Month: November 2019

  • The missing budget 2019

    It’s been an eventful few years in British politics, but 2019 has been something else again with one jolt after another. The 29 March deadline for the UK to leave the EU was extended to 31 October and then again until 31 January 2020. Boris Johnson replaced Theresa May as Prime Minister and Sajid Javid…

  • Protecting your business from fraud

    Steps to shield your firm from threats. Fraud costs the UK around £190 billion a year, with businesses bearing almost three quarters – £140bn – of those losses. This worrying picture is backed up by the 2019 Fraudscape report compiled by anti-fraud body Cifas, which provides statistics for fraud committed by employees. The report read:…

  • Capital gains tax and property – changes are on the way

    Tax changes to private residences for 2020/21. From 6 April 2020, HMRC is proposing three significant changes which will potentially increase the capital gains tax paid on the disposal of any residential property by an individual. These changes seek to raise extra revenue from the disposal of residential properties and to collect these taxes more…

  • Employers need help to absorb the planned national living wage hike

    Business groups want more support to help employers meet the Chancellor’s pledge to raise the national living wage to £10.50 an hour by 2024. Chancellor Sajid Javid announced his intention to implement the hike alongside lowering the age threshold for those who qualify for the living wage from 25 to 21. The national living wage…

  • Inheritance Tax – don’t fall into the trap

    A record amount of estates paid inheritance tax in 2016/17, according to government figures. More than 28,100 estates were liable for death duties in 2016/17 – a new high for the number of estates charged. The latest figure represented a 15% rise on the previous year’s figure of 24,500, and continued the trend of year-on-year…

  • Stamp duty revenue down for HMRC

    The Treasury’s take from stamp duty land tax fell by the largest amount since the start of 2008/09, government figures show. In England and Northern Ireland, HMRC collected £11.94 billion in stamp duty receipts on completed property or land purchases in 2018/19 – a 7% decline on the previous tax year. That represents the biggest…

  • Are you saving into your pension plan?

    A government-backed pension provider is trialling emotive messages to nudge sole traders to start retirement saving. The messages from NEST aim to persuade the self-employed to sign up for pensions through payment or accountancy platforms or trade and industry bodies. Four messages are being tested to encourage savings behaviour, including ‘could you save £2.50 a…