Accountants in Cannock who help you keep more of what you earn.
With the election two weeks away and the leaders firing up for the next debate tonight, we want to lay out some of the main tax rules that each of the parties will be setting out. Starting with Labour: Labour Labour has a plan to cut the deficit by taxing the wealthy at a greater rate, as shown by the 50% tax rate on earnings over £150,000. Labour will also continue to hit hard the tax evaders who use offshore accounts and do not declare their income. Corporation tax would most likely stay at 28%, however a VAT increase is in the cards. NI rates would be increased by 1p and, they intend to create a UK Finance For Growth fund, expected to be worth £4 billion. Conservatives Large business corporation tax rate would be slashed by 3% down to 25% while making funding easier to get for small to medium sized businesses. Removing tax credits for those earning over £50,000 and cutting spending by £6 billion. Again, no VAT increase has been ruled out, but the inheritance tax would be raised to £1 million. Liberal Democrats Last but not least, Cable intends to crackdown on tax evasion (no wonder Brown said "I agree with Nick" so much!) while introducing a mansion tax on properties worth over £2 million. Personal allowances would be upped to £10,000 removing many low earners from income tax and bringing capital gains in-line with income tax. Cash bonuses on bankers would be limited to £2,500 at and the bank's board members would not be allow bonuses. This is not a comprehensive guide and we thoroughly recommend you do your own reading and be as informed as you can about who to vote for.
Many of us find great issues with HMRC and find ourselves pulling our hair out because we aren't who we say we are or because the post hasn't been opened for six weeks... But it is not just us on this side of the fence who dread the tax office. Statistics show that only 18% of people who work there are proud to say they work there and 13% said that it is managed well. While this isn't strictly a news piece, it is comforting to know the person on the other end of the line is enjoying the call as much as we are.
Following our previous post on being a director by another name, we have further information regarding being a de facto or shadow director. Though a bit of an ambiguous subject it is important to be aware and legal to avoid five years on the inside. Lets start by looking at the number of director disqualifications. In the last few years there has been a significant increase in the number of disqualifications in the last few years. However, many of these have been undertaking, not ordered. Undertaking is basically settling out of court and saving time and money for yourself. Disqualification can last for anywhere between 2 and 15 years dependant on how serious the offences were. Now if you are currently disqualified you need to take proper precautions to ensure that you can not be seen to be acting as a shadow or de facto director. This means that if you are making directors decisions as to the management and steering or the company you could be seen as acting and receive a criminal record. If the company makes a loss, you could then become personally liable for any losses. A few questions that will help you decide your shadow status include, do you attend board meetings, do you get a director's salary and do you have the power to make major decisions regarding the running of the company?
When tax in all of it's various forms is due to HMRC the best way to do this is to make an electronic payment, there are many ways to do this but which is best for you? Electronic payment for VAT and corporation tax is going is becoming compulsory and we are going to touch base on three of the ways to do this. BACS - A highly recommended method because it is quick easy and can be done online using internet banking or in branch. Direct Debit - An equally recommendable method of doing so. All one needs to do is sign the direct debit mandate once, sign it and send it to HMRC and they will do the rest. When paying VAT this method is good because any refunds you recieve will be put back into your account automatically. At the Post Office - To pay at the Post Office you will need to take the payslip which is attached to the your statement that HMRC will send to you. To go to HMRC's site for paying them, please click on this link.