Month: April 2018

  • Sole trader to Limited company the pros and cons

    What to expect from incorporating your business. With a new tax year upon us, many sole traders will be reviewing their business structure and considering whether it’s worth switching to a limited company. There’s no denying that incorporating a business proved popular in 2017, with Companies House reporting a 7% rise in the number of…

  • Phoenix wings are clipped

    A guide to measures which discourage ‘phoenixing’ of companies. Companies can fail for several reasons and, for the most part, these aren’t the result of wrongdoing by the directors. For this reason, it’s perfectly legal to start a new company after an old one has become insolvent. However, there are a number of rules that…

  • GDPR – ready or not here it comes

    Small businesses are worryingly underprepared with little over a month to go before new data protection regulations are introduced. The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) claims 33% of SMEs have not started preparing for the EU-wide General Data Protection Regulation, which takes effect on 25 May 2018. A similar number (35%) have only recently started…

  • Apprentices welcomed

    Small firms in England are positive about the value that apprenticeships bring to their workforce, a year after the apprenticeship levy was introduced in April 2017. According to a study by the Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT), the overwhelming majority of small business owners (96%) say they are likely to take on more apprentices in…

  • Tax simplification or pipe dreams?

    The tax system in Britain should be replaced with a single rate on all forms of income, claims a thinktank. A report by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) has outlined its recommendations to improve the British tax system. In order to make the system more “progressive and efficient”, the proposed reforms would involve…

  • The self-employed march on

    The number of people who are planning to become their own boss has almost doubled in the past year, according to research. Aldermore polled 2,003 adults and found that 29% aim to start their own business in the future – up from 15% in 2017. Some 18% of those intend to make the switch in…