Accountants in Cannock who help you keep more of what you earn.
Yesterday, Alistair Darling presented his third budget and it was a make or break budget. Navigating an economy forwards and upwards can be difficult even at the best of times so to steer the road to recovery was a tall order for Alistair. More importantly, what will the steps Mr Darling has put in place mean for you? Well in all honestly, as far as budgets go, this one wasn't an exciting one. Perhaps the most significant for businesses owners is the increase in the Annual Investment Allowance which was doubled to £100,000. This allowance means that businesses can spend up to £100,000 on plant and machinery and have it written off in that tax year. However to be able to benefit from this, you will need the spare cash to spend £100,00 in the first place. Some good news for anyone thinking of selling up; Entrepreneurs Relief has been increased to £2 Million on disposals after 6th April 2010. This relief is a lifetime personal allowance for selling your company and means that the first £2 Million you make on selling your company will only be taxed at 10% and after that at the standard rate of Capital Gains Tax of 18%. Stamp Duty has had a swap around where first time buyers are exempt for the first £250,000 while the amount due on houses over one million will increase Other points worth noting is that standard personal allowances are staying a £6475 meaning a backdoor tax rise, Corporation Tax is to go up to 22% for small companies and is frozen at 28% for those with 'profit's over £1.5 Million. Lloyds & RBS have agreed to lend £94 Billion in new business loans to encourage economic growth.
From 1st April 2011 Corporation Tax Returns will have to subimtted online. Something we pride ourselves in doing anyway, but there is more. From that date any Corporation Tax payments must be made by an electronic method. This can include Direct Debit, BACS or CHAPS. Though this could be an inconvience to some, it is equally a safer way to pay taxes as the payment can not get lost in the post or can the cheque forget to be signed. For further information about how to pay Corporation Tax online visit the HMRC website by clicking on this link.
An Attorney and an Tax Accountant are sitting next to each other on a long flight from LA to NY. The Attorney leans over to the Tax Accountant and asks if he would like to play a fun game. The Tax Accountant just wants to take a nap, so he politely declines and rolls over to the window to catch a few winks. The Attorney persists and explains that the game is really easy and a lot of fun. He explains 'I ask you a question , and if you don't know the answer, you pay me $5.' Again, the Tax Accountant politely declines and tries to get some sleep. The Attorney, now somewhat agitated, says 'OK, if you don't know the answer you pay me $5, and if I don't know the answer, I will pay you $50!'This catches the Tax Accountant's complete attention, and he sees no end to this torment unless he plays, so he agrees to the game. The Attorney asks the first question. 'What's the distance from the earth to the moon?' The Tax Accountant doesn't say a word, reaches in to his wallet, pull out a five-dollar bill and hands it to the Attorney. Now, it's the Tax Accountant's turn. He asks the Attorney: 'What goes up a hill with three legs, and comes down with four?' The Attorney looks at him with a puzzled look. He takes out his laptop computer and searches all his references. He taps into the Airphone with his modem and searches the Net and the Library of Congress. Frustrated, he sends E-mails to all his co-workers and friends he knows. All to no avail. After over an hour, he wakes the Tax Accountant and hands him $50. The Tax Accountant politely takes the $50 and turns away to get back to sleep. The Attorney, more that a little miffed, shakes the Tax Accountant and asks, 'Well, so what IS the answer?' Without a word, the Tax Accountant reaches into his wallet, hands the Attorney $5 and goes back to sleep.
An Attorney and an Tax Accountant are sitting next to each other on a long flight from LA to NY. The Attorney leans over to the Tax Accountant and asks if he would like to play a fun game. The Tax Accountant just wants to take a nap, so he politely declines and rolls over to the window to catch a few winks. The Attorney persists and explains that the game is really easy and a lot of fun. He explains 'I ask you a question , and if you don't know the answer, you pay me $5.' Again, the Tax Accountant politely declines and tries to get some sleep. The Attorney, now somewhat agitated, says 'OK, if you don't know the answer you pay me $5, and if I don't know the answer, I will pay you $50!'This catches the Tax Accountant's complete attention, and he sees no end to this torment unless he plays, so he agrees to the game. The Attorney asks the first question. 'What's the distance from the earth to the moon?' The Tax Accountant doesn't say a word, reaches in to his wallet, pull out a five-dollar bill and hands it to the Attorney. Now, it's the Tax Accountant's turn. He asks the Attorney: 'What goes up a hill with three legs, and comes down with four?' The Attorney looks at him with a puzzled look. He takes out his laptop computer and searches all his references. He taps into the Airphone with his modem and searches the Net and the Library of Congress. Frustrated, he sends E-mails to all his co-workers and friends he knows. All to no avail. After over an hour, he wakes the Tax Accountant and hands him $50. The Tax Accountant politely takes the $50 and turns away to get back to sleep. The Attorney, more that a little miffed, shakes the Tax Accountant and asks, 'Well, so what IS the answer?' Without a word, the Tax Accountant reaches into his wallet, hands the Attorney $5 and goes back to sleep.
We have recently heard about a PAYE inspection into an employee who had a van for private use only but the company might be finding themselves in a sticky situation. The employee (Mr X) had a van but it was only for private use, not personal. However when the taxman conducted his inspection this doesn't sit well with him and he says that because a mileage log has not been kept and Mr X can't prove that his miles have been wholly and exclusively business miles. Because of this the van has been declared as a benefit in kind and is therefore liable to PAYE, NI and interest. For more information about how to keep your business clean and not liable to hefty PAYE fines contact us for a free business health check.
The word on the street is that up to 10,000 taxpayers a day receive fake emails regarding a tax refund they are entitled. All they need to do is put their bank details in a reply email and they will get what is rightfully belongs to them. Scam emails are always going to be around and all we can say is that you must be on your guard and use common sense. The taxman would never email you asking for bank details as it isn't a secure method of communication.
There has been huge uproars about having a non-domincile status. In particular Lord Ashcroft. However, the issue has overflown into the Dragon's Den as James Caan & Duncan Bannatyne clash over Caan's non-dom status and the fact that Caan will not be taxed as much as Bannatyne. But, what does non-dom actually mean? Well, domincile means the legal place where you live or to setup residency, so, a non-dom status means that someone is living in a country, but hasn't set up residency or doesn't legally reside in that country. Non-dom status can be applied for if you Sounds dandy, but what affect does it have on the UK tax system? A very signficant one really. If living in the UK and you have earnings from overseas investment income you don't pay tax on what you earn. The controversy arises when people are living in the UK and benefiting from our society but not paying any tax into run it. And that, in short, is what a non-dom status is and what it means.
Thinking of sending a letter to HMRC? Don't expect a reply with in the next 4 weeks. The Revenue's postal backlog is of tremendous stature and it take them weeks just to open the letter let alone act upon it. For example, we are currently chasing refunds which HMRC have been holding onto for some time. We have sent letters to HMRC regarding this however upon speaking to the tax office they have told us that we should expect a reply to our letter dated 24th February by the 30th April. Unfortunately dealing with HMRC requires an abundance of patience and grace.
Here at Chase Accounting we are part of a business network called The Best Of Cannock. What they aim to do is to give people the chance to shout about some of the good businesses they have worked with. Naturally, are a member and have been for the past three years because we match fees, and provide excellent accountancy in Cannock and the surrounding community. To visit the Best Of Cannock website, click here. Or if you would like to discuss the ways we can save you tax contact us.
HMRC are shaking up the way VAT is reported and paid to Her Majesty by pushing online filing and electronic payment. But what about those who can't keep up with the online world. Businesses with a turnover in excess of £100,000 now have to file there return online and pay electronically. It recommends that everyone move over to online filing and has offered a tantalising extra 7 days to pay and file your return. But this isn't the only thing that HMRC are changing. For those who still love a good old cheque HMRC are amending the rules. From 1st April 2010 cheques sent to HMRC to pay VAT must of cleard in Her Majesty's bank by the due date. This means that to be on the safe side, payments need to be at HMRC 4 working days before the due date. For advice or answers to any questions about online filing ask us! That is why you pay us!