Her unwavering commitment to customer satisfaction and service excellence is the hallmark of her professional approach. We take great pride in having her as a valued member of our team, and we eagerly anticipate a promising future with her at the helm, driving progress through her innovative ideas and approaches.

Salhan Accountants are delighted to announce the acquisition of PA Chartered Accountants and we warmly welcome Paul and all the clients he brings with him.

PA Chartered Accountants, which has been led by Paul Alton, has a strong client base in the Midlands and offered an advisory service to families and businesses and a consultancy service to other accountants.

This acquisition is part of  Salhan Accountants continued strategy to increase its client base and continuously enhance its offerings to its clients. PA Chartered Accountants clients will gain from these service offerings and our years of experience.

We excited to announce today the launch of Xpert Training – https://xpert-training.xyz/

With the economy suffering, the job market has never been so competitive. Potential employees need to stand out from the crowd if they hope to secure a position. Alternatively, many individuals are turning to self-employment, creating their own position.

With this in mind, we at Xpert Training have created an e-learning system, offering a wide range of courses, aimed at providing specialised skills. Users can choose from over 800 courses, with content covering various aspects of entrepreneurship and professional development.

Everyone is different, and it’s for this reason why we have compiled an extensive platform of courses, covering many different essential skills. We built Xpert Training with eight categories of people in mind, in the hope of offering something for everyone. These categories include:

• Getting ready for a job
• People Skills
• Entrepreneurs
• Managers Training
• Employee Management
• Sales Training
• Logistics and Supply Chain
• Marketing Training

It’s worth noting that these are just starting points, and we recommend that users take a look at the course list as we offer a diverse portfolio.

Education can play a vital role in changing lives, and we want to play our part in this, utilising the power of online learning. Online courses offer flexibility and can be completed at home and with the advent of lockdown, this is more important than ever before. We believe that education is empowering, motivating and can really level the playing field, ensuring that everyone has a chance at the same opportunities in their chosen career.

Our platform provides high quality, enriching training courses, but we understand that affordability is also an important issue. Therefore, we offer competitive pricing, ensuring that our courses are as accessible to as many people as possible.

We at Xpert Training hope this is the first step in upskilling the nation!

If you have any questions about our platform or you’d just like more information on what we have to offer, please feel free to get in touch with our amazing customer service team.

Visit the website and take a look for yourself: https://xpert-training.xyz/

New company car advisory fuel rates have been published and took effect from 1 March 2025.

The guidance states: ‘you can use the previous rates for up to one month from the date the new rates apply’. The rates only apply to employees using a company car.

The advisory fuel rates for journeys undertaken on or after 1 March 2025 are:

HMRC guidance states that the rates only apply when you either:

• reimburse employees for business travel in their company cars
• require employees to repay the cost of fuel used for private travel.

You must not use these rates in any other circumstances.

The Advisory Electricity Rate for fully electric cars is 7p per mile.

If you would like to discuss your company car policy, please contact us.

Internet link: GOV.UK AFR

HMRC has published the latest issue of the Employer Bulletin. The February issue has information on various topics, including:

• end of year reporting
• payrolling employees’ benefits and expenses
• get ready for changes to National Insurance
• new online iForm for PAYE employment expenses
• expanding the cash basis
• relevant motoring expenditure – National Insurance contributions.

Please contact us for help with tax matters.

Internet link: Employer Bulletin

HMRC will reduce late payment and repayment interest rates from 25 February following the cut in the base rate.

The Bank of England cut the base rate to 4.5% on 6 February, triggering a 0.25% cut in HMRC interest rates which are pegged to the base rate.

From 25 February, the late payment interest rate will be cut to 7.0% from 7.25%.

The repayment interest rate will be cut to 3.5% from 3.75% from 25 February.

HMRC late payment interest is set at base rate plus 2.5%. Repayment interest is set at base rate minus 1%, with a lower limit – or ‘minimum floor’ – of 0.5%.

Corporation tax self assessment interest rates relating to interest charged on underpaid quarterly instalment payments dropped to 5.5% from 5.75% from 17 February, a week earlier than the main late payment rate change.

Internet link: GOV.UK

The overwhelming majority of businesses say the rise in employers’ NICs will force them to change their plans, according to research by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC).

With under six weeks until the NICs rise comes in, 82% of firms say the tax hike will cause them to rethink. In addition, 58% of surveyed businesses say it will impact recruitment plans, and 54% that it will affect their prices.

Meanwhile, more than a third of firms suggest investment and day-to-day operations will be impacted.

Alex Veitch, Director of Policy at the British Chambers of Commerce said:

‘The clock is ticking down to the NICs rise, and firms are already telling us they are sitting on a powder keg of costs.

‘The government has pledged to retain the NICs tax position through the life of this parliament, but our new evidence should give pause for thought. We need the government to publish a wider tax roadmap for business, setting out the direction of travel for costs like NICs and business rates.

‘Business rate reform must be an urgent priority, creating a system that incentives investment. Getting on with planning and skills reforms will also remove blockers to growth.’

Internet link: BCC

The government has introduced a package of support that it says will help the alcohol sector to grow.

From 1 February, draught relief has increased to knock 1p off duty on draught products whilst small producer relief – a measure to encourage craft brewers to innovate – is becoming more generous.

Together these tax cuts are worth £85 million and are tailored to support the alcohol sector to innovate and grow, according to HM Treasury.

The increase to draught relief, first announced at Autumn Budget, will affect around three in five of all alcoholic drinks sold in pubs, and represents the first duty cut on a pint of beer in 10 years.

As announced at the Autumn Budget, alcohol duty was also increased in line with inflation. The Treasury says this helps secure public finances and helps to fund the investment needed to grow the economy and fund public services.

Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, James Murray, said:

‘Our pubs and brewers are an essential part the fabric of the UK and our brilliant high streets. Through draught relief, small producer relief, and expanding market access for smaller brewers, we will help boost sector growth and deliver our Plan for Change to put more money in working people’s pockets.’

Internet link: HM Treasury

An increasingly complex tax system is costing UK businesses an estimated £15.4 billion a year in compliance, according to a report from the National Audit Office (NAO).

HMRC’s cost of collecting tax has risen by £563 million over the past five years due to added complexity in the system plus investments in staff and IT.

During this period, the government’s tax yield rose by £113 billion in real terms, said the NAO.

HMRC estimates that compliant UK businesses incur costs of £15.4 billion each year in meeting around 2,500 obligations across 27 policy areas. These include £6.6 billion of fees paid to agents, accountants and other intermediaries, £4.5 billion of acquisition costs, such as software, and £4.3 billion of internal costs.

The report warned that HMRC is underestimating these costs as it does not take into account all taxpayer obligations.

Frank Haskew, Head of Taxation, at the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), said:

‘This report highlights how the UK’s increasingly complicated tax system is saddling businesses and HMRC with extra burdens and costs, which are growing in real terms. The report also substantiates our concern that the cost to businesses of complying with their tax obligations is likely to be understated.’

Internet link: NAO ICAEW

The government has stopped controversial plans to collect information about the exact hours worked by every employee in PAYE returns.

The data collection on employee hours was meant to start from April 2026, but the plan has been scrapped as part of the government’s attempts to reduce red tape and regulatory burden for business.

The (Draft) The Income Tax (Pay As You Earn) (Amendment) Regulations 2024 will not be progressed further after the results of a consultation were published.

HMRC said:

‘The government has listened to businesses and acted on their feedback about the administrative burden the requirements in these regulations would bring.’

The Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT) warned last May that the estimated one-off cost to businesses of £58 million and ongoing costs of £10 million – an average per business of £29 and £5 respectively- were “significantly underestimated” and that gathering additional data to provide to HMRC would lead to extra work for many employers.

The CIOT added it was unclear why HMRC wanted to collect this information and what they were going to use it for.

Eleanor Meredith, Chair of the CIOT’s Employment Taxes Committee, said:

‘We’re pleased to see the Government’s decision not to progress this legislation. We raised several concerns about the proposal, primarily the extra burden this would place on businesses to provide much more detailed data to HMRC.

‘We also raised concerns that the cost to businesses of complying with these requirements had been underestimated, despite the calculations being revised upwards during the course of the consultation.

‘It’s reassuring that we, and other representatives, have been listened to during this process and our warnings heeded.’

Internet link: GOV.UK CIOT

The government has launched a consultation on plans for the rollout of electronic invoicing (e-invoicing) in the UK.

The 12-week consultation is being jointly conducted by HMRC and the Department of Business and Trade (DBT) and will consider whether to make e-invoicing mandatory for businesses in the UK.

E-invoicing is the digital exchange of invoice information directly between buyers and suppliers.

The government says this could help businesses get their tax right first time, reduce invoicing and data errors, improve the accuracy of VAT returns, help close the tax gap and save time and money.

It usually results in faster business to business payments, leading to improved cash flow and less paperwork, the government adds.

The 34-question consultation can be completed online and once the 12-week feedback session closes.

James Murray, Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury said:

‘As part of the Prime Minister’s Plan for Change, we have begun our work to transform the UK’s tax system into one that is focused on helping businesses and the economy to grow.

‘E-invoicing simplifies processes, reduces errors and helps businesses to get paid faster. By cutting paperwork and freeing up valuable time and money, it will help improve firms’ productivity and their ability to grow and succeed.’

Internet link: HMRC press release