Nov 22

Chancellor delivers Budget to lay foundation for a strong economy

On 27 October, Chancellor Rishi Sunak delivered a Budget to ensure the UK economy bounces back following the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. The Chancellor announced that total departmental spending will grow by £150 billion per year in cash terms by 2024/25, marking the largest real term increase in overall departmental spending for any Parliament this century. Public […]

READ MORE

Nov 01

BUDGET 27 OCTOBER 2021

Please download our Budget October summary 2021 click here This Summary covers the key tax changes announced in the Chancellor’s speech and includes tables of the main rates and allowances. At the back of the Summary, you will find a calendar of the tax year with important deadline dates shown. We recommend that you review […]

READ MORE
British Business Bank provided £80.5 billion of COVID-19 support blog

Oct 08

British Business Bank provided £80.5 billion of COVID-19 support

COVID-19 emergency finance schemes offered £80.5 billion of finance to almost 1.7 million businesses through the British Business Bank (BBB) during the last financial year. This support, which is not included under the Bank’s core programmes, was evenly distributed across the nations and regions of the UK. In addition, the BBB supported £8.5 billion through […]

READ MORE
Government announces plans to make requesting flexible working a day one right

Government announces plans to make requesting flexible working a day one right

UK workers could get more choice over when and where they work under new proposals to make the right to request flexible working a day one entitlement. The government will also introduce a day one right to one week’s unpaid leave for carers balancing a job with caring responsibilities. The government says the plans will […]

READ MORE
£800 million Reinsurance Scheme opens for live events blog

£800 million Reinsurance Scheme opens for live events

The government has opened a £800 million Reinsurance Scheme to cover live events against cancellations stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. The live events sector is worth more than £70 billion annually to the UK economy and supports more than 700,000 jobs, including small businesses and the self-employed. The UK Live Events Reinsurance Scheme will support […]

READ MORE
Chancellor warned of redundancies blog

Chancellor warned of redundancies as furlough scheme ends

The government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) ended on 30 September after supporting millions of workers during the pandemic. The government said the wages of more than 11 million people were subsidised for at least some of the scheme’s duration at a cost of around £70 billion. Economists say there is likely to be a […]

READ MORE
Chancellor to deliver Autumn 2021 Budget blog

Chancellor to deliver Autumn 2021 Budget on 27 October

HM Treasury has announced that Chancellor Rishi Sunak will deliver the Autumn 2021 Budget on Wednesday 27 October. On 7 September the Chancellor launched Spending Review 2021, which will conclude on 27 October and will be presented alongside the Autumn Budget. The Spending Review will outline government departments’ resource and capital budgets from 2022/23 to […]

READ MORE
National Insurance and dividend tax rises blog

National Insurance and dividend tax rises announced for social care reform

From April 2022, the government plans to create a new social care levy which will see UK-wide tax and National Insurance Contribution (NIC) increases. There will be a 1.25% increase in NICs on earned income, with dividend tax rates also increasing by 1.25%. The money raised will be ringfenced for health and social care costs. The […]

READ MORE
Making Tax Digital for Income blog

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Self Assessment delayed for a year

The government has delayed the introduction of Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax Self Assessment (MTD for ITSA) for a year, HMRC recently announced. The government says it has made the move in recognition of the challenges faced by many UK businesses as the country emerges from the pandemic. It will now introduce MTD […]

READ MORE
Employers named and shamed

Sep 09

Employers ‘named and shamed’ for paying less than minimum wage

The government has ‘named and shamed’ 191 companies that have broken National Minimum Wage (NMW) laws. Following investigations by HMRC, the named firms have been fined for owing £2.1 million to over 34,000 workers. The breaches took place between 2011 and 2018. Named employers have since been made to pay back what they owed to […]

READ MORE
Advisory fuel rates September 2021

Advisory fuel rates for company cars September 2021

New company car advisory fuel rates have been published and took effect from 1 September 2021. The guidance states: ‘you can use the previous rates for up to one month from the date the new rates apply’. The rates only apply to employees using a company car. The advisory fuel rates for journeys undertaken on […]

READ MORE
Skills training

BCC calls for government to extend skills training

The BCC has urged the government to extend skills training in light of the publication of research which showed that one in five companies are considering making redundancies as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The BCC has stressed concerns that older workers could go unutilised unless support for retraining is put into place […]

READ MORE
digital scams

HMRC urges taxpayers to stay alert to digital scams

HMRC has urged taxpayers to stay alert to the threat of digital scams and scammers claiming to represent HMRC. Research published by HMRC revealed that the number of tax-related scams has doubled in the past 12 months. In the past year HMRC has received more than one million referrals from the UK public in regard […]

READ MORE
Contactless limit to increase

Contactless limit to increase to £100 from 15 October

The national roll-out of the new £100 spending limit for contactless card payments will begin from 15 October 2021, banking trade body UK Finance has confirmed. The decision to raise the contactless limit from £45 to £100 was made by HM Treasury and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) following a public consultation and discussions with […]

READ MORE
stamp duty refund

CIOT warns over stamp duty refund claims

The CIOT has warned that some claims being made by firms offering help with Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) refunds are too good to be true. The CIOT says an increasing number of firms are contacting buyers of properties after completion of a purchase, suggesting that SDLT has been overpaid. The most common issues raised […]

READ MORE
Digital marketplaces to report

Digital marketplaces to report sellers’ incomes from 2023

HMRC has published a consultation that outlines plans to implement reporting rules for digital platforms first put forward by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). In February 2020, the OECD consulted on proposed rules setting out how digital platforms should collect information about the income of sellers and report it to tax authorities. […]

READ MORE
Increase in public trust in charities Blog

Aug 06

Increase in public trust in charities

Public trust in charities has reached its highest level since 2014, according to research published by the Charity Commission. An independent study showed that people’s trust in charities scored an average of 6.4 out of 10, up from 6.2 a year ago and significantly higher than the low of 5.5 recorded in 2018. The highest […]

READ MORE
Data reveals 1.9 million workers remain on furlough Blog

Data reveals 1.9 million workers remain on furlough

The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) is being wound down on 30 September 2021 and data published by HMRC has revealed that 1.9 million workers remain on furlough. The data showed that the number of employees furloughed on the CJRS fell by 590,000 during June. The total number of furloughed workers is 1.9 million. The data […]

READ MORE
ension scams average losses now over £50,000 Blog

Pension scams average losses now over £50,000

According to the latest figures from Action Fraud the average loss from pension scams has reached £50,949 this year. That is more than double the typical figure of £23, 689 reported last year. Action Fraud said the losses in each case ranged from less than £1,000 to as much as £500,000, and the real figures […]

READ MORE
ICAEW urges HMRC to scrap exemptions to simplify VAT rules Blog

ICAEW urges HMRC to scrap exemptions to simplify VAT rules

In response to HMRC’s consultation on simplifying the rules relating to land and property, the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) has urged HMRC to abolish all VAT exemptions and remove all VAT options. The ICAEW stated that the VAT rules regarding land and property are ‘unnecessarily complex’ and stand to benefit […]

READ MORE

Open Quote

From first going self-employed to starting a limited company, the fantastic accountants at Sage have talked me through the processes and looked after all things accounts-related, leaving me with peace of mind; free to focus on the day-to-day operating of the business. Sage handles everything for me from payroll to tax returns and their service is flawless; when I need something its done; when I need info I get it. All of their staff are friendly, professional, efficient and patient and I couldn’t manage without them.

 

Close Quote