Latest Business Tax

HMRC have the right to enquire into any type of tax return, with common areas of investigation being self-assessment tax returns, corporation tax returns, PAYE submissions, and VAT returns.   Some enquires are carried out at random, but the majority are selected by way of risk assessment. HMRC have a sophisticated risk assessment computer system,…

Many businesses invest in science and technology research and development to improve their competitiveness. The UK Government encourages companies to develop new processes, products and services, as well as improvements to existing solutions by giving tax relief as a proportion of qualifying R&D expenditure. From April 2023 there are a few changes to the rules:…

With a different Chancellor in the driving seat once again, we have seen the government announce further changes since their ‘Growth Plan’, which was delivered on 23 September. In a statement on Monday 17 October, the Chancellor announced a reversal of almost all of the tax measures set out in the Growth Plan that have…

If you were interested in offering your employees the Cycle to Work Scheme, there are three main methods you could use:   Salary Sacrifice Loan Pooled cycles   Method 1: Salary Sacrifice Under this method, your employee would be agreeing to sacrificing part of their salary before tax and you would provide the hire of…

The Prime Minister has announced today that she will reverse her recent mini-Budget plan to scrap next years increase in corporation tax rates. From April 2023, the main rate of corporation tax for companies with profits of £250,000 (assuming no associated companies) or more will be 25%. For those with profits of £50,000 or less the…

HMRC will raise interest rates on tax debt from 11 October following the 0.5% increase in the base rate.   This means that the late payment interest rate will increase to 4.75% from 11 October 2022. The rate last increased to 4.25% on 23 August. This is the highest rate since the height of the financial crisis…

Having received a copy of a letter a client has received from HMRC today, it states that due to inactivity on your VAT account your direct debit instruction has expired. If you wish to pay by Direct Debit in the future you will have to complete another Direct Debit instruction, either online or by post.…

The Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng has announced on 23 September as part of the fiscal event that the Office of Tax Simplification will be closed. The Department was set up by former prime minister David Cameron and chancellor George Osborne in the first weeks of their coalition government.   The OTS, which is an independent adviser to…

Less than 10 days after the government announced their ‘Growth Plan’ (otherwise known as the ‘mini-budget’), the chancellor has announced that the government will not proceed with the proposed plans to cut the 45p tax rate cut which was intended to come into effect from April 2023.   As the government seem to be acting…

In his first fiscal statement in his recently appointed role as Chancellor of the Exchequer, Kwasi Kwarteng has made a series of unusually radical announcements to try and stimulate growth in the UK economy. Owners of SME businesses will be particularly interested in the following business tax changes: The planned corporation tax rise in April…