Latest blogs for Specialisms

Pensions Automatic Enrolment: + 3 years = re-enrolment. Although some clients are still only just staging for pensions auto-enrolment, with many still to stage, auto-enrolment has been in place for larger employers since October 2012. This means that most employers are due, or have already had to go, through re-enrolment. Re-enrolment is something that all…

Ely Business Awards 2016: Whitings judge and present top award. Congratulations go to Soopa Doopa Branding Limited, well deserved overall winners of the 2016 Ely Business of the year awards. Full list of finalists and winners Photos from the awards ceremony in Ely Cathedral The firm judges, sponsors and presents the top (winner of winners)…

Making Tax Digital: 6 tax returns required each year! HMRC’s 6 Making Tax Digital consultation documents have been open for review and comment for several weeks now. As time has passed, it has become ever more apparent that there are enormous changes ahead for all taxpayers affected; initially the self-employed and landlords. Further review of the documents…

Minimising the tax paid on profits is a key aim of most SME businesses. The tax benefits of trading through a limited company, as compared to operating as a sole trader or partnership, soon becomes attractive as profits grow.

MBO: Self-funding £1m deal allows owners to retire. We have successfully advised the business owners of an engineering firm on its £1m buy out by the existing management team. Our team were initially approached by the business owners for exit planning advice. The owners had successfully built up an engineering business over 20 years and…

BREXIT: Initially a silver lining for farmers? Since the BREXIT vote the value of Sterling has weakened, such that the average exchange rate for the Basic Payment Scheme has been set at €1 : £0.85228. For those farm enterprises electing to receive this in Sterling, this is some 16% better than last year. Given the…

Tenant Farmers: Is the rent for your land too high? Low commodity prices blighting British agriculture may offer some respite to Agricultural Holdings Act tenants. Rather than landlords pressing for higher rents there may be opportunities for tenants to seek downward rent reviews. Professional advice should be considered. For those locked into farm business tenancies,…

Lorry Driver Shortage: Will Government resolve crisis? The lack of HGV drivers has very much been the word on the street for a significant length of time and we have seen over the past few years this progress to what those who work in the industry perceive as a potential national crisis. The UK’s supply…

National Minimum Wage: Increases from 1-Oct-16. The Low Pay Commission today welcomed the Government’s acceptance of its recommendations for the rates of the minimum wage affecting workers under 25 and apprentices, to apply from 1 October 2016 – including: its first recommendation for the effective new minimum wage for 21-24 year olds, where the Government agreed…

R&D Tax Relief: Claims rose by 38% in 2014-15. The latest data from HMRC indicates that there has been an increase in both the number of companies making R&D tax relief claims and also that companies are increasing their R&D spend. The fact that there are a significant number of companies making claims for the first time…