August 27, 2008New Personal Injury service

We are pleased to announce that we now have an arrangement with specialist person injury solicitors, asb aspire llp to handle personal injury claims on behalf of our clients where they need assistance.

You can notify us on line and we shall be developing this scheme further with asb aspire llp and organisations that work with them to include a fleet management package.

Please click here for further details.

August 14, 2008When is the VAT return due?

This is an easy one - the VAT return is due on the last day of the month following the end of the VAT quarter. Well, that is not always the case.

When the due date for the VAT return falls on a weekend or a bank holiday HMRC say they will exercise their discretion and not record the return as being late as long as it is received on the next working day (see policy statement below). However you can’t rely on this discretion always being exercised in your clients’ favour, or indeed the postal system actually delivering the VAT return on time.

What about VAT returns submitted over the internet? HMRC are desperate to get more traders to submit VAT returns online, so they allow a further seven calendar days in which to submit the VAT return figures online. The downside is an online VAT return cannot be matched to a cheque payment of VAT, so any VAT due must also be paid electronically such as by the Bankers Automated Clearing System, (BACS) or by setting up a direct debit. The direct debit option gives the trader at least 10 more days use of the VAT receipts. What’s more the VAT return can be submitted at any time after the end of the quarter but the VAT due is not collected by direct debit until the due date, including the extra 10 days.

Example
The VAT return for the quarter to 30 June 2008 was due on 31 July 2008, if it was completed on paper. If the VAT return was submitted online the due date was 7 August 2008, which was the same day the BACS payment should have reached HMRC. However, where a direct debit has been set up in advance of the VAT return being submitted, the VAT due for the quarter to 30 June 2008 was collected on 12 August, as 9 and 10 August were a weekend.

HMRC policy on VAT returns

 
Story from:

Tax Advice Network

August 12, 2008Nowhere to hide as taxman steps up tax probe

There will be nowhere to hide as worldwide tax authorities step up investigation into offshore accounts

Those with offshore bank accounts will be under increasing scrutiny by tax authorities worldwide as they
step up their investigation of offshore accounts to clamp down on perceived tax evasion, Grant Thornton
warns.

‘The Treasury has been progressively tightening the net on offshore accounts for some time and it is now
getting to a point that those with money held offshore, whether acting rightly or wrongly, are likely to
feel some heat from HMRC in the near future,’ Gary Ashford, a Grant Thornton tax investigations director, says.

‘HMRC is using any means possible to get hold of information on offshore accounts. Whether it be paying
for information, pressuring private banks to hand over details or teaming up with other tax authorities
and information sharing, HMRC is determined to gain access to these accounts. It is looking increasingly
likely that HMRC will consider introducing another facility for those holding untaxed offshore assets,
particularly in offshore bank accounts, to disclose these to HMRC and pay any tax owed.’

Ashford warns HMRC sees anything involving offshore arrangements as increasing your risk score. However, those who aware of this can ensure any offshore arrangements are fully tax compliant. ‘If problems are identified in the robustness of any arrangements they should be disclosed to HMRC at the earliest opportunity as HMRC has stated it will look to prosecute cases that have not been disclosed,’ he said.
Story from: Accountancy Age

August 6, 2008VAT exempts face temps hike

Withdrawal of concession leads to concerns of £125m a year bill for those exempt from VAT.

Charities, banks and other groups who hire temporary workers are facing a hike in VAT payments, following the withdrawal of a concession in the Budget.

Agencies are campaigning against the change, which prevents organisations recovering costs tied to the recruitment of temps.

The Budget decision means that only VAT-rated businesses will qualify for relief from April next year.

That means much of the not-for-profit sector, as well as financial services groups, will lose the benefit, worth £125m a year to business
Story from: Accountancy Age

August 5, 2008Brown could scrap stamp duty to rescue economy

Stamp duty could be scrapped by Gordon Brown temporarily in a package designed to turn around the faltering economy.

With the prime minister expected to announce details of how to rescue the economy, reports suggest that suspending stamp duty could be a key plank of his plans, according to the Sun.

Stamp duty is paid at 1% on homes bought for between £125,001 and £250,000, 3% between £250,001 and £500,000, and 4% over £500,000.

Billions of pounds have been spent on stamp duty over the last ten years due to the availability of mortgages and rising house prices.

Other suggestions include an attempt to lower fuel costs and scrapping plans for new vehicle tax rates.

Story from: Accountancy Age

August 4, 2008Malicious calls swamp tax hotline

A hotline set up to catch income tax cheats has been flooded with calls from people making malicious and unfounded allegations, MPs have been told.

One woman made 68 calls to report her husband - none of which had led to an investigation, the Public Accounts Committee was told.
Dave Hartnett, acting chairman of HM Revenue and Customs, said he was “disappointed by the quality” of calls.

But he said figures for the current year had shown an improvement.
Mr Hartnett told the committee there were up to two million people in the “hidden economy” in the UK - about 80% of whom were “small time” tax evaders in low paid jobs such as hairdressing, gardening or cleaning.

But there were also examples of higher earning offenders, including medical consultants and 57 barristers who were “in the hidden economy at some time not paying any tax”.

Story from:
BBC NEWS

August 3, 2008Financial systems and training

If you are a start-up business and have bought Sage or QuickBooks and need help to use it,we can help.

We can help with training to suit you and provide continuing support to manage your business operate your payroll, complete VAT returns and prepare necessary statutory accounts.

If you are a start-up business and haven’t bought your own software yet, we will provide it with the right training for you.

For established businesses we can help you get business software to make your life easier.

To receive a quote for any of our services in Berkshire, Surrey, Staines, Slough, Windsor, Maidenhead and Reading, please return the brief questionnaire to get the process started.

August 3, 2008Tax services

Whether or not you are in business you can benefit from our tax and financial expertise.  We have recognised specialists in all areas of:

• Personal financial planning
• Self assessment
• Inheritance tax planning
• Capital Gains tax planning
• Business exit or succession planning
• Tax efficient will and trust drafting
• Trust and estate accounts and tax returns

To receive a quote for any of our services in Berkshire, Surrey, Staines, Slough, Windsor, Maidenhead and Reading, please return the brief questionnaire to get the process started.

August 3, 2008Payroll Services

Running your own payroll can be time consuming and complicated, particularly with the ever increasing complexity of taxation and employment legislation. There is an increasing burden on business to comply with these issues and non-compliance can lead to substantial penalties. We can prepare payrolls for businesses with 2 to 200 staff.


Our service is comprehensive and confidential and includes:

• computer generated payslips
• administration of PAYE, national insurance, statutory sick pay, statutory maternity pay, etc
• completion of statutory forms (including year end returns)
• summaries and analysis of staff costs
• administration of incentive schemes, bonuses and ex-gratia termination payments.

Even if you only have a few employees, you will make savings by engaging us to administer your payroll.

PAYROLL SERVICES

Prices exclude VAT

To receive a quote for any of our services in Berkshire, Surrey, Staines, Slough, Windsor, Maidenhead and Reading, please return the brief questionnaire to get the process started.

August 2, 2008NAO unveils massive HMRC tax credit errors

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has been forced to develop a strategy to reduce error and fraud after the National Audit Office (NAO) refused to sign off its accounts for the sixth consecutive year on discovering as much as £1.5bn may have been overpaid in tax credits.

Tim Burr, NAO head, described the levels of tax credit error and fraud as ‘significant’ compared with the expenditure of the scheme. HMRC has announced it plans to reduce overpayments to less than 5% by 2011.

‘HMRC now has a target and has developed a strategy for reducing error and fraud. It will need to monitor how the measures it adopts are contributing to the achievement of the target and to respond effectively,’ Burr said.

The NAO report reveals that, in the four years since the tax credits scheme was introduced, the department has overpaid by £7.3bn. According to the report, claimants have not always understood their obligations or received the support they needed from the department.

Story from: Accountancy Age