UHY Ross Brooke Chartered Accountants
We broadly welcome measures introduced in the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement to help SMEs. Recognising that SMEs make the biggest contribution to the creation of jobs and wealth in the UK this final Autumn Statement of the current Parliament ahead of the election in May 2015 includes a number of measures particularly
Farmers in England will no longer be able to claim Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) subsidies for fields with solar photovoltaic (PV) panels installed, the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) has announced. The new rules, which will come into force in January 2015, will mean that any field
Following complaints that information migrated from HMRC and other government department websites to the new gov.uk website has been simplified and abridged – often with incomplete or misleading advice, we strongly urge anyone relying on HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) guidance published online to keep printouts or screengrabs to protect
In general terms employees and directors are assessed to tax on the cost of any social functions provided by their employer. There is however an exemption that applies to an annual function or functions (for example, a Christmas party) provided that it is available to employees generally and the cost
Private tuition is exempt from VAT provided that it is both given by an individual teacher acting independently of an employer; and a subject ordinarily taught in school or university. The first point is fairly clear and means that VAT exemption would not be available to a company or its
Landlords are being given the opportunity to come clean over whether they owe tax. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is targeting landlords in a new campaign, which is expected to run until March 2015. However, landlords are being offer the chance to come forward voluntarily throughout the entire period that
The IR35 Business Entity Tests and example scenarios have been with us for over 2 years now, but are they working? No, according to the minutes of a recent meeting of the IR35 Forum consisting of a focus group of independent advisers, who concluded that the business entity tests were
Apparently there are still 500,000 Self-Assessment Returns outstanding for 2012/2013 (due to be filed by 31 January 2014). Including £10 daily penalties, at potentially £1,000 a Return that is a staggering £500 Million in penalties due to the Exchequer for 2012/13 alone. Unless there is a reasonable excuse for the
Let’s face it, no-one enjoys paying tax, but in general we recognise that public services such as the NHS need funding. Like many others, I pay my tax and have no time for those who can pay their tax but simply choose not to pay. But seldom have I been so vexed
In a worrying move, HMRC has been writing to a number of tradesmen informing them that the figures submitted in their tax returns do not compare with the results filed by their competitors and/or the benchmarks set by HMRC. For example, we have learned that HMRC expect Painters and Decorators to