UHY Ross Brooke Chartered Accountants

Category: All insights

Belly dancer fails to impress

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

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Landlords given the chance to "come clean"

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

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IR35 – October 2014 update

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

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Stop throwing your money away

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

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Where has all my money gone?

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

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Lies, damn lies and statistics

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

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Bad news for pensioners

If you will be in a in a position to draw your state pension in the near future you should be aware that the government has set out plans to reduce the annual state pension deferral rate from 10.4% to 5.8%.   Pensioners can choose to defer claiming their state

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Tax Credits Scam Warning

We are constantly reminding our clients to be vigilant about scam or “phishing” emails promising money back, particularly at this time of year, just ahead of the 31 July Tax Credits renewal deadline. According to HMRC, May 2014 has already seen a 131% increase in phishing emails, compared to the

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New Auto Enrolment rules affecting all employers

If you are an employer, you are probably already aware that the new auto enrolment pension rules mean that you will have to select a pension scheme that meets the legal requirements for certain workers. No doubt you will also want to ensure that you select a good quality scheme

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