Month: September 2017

  • Payroll – what you need to know

    A guide for employers on topical payroll issues. Employers need to keep an eye on changes affecting payroll so all employees have the right amount of tax deducted under PAYE. This is a round-up of the latest payroll-related developments. Dynamic coding In July 2017, PAYE tax codes became more refined. Under the new system, known…

  • IHT and the family home

    Not everyone’s a winner with the recently-introduced residence nil-rate band. Rising property prices have left more families being elevated to millionaire status and dealing with the inheritance tax (IHT) implications that come with it. The Treasury collected £4.6 billion from IHT in 2015/16, compared to £2.69 billion in 2010/11, to reflect a rising year-on-year trend.…

  • GDPR – what you need to know

    Individuals will be able to legally ask businesses to delete certain personal data under new proposals outlined in the Data Protection Bill. The Bill forms part of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which is due to come into effect on 25 May 2018. The legislation will allow individuals greater control over their personal…

  • Hiring new staff

    Recruiters are finding it difficult to hire new staff due to increasing competition for highly skilled employees, a study has found. Of 400 recruitment agencies surveyed by IHS Markit for the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC), 40% found the availability of temporary staff had got worse in July 2017 compared to the previous month (35%).…

  • National living wage and profits

    64% of small businesses are seeing profits fall as a result of the national living wage (NLW) rise, according to research. The NLW increased from £7.20 to £7.50 per hour on 1 April 2017. Out of 835 businesses surveyed by the Federation of Small Business (FSB), 39% have put up prices to cope with the…

  • Dealing in large amounts of cash and HMRC

    Businesses accepting cash payments of €10,000 or more in exchange for goods are required to register with HMRC under money laundering regulations (MLR). Recent changes to regulations mean that companies accepting cash payments on or above the threshold limit (or equivalent in sterling) will be classed as high value dealers. Transactions that are considered high…