Those thinking about making gifts at Christmas should take advantage of the various inheritance tax (IHT) exemptions and reliefs available to them. Note that certain gifts can also have capital gains tax (CGT) implications. The IHT annual exemption – use it or lose it! Although not particularly generous at £3,000 per donor per annum if … Continued
Small Retailers Get Business Rates Boost
Small retail businesses in England will see a reduction to their business rates, as announced in Budget 2018. Business rates will be reduced by a third for many retail properties with a rateable value below £51,000 for two years from April 2019, subject to state aid limits. The Chancellor said this will mean “an annual … Continued
IR35 Reforms to be Extended to the Private Sector
Contractors could face a higher tax bill from April 2020 when reforms to IR35 legislation are set to take effect in the private sector. This is expected to raise more than £3 billion between 2020 and 2024, as self-employed individuals who fall within the rules, and the businesses engaging them, will face a higher tax … Continued
Winners of Liverpool Start-up Competition Revealed
Two student enterprises have been named as the winners of The Liverpool Start-up Competition, each receiving a £5,000 cash prize. Laura Hitchcock, BA Chinese with Business student, and Lukas Batak, BA International Business student, were both crowned winners for their start-up ideas. They competed against four other teams at a live final at The Shankly … Continued
Charity Commission Guidance on Changing Your Charity’s Financial Year
New guidance was published on 12 November 2018 regarding how to change a charity’s accounting reference date (or accounting year end as it it’s more commonly known). The guidance differentiates between Rules for charities that are not companies and Rules for charities that are companies Rules for charities that are not companies If your charity … Continued
Liverpool Council Resource Grants 2019/20 – Application Now Open
Liverpool City Council is now accepting applications from Liverpool-based, constituted not-for-profit organisations for Community Resource Grant funding for 2019/20. £625,000 is available for organisations who can help us deliver the Inclusive Growth Plan. £100,000 is available for organisations who can help increase the capacity of Liverpool’s charity and voluntary sector. The closing date is 12 … Continued
Making Tax Digital (MTD) Letters From HMRC
HMRC are writing to around 380,000 businesses over the next two weeks to let them know about MTD for VAT and to advise that single companies, who have annual turnover of £85,000 or more, are now eligible to join the MTD pilot and can start submitting VAT returns under MTD before it become compulsory from … Continued
Budget 2018: Tax and Business Round – Up
At a time of political and economic uncertainty, the announcement of several substantial measures in the Budget on 29 October 2018 came as a surprise for many businesses. In fact, the Budget was met with an overall positive reception from industry groups, with the FSB calling it the Chancellor’s “first small-business-friendly Budget”. A range of … Continued
Most Small Businesses Receive Funding Boost
The overwhelming majority of small businesses that applied for finance in the first six months of 2018 were successful, statistics show. UK Finance commissioned market research firm BDRC to carry out its SME Finance Monitor Q2 2018 and found 85% of small businesses in the UK secured finance in the first half of the year. … Continued
Auto Enrolment – Ongoing Responsibilities
Automatic enrolment is a continuing process for employers – it doesn’t end once they’ve put their staff into a workplace pension. There are ongoing responsibilities you will need to complete after you’ve submitted your declaration of compliance. To stay compliant, you will need to: assess the age and earnings of their staff who aren’t enrolled … Continued