Category: Business

Thousands of small businesses that face severe cashflow problems due to late payments stand to benefit from changes to the prompt-payment code. The Government has strengthened the prompt-payment code so that 95% of invoices from smaller suppliers must be paid within 30 days from 1 July 2021. This has been halved from the current 60 … Continued

Businesses that deferred paying VAT between 20 March 2020 and 30 June 2020 do not need to pay the full amounts by the end of this month. VAT-registered firms were not required to make VAT payments during this deferral period, and initially had until 31 March 2021 to pay any liabilities. However, the Government’s winter … Continued

Retailers experienced their worst annual sales performance since records began, figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) show. While food sales grew by 5.4%, non-food sales declined by 5% over the same period resulting in an overall fall of 0.3% in 2020. In a year dominated by the effects of COVID-19, the figures marked the … Continued

At least 250,000 small businesses could permanently close this year, the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has warned. The FSB based its forecast on a survey of 1,401 small firms, 5% of which said they expect to go out of business this year. If that percentage was to be applied to the UK’s six million … Continued

Extending the furlough scheme until the end of April 2021 is showing evidence of minimising job losses, a report claims. The scheme offers employers 80% towards furloughed workers’ wages, up to a maximum of £2,500 a month, currently until 30 April 2021. Employers are still required to pay National Insurance contributions and workplace pension contributions … Continued

Businesses in the sectors hardest hit by COVID-19 can access new one-off grants to help them get through lockdown. The Treasury announced £4.6 million in additional support to help around 600,000 firms in England stay afloat until the spring. Firstly, businesses in retail, hospitality and leisure sectors need to be closed due to the third … Continued

One of the key factors that determine the tax on a business’s right to occupy commercial property in England has been frozen for 2021/22, the Chancellor has confirmed. Buried in the supporting documents of Spending Review 2020 was a freeze on the business rates multiplier, which the Government expects to save retailers £575 million up … Continued

A temporary increase to the annual investment allowance has been extended until 1 January 2022, the Treasury confirmed. The allowance enables firms to fully offset the cost of qualifying capital items of plant and machinery against taxable profits. Since 1 January 2019, businesses have received faster tax relief for plant and machinery investments up to … Continued

Guides for clients below: Brexit Planning Guide Brexit Checklist Brexit Update  

HMRC has issued a last call to around 250,000 traders, highlighting urgent actions to take if they wish to continue trading with the EU from 1 January 2021.  The UK will leave the EU single market and customs union when the Brexit transition period comes to an end on New Year’s Day.  From then, new … Continued