Small companies slam plans for big Making Tax Digital extension July 21, 2020 Small businesses have slammed the government’s planned expansion of the Making Tax Digital programme, saying it means more cost and paperwork for companies at a time when they are under great pressure. The government today said it will extend its tax digitisation programme to 4.7m of the UK’s smallest companies and self-employed workers from April [...]
House sales begin to recover as lockdown measures ease July 21, 2020 UK property transactions grew almost a third in the month to June as lockdown measures began to lift around the country, but remain 35 per cent down since last year as market uncertainty and the Brexit deadline continue to weigh on buyer sentiment. Around 63,250 residential property transactions took place in June, up 31.7 per [...]
HMRC expands probe into Ladbrokes owner GVC July 21, 2020 HMRC has expanded its investigation into Ladbrokes owner GVC’s former online business in Turkey. The probe by the tax authority began in late 2019 and was initially directed at former third-party suppliers over processing of payments at the business GVC disposed of in December 2017. GVC’s chief executive Kenny Alexander stepped down last week after [...]
Lockdown blues: Breakups and divorces support UK house prices July 21, 2020 The property market is currently defying gravity, with asking prices hitting an all-time high in July and spirits buoyant after the chancellor slashed the stamp duty homes tax. But estate agents say a less-publicised factor has been helping the property sector ride out economic turbulence better than most had predicted: A surge in lockdown breakups [...]
Left out in the cold: The company directors who have fallen through the cracks in the Treasury’s support schemes July 21, 2020 On Friday, the Prime Minister set out the latest steps towards reopening Britain’s economy, providing encouragement for many businesses. Combined with the chancellor’s promise earlier this month of a half-price lunch, the message appears clear: it’s time to get going and move the economy forward again. But as we do, the government should also take [...]
Firms may still be taxed even if they return furlough money July 14, 2020 Businesses may still be taxed on the furlough scheme funds they receive even if they return the cash to HMRC. At the start of the coronavirus lockdown the government introduced the job retention scheme, which pays 80 per cent of salary costs for furloughed staff. Last week Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced the “job retention bonus” [...]
Finding the best way to incentivise management July 14, 2020 With cash at a premium, businesses could be considering an award of shares to employees instead of bonuses. This could be a good way to incentivise key employees in the long term without utilising cash and perhaps a first step towards unlocking liquidity for owners through, for example, a management buy-out. However, with share values [...]
Primark set to reject Treasury’s furlough bonus payment July 12, 2020 Primark will reportedly reject a £30m bonus handout unveiled in the Chancellor’s summer statement. The retailer has said it will not claim the £1,000 payment for every worker it brings back from furlough, according to the Sunday Times. Last night gambling firm William Hill also reportedly indicated it would also reject the furlough bonuses worth [...]
The quiet crisis: IR35 and the UK’s forgotten freelancers July 10, 2020 In a crisis which has shaken so many aspects of our lives, it can be hard to get some issues heard above the noise. News that would once have made headlines seems to slip almost unnoticed under the radar. One such development was the quiet confirmation that changes to IR35 self-employed taxes will come into [...]
Man arrested over £495,000 ‘furlough fraud’ July 9, 2020 A man has been arrested on suspicion of defrauding the government’s job retention scheme out of £495,000. The arrest, which is thought to be the first relating to the government’s furlough scheme, happened in Solihull in the West Midlands. Computers were seized and funds were frozen in the man’s business bank account, according to HMRC. [...]