October 31, 2008Govt accused for missing Equitable warning signs

Parliamentary ombudsman attacks government for being too 'mesemerised' to see Equitable's warning signs

Parlimentary Ombudsman Ann Abraham launched a broadside attack on the Government yesterday, accusing it for being too slack in its regulation of Equitable Life to heed warning signs which brought UK's oldest insurance mutual close to disaster.

She was giving evidence to the Public Administration Select Committee which has started an examination of her damning report released last July, which accused regulators - the Department of Trade and Industry, the Government Actuary's Department, and Financial Services Authority, acting on behalf of the Treasury - for being guilty of 'comprehensive failure', The Daily Telegraph reports.

Comparing Equitable to a ship about to go over a waterfall, she made a stinging attack of Government regulators, saying they were 'mesmerised' by the society and watching a disaster occur before its near-collapse in 2001.

'Here was a long-established, extremely well thought of, highly successful society that had been that way since anybody could remember,' she told the committee. 'Somehow, although the stark facts were in front of them, they couldn't quite believe it. There was a sort of sense that "somehow it will come right".'

Story from: Accountancy Age

October 24, 2008Late Filing Penalties

Section 441 of the Companies Act 2006 requires all companies to deliver annual accounts to the Registrar of Companies by the due date. Section 453 specifies that a civil administration penalty shall be payable if the accounts are delivered late, and provides for the Secretary of State to specify the level of this penalty through regulations.

To increase the effectiveness of the late filing penalties, when section 453 comes into force Companies House will change the current schedule of late filing penalties as contained in section 242A of the Companies Act 1985. In parallel, the Government will amend section 242A of the 1985 Act so that these changes also apply to accounts prepared under the 1985 Act but delivered late on or after 1st February 2009 when the updated penalties come into force.

What are late filing penalties?
Late filing penalties were introduced in 1992 to encourage directors of limited companies to file their accounts on time because they must provide this statutory information for the public record.

All penalties to be increased to take account of inflation between 1992 and 2007
A faster rate of increase in penalties for companies who file more than one month late.
A doubling of the penalty for any company which files late having also filed late in the previous year.

The new table of penalties is a follows:

In addition where there was a failure to comply with filing requirements in relation to the previous financial year (and that the previous financial year had begun on or after 6th April 2008), the penalty will be double that shown in the table.

The new penalties will apply from 1st February 2009.

October 15, 2008Escape the credit crunch.

Do something different.

Have fun you can share with your friends and family.
Learn skills that are useful forever, save money and impress people.
Become a wine maker. Learn how to make and bottle wine with your personal label.

Turning grape juice into wine is not rocket science and you don’t need a miracle.

It is a wonderful feeling to produce your own wine at dinner parties, to present wine that you have made as gifts to your friends, with your own personal label.

To have a connection to the process that brings the wine from the vineyard to your table is a unique and wonderful experience. Try it.

Contact Patricia and Ian at Grape Inventions in Windsor

October 1, 2008Small businesses lose out on £200m in tax relief

Small businesses risk losing up to £200m as some local authorities fail to follow latest guidance on tax relief

The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) has warned some local authorities have been following outdated Whitehall guidance imposing the deadline of yesterday for small business rates relief claims.

Two years ago, under an updated guidance, the department introduced a three-year deadline which meant applicants had until 2010 to apply for the 2007-08 tax relief of up to £1100 for individual businesses.

About 870,000 firms were eligible for the rebate, introduced in England in April 2005. The Local Government Association (LGA) told The Daily Telegraph yesterday only half had claimed.

But some council websites and application forms for the relief are stating that, those who missed yesterday’s deadline, would not be able to claim tax relief for 2007-08.

Story from:Accountancy Age