Introduction The way we manage data has changed beyond all recognition in the last few years. Filing cabinets are fast becoming a 21st Century dinosaur, no one uses rolodexes anymore and the vast majority of businesses are switching to computer, online and cloud-based services. But the laws governing how that data is managed haven’t kept pace with this change. Until now. You may have heard Read more…

Millions of people from across the UK could be paying more tax than they need to, it has emerged, after figures from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) showed that more than 15 million individuals have not checked their Personal Tax Accounts. The figure means that less than half of taxpayers have accessed their accounts, risking errors in the amount they pay. Personal Tax Accounts were Read more…

Small businesses in the UK have long been scourged by late payments, but the problem was brought into sharp focus earlier this year following the collapse of construction giant, Carillion, emphasising the importance of careful credit control. According to the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), some suppliers were waiting as long as 120 days to receive payment from Carillion. FSB National Chairman, Mike Cherry, said: Read more…

Since March this year, self-employed individuals have had the option of reporting their income digitally to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) as part of a pilot of the Government’s Making Tax Digital (MTD) programme. The Government has long had the ambition of taking most taxes including Income Tax, VAT and Corporation Tax onto a system of quarterly reporting using ‘designated software packages’ under the auspices Read more…

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has been granted new powers to help combat online VAT fraud conducted on digital marketplaces. Originally outlined by the Chancellor in the 2017 Autumn Budget, the new powers – known by the term ‘joint-and-several liability’ (JSL) for online marketplaces – strengthen existing arrangements to make online marketplaces accountable for VAT fraud committed by online sellers on their platforms. In its Read more…

With less than 60 days left until the deadline for compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), more than 90 per cent of UK small businesses admit they are not yet fully ready. In fact, a poll conducted by the Federation of Small Business (FSB) found that only eight per cent of SMEs have completed their preparations for the new data protection regulations, while Read more…

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 to gain access to funding for childcare through their employer Read more…

By the time Chancellor Philip Hammond rose to his feet in the House of Commons to deliver the first Spring Statement, he had already offered plenty of hints that this would be a low-key affair. Gone was the primetime Wednesday slot after Prime Minister’s Questions, gone was the trailing of policy announcements in the days and weeks beforehand and gone was the set-piece photo call 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 a year. Tax-Free Childcare can be used towards all registered 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 (46 per cent) say determining the tax rates at which Read more…