Thousands of self-employed people facing HMRC fines for late tax returns, say accountants October 23, 2015 Thousands of self-employed Londoners face fines of up to £1,600 at the start of next month for failing to file their tax returns on time, according to City accountants Perrys. Last year approximately 700,000 people in the UK missed the government’s 31 October submission deadline. This year, the fines are estimated to hit as many as 890,000 people. And with 680,000 London workers registered [...]
Monsoon Accessorize tops government list of minimum wage offenders October 23, 2015 Womenswear retailer Monsoon has topped a government list of companies failing to pay staff the national minimum wage. An HMRC investigation found 115 non-compliant companies, which have today been named and shamed as owning workers nearly £400,000 in the last year, spanning sectors including hairdressing, retail, education, catering and social care. On 1 October 2015, the National Minimum Wage (NMW) [...]
Tax gap falls to record-low, revealing the failings of Corbynomics, claims secretary to the Treasury David Gauke October 22, 2015 The UK's tax gap has fallen to an all-time low, prompting Labour's critics to ramp up their arguments against Corbynomics. Figures released today by HMRC reveal the tax gap – the difference between the amount of tax that should be collected against what is actually collected – in 2013/14 fell to a record low of 6.4 per [...]
Why it’s high time we made private equity less private October 22, 2015 The alternative finance revolution is making waves. There’s been much talk about how it is challenging the banks. Now its impact on the investment world is starting to gather momentum. Private equity and venture capital were once the preserve of the ultra wealthy. But I believe that it is the right time to shake up [...]
Only £4,327 for HMRC despite Facebook UK’s £105m revenues October 11, 2015 FACEBOOK paid just £4,327 in corporation tax last year – less than the annual cost of travel for some people commuting to London from Brighton each day. The social media giant rewarded its UK staff with an average of £210,000 in pay and bonuses, and spent £35.4m on shares for 362 London employees, bringing the [...]
Four actionable tips for starting up a business in 2015 October 8, 2015 We have put together seven actionable tips for SMEs and people thinking of starting up a new business in 2015. As the Chinese proverb says: ‘the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.’ With the right business idea, planning, marketing and execution it is [...]
UK firms sceptical of new government consultation on tax rules for non-doms October 6, 2015 Accounting and legal experts have said that they are sceptical of a new government consultation out this week on changes to tax rules for non-domiciles, or “non-doms”. In the Summer Budget, chancellor George Osborne said he would be tightening tax rules for high-earning residents whose also reside outside the UK, including getting rid of [...]
Resurgence in British office market fuels record profits at Knight Frank October 5, 2015 LONDON’S booming office market combined with a recovery in the regions helped estate agent Knight Frank to post record full-year results. The company, which is owned by its partners and has 370 offices across the world, said profit before tax rose by 19 per cent to £162m in the year to 31 March, while turnover [...]
John McDonnell at the Labour Party Conference 2015: Here’s what businesses think September 28, 2015 Newly-appointed John McDonnell made his conference debut as shadow chancellor today – and despite promises of a "stultifyingly boring" speech, it actually turned out to be pretty punchy, with attacks on big business and buy-to-let landlords, as well as a hint that the Bank of England's mandate might be up for discussion. But what did business [...]
British firms owe taxman £2.6bn worth of VAT September 27, 2015 British businesses are behind with VAT payments to HMRC to the tune of £2.6bn, due to clients not paying bills on time, according to research from finance firm LDF. It found one of the biggest causes of late payments to the government is that smaller firms are struggling to collect cash from customers, leaving them [...]