Controversial IR35 tax rules set to be scrapped in a boost to small business June 22, 2010 SMALL businesses were given a boost by the chancellor yesterday with the news that controversial IR35 tax rules for entrepreneurs using personal service companies could be abolished. Other fillips included a reduction in the small profits tax rate and a national insurance contribution holiday for small start-ups in certain regions. Francesca Lagerberg, head of tax [...]
Vantis shares suspended as crisis deepens June 14, 2010 VANTIS, the troubled accountancy outfit, is preparing a fire sale of its assets unless it can find an investor with a “wad of cash” to help pay down its £54m debt pile. The Aim-listed firm tumbled deeper into crisis yesterday when its shares were suspended due to doubts over its ability to continue operating. In [...]
When going public does not work out June 14, 2010 THE high-profile problems suffered by Vantis as a listed entity could deter other professional service companies from joining the public market, experts warned yesterday. Vantis’ share price has been hammered in the past year as doubts over its largest project liquidating Sir Allen Stanford’s assets, reputational issues to do with an HMRC probe into two [...]
CITY VIEWS: should vat go up or should banks be taxed more? June 10, 2010 BRIAN COLGAN | AVIVA “I think tax the banks more. Increasing VAT equals less spending which drives less money into the economy. They caused the problem so they can get us out of it.” JAMIL ALAM | RBS “Definitely the banks in my opinion. Why charge the individual? The bottom line is, they created the [...]
HMRC’s tax assault to hit honest firms June 6, 2010 A TOP City accountancy firm has claimed that a tax crackdown by HMRC will mean innocent firms being investigated at the taxpayers’ expense. UHY Hacker said that plans to seize an additional £4bn in revenue in 2010/11 through a more aggressive strategy would leave blameless businesses facing unnecessary probes into their dealings. The total figure [...]
TIME TO PAY June 3, 2010 Q. What is the “time to pay” scheme and how does it work? A. The “time to pay” scheme is a long-standing tax deferral scheme by HMRC that was not widely known prior to 2008, when the government re-launched it as part of a package of recession-busting measures. It allows businesses to delay paying a [...]
Revenue’s error leaks tax details May 27, 2010 HM Revenue and Customs apologised yesterday after it sent the confidential details of thousands of tax credit claimants to the wrong people. Tax credit renewal packs were posted to claimants but some mistakenly included the earnings, bank sort code and the last four digits of bank accounts of other claimants, while some received packs with [...]
Q&A: PAYE May 20, 2010 Q. I have recently started my business and I am in the process of hiring staff, what should I know about PAYE? A. Pay As You Earn (PAYE) is the way that HMRC collects income tax and national insurance. As an employer once you start hiring people you have a legal obligation to collect PAYE [...]
Q&A: LETTING May 20, 2010 CEO OF ONLINE LETTINGS AGENT WWW.UPAD.CO.UK Q. I’ve heard I need planning permission to let a house to three people sharing. Can this really be true? A. As of 6 April, if property previously occupied by one household (family) is let to three or more unrelated sharers, forming two or more households, this will need [...]
Nasty double whammy for investors May 18, 2010 WITH all the focus on growth and the deficit, too little attention has been paid to inflation. Yesterday’s disastrous figures show how unwise this has been. The rise in the official consumer price index inflation to 3.7 per cent is bad enough – but I suppose it can be tolerated, given the ending of quantitative [...]