News Archive

  • Have you got undeclared funds in a Jersey account? November 2012 HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has been stepping up its efforts to claw back undeclared tax as the Government looks to reduce the deficit. This has led to a number of campaigns over the past year, targeting specific sectors where HMRC believes individua...
  • Haslers HR Consultancy offers employers a helping hand November 2012 Employment law issues have been hitting the headlines recently. On 24 October, the Supreme Court ruled that 174 former Birmingham City Council workers can go ahead with compensation claims over missed bonuses. The decision gives the workers, mostly wom...
  • Families urged ‘be on guard’ for child benefit tax November 2012 Hundreds of thousands of families are due to receive letters from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) in the coming weeks, spelling out how their child benefit could be cut. From 7 January 2013, families claiming child benefit will have to pay a new tax ch...
  • Tax relief cap plan ‘anti-business’, say experts November 2012 Business people on modest incomes are under threat from the government’s proposed cap on income tax relief, tax specialists have warned. The limit of the higher of 25 per cent of income or £50,000 – set to take effect from April next year – is a...
  • New site replaces Business Link November 2012 The government’s business information website has been replaced by a new site, designed to make it quicker and easier for internet users to interact with the government online. The Gov.uk site at www.gov.uk, which replaced Business Link and Directgov...
  • Service set to give exporters a Headstart November 2012 A new service will provide practical support for UK businesses to export to high growth markets in South East Asia. The Headstart initiative, which was launched on 18 October, will help small and medium-sized businesses seeking to export to these marke...
  • Fast track option set to cut IP dispute costs November 2012 A new small claims track has been introduced to the Patents County Court designed to speed up the court process and make it cheaper and easier, particularly for small and medium sized businesses, to protect intellectual property (IP) rights. The small ...
  • Government targets ‘tax gap’ November 2012 The government has reinforced its commitment to closing the “tax gap” as new figures revealed it had shrunk on last year’s figures. Data released by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) on 18 October estimated the tax gap for 2010/11 at £32 billion, or...
  • Act now on RTI, warns HMRC chief November 2012 HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has been writing to more than 1.4 million employers to its launch Real Time Information (RTI) awareness campaign. The letters, which went out during October, provided  information on what employers need to do to prepare...
  • SMEs face surge in compliance inquiries November 2012 Compliance investigations into small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) by HM Revenue & Customs jumped 39 per cent in the last year, according to new research. According to the data, published on 20 October, investigations into SMEs netted HMRC £...
  • Changes to Audit Exemption Criteria October 2012 It is not often that Government does anything positive to cut red tape for businesses, but this month Vince Cable announced changes to the audit exemption thresholds. This will exempt a significant number of companies from the need to have their accounts ...
  • HMRC offers tax help by email October 2012 Small and medium-sized firms are being invited by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to sign up to receive regular emails giving help and support. The new service, launched by HMRC on 27 September, is aimed at small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and p...
  • Tax crackdown targets lawyers and hairdressers October 2012 Legal professionals, solicitors and hairdressers are among the latest groups to be targeted in a new tax crackdown by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC). The initiatives, launched on 18 September, are expected to recover more than £19.5 million by target...
  • Funding boost for new entrepreneurs October 2012 The first cash from the government £82.5 million Start-Up Loans scheme is now being distributed to young entrepreneurs, with the aim of helping to launch up to 30,000 new companies. Start-Up Loans will provide budding entrepreneurs between the ages of...
  • VAT changes come into force October 2012 Changes to VAT arrangements, originally announced in the March 2012 Budget, take effect from 1 October. The changes, which are designed to tackle anomalies within the VAT regime, apply to hot food and premises; sports nutrition drinks, listed buildings...
  • Company car advisory fuel rates updated October 2012 HM Revenue & Customs has amended the advisory fuel rates for company cars with effect from 1 September 2012. The rates – HMRC’s guidelines for fuel mileage rates for company cars – apply to all journeys made on or after 1 September, until fur...
  • Moves to streamline employment law launched October 2012 New measures designed to give firms more flexibility in managing their workforce and to cut employment red tape, have been announced. Launching consultations on 14 September, Business Secretary Vince Cable said: "We have been looking across the range o...
  • Automatic Enrolment gives new pension security to thousands October 2012 More than half a million people will be saving in a workplace pension for the first time by Christmas, according to new government figures. From October 2012, starting with the largest employers, the automatic enrolment initiative means that bosses wil...
  • Good time to review insurance cover September 2012 It’s always a good idea to have the right insurance protection in place, but with a significant change in the insurance sector set to push up the cost of some types of protection, now is an ideal time to review cover. From 21 December 2012, following...
  • Taxpayers count £1,200 cost of failing to file returns September 2012 Around half a million people who have not yet submitted 2010/11 tax returns to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) are now receiving additional penalty letters. The number of outstanding returns almost halved in 2012, falling to 5.9 per cent of those due c...
  • 1 in 3 businesses not aware of RTI, research finds September 2012 One-third of small businesses are not aware of Real Time Information (RTI) and how it will affect their PAYE systems, according to new research. Business software specialist Sage surveyed 1,100 UK SMEs and found that 64 per cent were aware of the chang...
  • Contractors ‘could cut SME tax bills by £2bn’ September 2012 Businesses could slash their tax bills by up to £2 billion by using self-employed contractors, according to professional advice website unbiased.co.uk. In its Small Business Tax Action Report, published on 1 August, unbiased.co.uk highlighted the tax ...
  • Keep HMRC informed, warns business group September 2012 An organisation representing small businesses has warned entrepreneurs to fully update HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) about any changes to their operations, following a report that one firm is facing a £10,000 fine for not telling HMRC it had changed it...
  • Retailers hit by £205m e-crime bill September 2012 A pioneering study of e-crime has revealed that e-crime cost UK retailers at least £205.4 million in 2011-2012. The first e-crime study from the British Retail Consortium, published on 22 August, found that the bill included £77.3 million in losses f...
  • Firms ‘at risk on insurance cover’ September 2012 New research has shown that more than a third of UK small or medium enterprises (SMEs) could be putting their business at risk by failing to insure their key staff. The latest RSM Tenon Business Barometer, a quarterly survey carried out by YouGov among...
  • New CIS guidance issued September 2012 HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has issued updated guidance for subcontractors operating as limited companies on reclaiming any deductions taken from their payments under the Construction Industry Scheme. The new guidance was issued on 15 August and up...
  • New crackdown planned on ‘aggressive’ tax avoidance August 2012 Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury David Gauke has announced government proposals to crack down on the promoters of aggressive tax avoidance schemes. He unveiled plans on 23 July that included increasing pressure on advisers who market schemes that a...
  • Inward investments boosts UK jobs August 2012 Strong inward investment in the UK created or secured more than 112,000 jobs in 2011/12, a rise of 19 per cent on the preceding year, according to new figures. Statistics announced on 26 July revealed that inward investment created 52,741 new jobs, a 2...
  • Payroll professionals lead way on RTI August 2012 The payroll professionals’ industry body has showcased the new system for reporting employee’s pay and tax details that will affect all businesses next year. Exchequer Secretary David Gauke visited the Solihull offices of the Chartered Institute of...
  • Campaign offers chance to settle tax bills August 2012 Tax chiefs have launched a new initiative targeting taxpayers who have failed to complete tax returns in the past. The three-month Tax Return Initiative, which was launched on 3 July, is particularly aimed at people liable to pay tax at rates of 40 per...
  • New guidance explores redundancy and maternity leave August 2012 Acas and the Equality Human Rights Commission have published a new guide to help employers understand the rights of women who are pregnant or on maternity leave when facing redundancy. Employers and employees seeking advice on pregnancy or maternity ...
  • Tax experts call for more work on GAAR August 2012 Tax specialists have welcomed the launch of a government consultation on a general anti-abuse rule (GAAR) but said that work was still needed on the proposals. The government launched a consultation on the proposed GAAR on 12 June, which would apply to...
  • Health and safety offenders face new costs August 2012 Businesses that breach health and safety laws could find themselves facing substantial bills from 1 October. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has confirmed that its cost recovery scheme, Fee for Intervention, will start from that date, subject to ...
  • ‘Good compliance’ the priority on cookies law, says regulator July 2012 Businesses and other organisations operating websites have been told that regulators want “good compliance, not rushed compliance” with a law requiring them to gain visitors’ consent before logging information about them. Last year, the governmen...
  • New fund offers helping hand to young entrepreneurs July 2012 Young entrepreneurs are set to benefit from an £80 million-plus fund designed to help up to 30,000 businesses get off the ground. The £82.5 million StartUp Loan scheme, launched on 28 May, will give young people aged 18-24 access to support to help t...
  • UK to get world-class creative tax breaks July 2012 The UK’s creative industries are set to benefit from tax reliefs that are among the most generous in the world, according to the government. It has published a consultation on measures announced in the 2012 Budget, introducing tax reliefs targeted at...
  • Rules on large redundancies set for shake-up July 2012 Proposals that could cut the length of time employers have to consult with their employees on large scale redundancies by up to a third have been published by the government. The new measures, outlined in a consultation launched by Employment Relations...
  • HMRC targets taxi firms and restaurants in new crackdowns July 2012 New taskforces have been launched by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) in a bid to recover more than £23 million in unpaid tax. The taskforces, launched on 31 May, will target traders who do not pay the right amount of tax in: indoor and outdoor mar...
  • Anti-abuse tax rules set to include IHT July 2012 Inheritance tax (IHT) is set to be included in new anti-abuse rules designed to tackle tax avoidance schemes. The government launched a consultation on the proposed General Anti-Avoidance Rule (GAAR) on 12 June, which would apply to the main direct tax...
  • Markets great place to start a business, says Apprentice star July 2012 More than 1,000 people are taking a step towards a new career by booking a start-up market pitch as part of a UK-wide Love Your Local Market campaign. Launched on 23 June, the two-week campaign will see more than 300 local markets offering special deal...
  • Justice reforms good for business, says minister June 2012 Justice Minister Jonathan Djanogly has highlighted how the government is helping businesses to “get on with the job” by reforming the justice system. Mr Djanogly met representatives of leading businesses on 9 May to launch Justice for Business: Sup...
  • New IR35 guidance comes under fire June 2012 New HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) guidance to clarify the risk of contractors being caught by the IR35 intermediaries legislation has been attacked as a missed opportunity. The 47-page document, published on 9 May, explains the risk bands HMRC will u...
  • HMRC steps up tax help for bereaved June 2012 A new service has been launched to help people who need to sort out tax issues following bereavement. HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) announced on 21 May that it has set up a dedicated telephone helpline and address to improve services for people with ...
  • Bosses set for end of third party harassment rule June 2012 The government is asking employers for their view on plans to scrap legislation that makes bosses liable for harassment of their employees by customers or clients. The consultation, which was launched on 15 May and continues until 7 August, focuses on ...
  • HSE highlights high cost of equipment testing myth June 2012 The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has launched new guidance on safety testing of electrical appliances, saying that unnecessary checks are costing office-based businesses an estimated £30 million a year. The HSE said that was a costly myth that ev...
  • UK firms must prepare for eurozone crisis, say accountants June 2012 A leading accountancy organisation has warned that the majority ofUKbusinesses have no contingency plans in place in response to the economic turmoil in the eurozone. TheInstituteofChartered AccountantsinEnglandand Wales (ICAEW) conducted a survey of m...
  • Loans service ‘not what struggling businesses need’ June 2012 A new business lending service from online loans specialist Wonga is not what struggling enterprises need, according to business recovery experts. Wonga, which began lending to individuals in 2007, announced on 7 May that it was extending its service t...
  • Forced retirement appeal fails May 2012 A Supreme Court ruling in a key direct age discrimination case is a reminder to employers that a worker’s age should not be “shorthand” on which to base their ability to do their job, says the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC). In the r...
  • First-time employers get online help May 2012 A new online toolkit has been launched to give first-time employers a step-by-step guide to their obligations when taking on a member of staff. Taking on an Employee, which is available on the Business Link website, takes employers through the process ...
  • Panel targets ‘daft’ health and safety decisions May 2012 Office workers being banned from putting up Christmas decorations and trapeze artists being told to wear hard hats are among a top ten of myths published as part of the launch of a new service to help curb the worst examples of health and safety misuse. ...
  • E-traders urged to set tax records straight May 2012 People trading on the internet who haven’t paid all the tax they owe are being invited to come forward and pay up under a new HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) campaign. The e-Markets Disclosure Facility will allow online marketplace traders to pay the...
  • £40m boost for hi-tech businesses May 2012 UKhi-tech small and medium-sized enterprises with high growth potential are set to benefit from at least £40 million of investment from a new Enterprise Capital Fund. Notion Capital, which is backed by private investors, the government and the Europea...
  • Mental ill health ‘costs 91m lost work days’ May 2012 Employment relations specialist Acas has launched a new guide to tackle what it describes as the last taboo in business - mental illness at work. According to the Centre for Mental Health charity, a total of 91 million work days are lost to mental ill ...
  • Businesses urged to step up IT security May 2012 A new survey says that IT security breaches are costing theUKeconomy billions of pounds a year. A total of 447 businesses were quizzed for the 2012 Information Security Breaches Survey (ISBS), carried out by PwC in conjunction with Infosecurity Europe ...
  • Apps aid record-keeping on the go May 2012 HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has highlighted the availability of mobile apps that can help small businesses with record keeping on the go. Commercial software businesses, following consultation with HMRC, have developed the apps for businesses below...
  • R&D tax credit consultation launched April 2012 The government has launched a consultation on the new above the line (ATL) research and development (R&D) tax credit for larger companies, to help shape the way it should work when it is introduced in April 2013. The new credit was originally an...
  • HSE delays move to reclaim costs April 2012 The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has delayed the introduction of a scheme under which it would recover its costs from businesses that break health and safety laws. The HSE said on 15 March that the Fee for Intervention (FFI) cost recovery scheme ...
  • Auto-enrolment threshold to be aligned with tax April 2012 The government has announced that automatic pension enrolment rates are to be aligned with tax and national insurance thresholds, to streamline administration for businesses. In October, the largest employers will be the first to start automatically ...
  • Be prepared for Diamond Jubilee, employers told April 2012 Employers are being urged to plan ahead for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee holiday in June. To mark the occasion, the last bank holiday in May has been moved to Monday, 4 June 2012 and there will be an extra bank holiday on Tuesday, 5 June. Now Acas has r...
  • Self-employed plumber jailed for tax evasion April 2012 A man has been jailed for 12 months for evading £91,000 of income tax and national insurance during ten years of trading as a self-employed plumber. David Williams, 53, was sentenced on 27 March at Wolverhampton Crown Court. Mr Williams, of Rowley Re...
  • Stamp price rises to soar April 2012 Royal Mail has announced steep rises in the prices of stamps from 30 April 2012. The price of a first class stamp for a standard letter will rise from 46p to 60p and the cost of a second class stamp for a standard letter will rise from 36p to 50p. Th...
  • New taskforces planned to target tax cheats March 2012 HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is to launch 30 new taskforces to crack down on tax dodgers in 2012-13. The taskforces will target specific business sectors in specific locations where there is evidence of tax evasion, with likely targets including: ...
  • ‘Avoid early release pension offers’ warning March 2012 Consumers have been urged to steer clear of  offers that claim to be able to provide loans or release tax-free cash from people’s pension pots before they reach the age of 55. The Pensions Regulator, the Financial Services Authority (FSA) and HM R...
  • Penalties on way for late tax returns March 2012 Almost one million taxpayers will receive a penalty for filing their tax return late, but the figure has fallen substantially on last year. HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) announced on 20 February that it would be issuing 850,000 penalties for late re...
  • £1bn boost for business growth March 2012 An extra £1 billion has been set aside by the government to help businesses to grow and create new jobs. The funding, part of the Regional Growth Fund, takes the total fund to £2.4 billion. It will be available to businesses and public/private partn...
  • New lenders join SME loan scheme March 2012 Four new lenders have been accredited to offer loans to small businesses under the Enterprise Finance Guarantee (EFG) scheme, the government has announced. The EFG provides small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that lack the collateral or credit h...
  • IHT relief on businesses ‘safe’ March 2012 Family business owners have been reassured that the government has no plans to remove a valuable inheritance tax relief. A recent report by the London School of Economics, which had called for the removal of business property relief (BPR) for inheritan...
  • HMRC to rethink business record checks March 2012 HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has announced a fresh approach to its business records checks (BRC) programme in 2012, following a review of a pilot for the scheme. The review, which involved trade and professional bodies’ representatives, found tha...
  • Red tape cuts ‘saving businesses £4m’ March 2012 A new government report says that British businesses will benefit from around £4 million in cuts in regulation between January and June 2012. The findings were contained in the Third Statement of New Regulation, published on 28 February, which looked...
  • Updated auto-enrolment timetable issued February 2012 The government has published a revised timetable for when employers must start enrolling their staff in a workplace pension under the auto-enrolment initiative. Large employers – those with 250 or more employees – will face no change in the date t...
  • Company law in red tape spotlight February 2012 Companies are being asked for their views on how to tackle unnecessary bureaucracy in company and commercial law in the latest phase of the government’s Red Tape Challenge to scrap unnecessary regulations. For three weeks from 26 January, the Red Ta...
  • PM backs small businesses in new campaign February 2012 Empty and under-used government offices may become home to start-up and growing small businesses, under plans forming part of a new initiative announced by Prime Minister David Cameron. The Business in You campaign, launched by Mr Cameron on 23 Janua...
  • ‘Online only’ VAT returns weeks away February 2012 HMRC has issued a reminder to VAT-registered businesses that all VAT returns must be submitted online from April. Currently, only newly-registered businesses and those with turnovers of more than £100,000 have to submit VAT online, as well as paying e...
  • SME manufacturers offered new support February 2012 A new national programme has been launched to help small and medium manufacturing businesses to grow. The new Manufacturing Advisory Service (MAS) became available to all manufacturing businesses across England from 3 January. It will be delivered by...
  • New tax dispute scheme put to test February 2012 A pilot scheme has been launched for a new way to resolve disputes between SMEs and HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC). The Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) uses independent HMRC facilitators to resolve disputes between HMRC and small and medium-size...
  • Move set to boost co-ops February 2012 New legislation will be introduced by 2015 that will help to make it as easy to set up a co-operative as any other form of business, the Prime Minister has announced. David Cameron said on 19 January that more than a dozen outdated pieces of legisla...
  • Mediation pilot aims to resolve workplace disputes February 2012 A new government pilot scheme could pave the way to earlier and more cost-effective resolution of workplace disputes. The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills is to fund mediation training for employees from a group of 24 small and medium-si...
  • Taxman to review record checks project January 2012 HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is to carry out a review of its Business Record Checks project, designed to tackle poor record-keeping by small and medium-sized enterprises. In September 2011, HMRC said it planned to complete up to 12,000 checks by th...
  • Employment tribunal fees plan unveiled January 2012 The government has outlined its plans for charging fees to take cases to employment tribunals, designed to cut a multi-million pound bill for the taxpayer and ease pressure on businesses. Justice Minister Jonathan Djanogly launched a consultation on 1...
  • ‘Excessive’ payment surcharges to be outlawed January 2012 Businesses will be banned from levying “excessively high” surcharges on all forms of payment before the end of this year, under government plans. Firms will be able to add a small charge to cover their actual costs for using any particular form of...
  • Website owners ‘need to get to work’ on cookies law January 2012 Website owners must try harder to comply with the new cookies law, according to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). The comments came as the ICO published an update on progress on website compliance with the new rules on 13 December, along w...
  • Acas chief warns of social media challenge January 2012 Social media is likely to be one of the biggest workplace issues in 2012, the head of employment relations service Acas has warned. Highlighting key challenges for employers in the coming year, Acas chairman Ed Sweeney said: “The rise of social medi...
  • Time running out for tobacco displays January 2012 Time is ticking away for the first retailers to be affected by a ban on tobacco displays to ensure their premises are compliant with the law. From 6 April 2012, large shops – those with a floor area of more than 280 square metres – will no longer ...
  • E-trader jailed over VAT fraud January 2012 An online trader has been jailed for attempting to evade more than £420,000 of VAT, ahead of the launch of an HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) campaign targeting people who use e-marketplaces to buy and sell goods and who fail to pay tax owed. Gregor...
  • Employment law set for major reform December 2011 Business Secretary Vince Cable has set out plans for major reform of employment law. The package of measures, announced on 23 November, include an overhaul of employment tribunals, expected to deliver £40 million a year in benefits to employers. The...
  • Self-employed set to benefit in health and safety shake-up December 2011 Government plans have been announced for a major reduction in health and safety rules, with the first changes taking effect from January. An immediate consultation will begin abolish large numbers of health and safety regulations, with the intention ...
  • ‘Real time’ pilot on way for PAYE December 2011 A major change to the way that employers submit information on tax and national insurance for their employees is to begin next year with a pilot programme. Following consultation on Real Time Information (RTI) – under which employers will report tax...
  • £95m boost for small businesses December 2011 Small and medium sized businesses in England are set to benefit from £95 million in government investment. The government funding, announced on 10 November will support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) considering investing in new capital a...
  • New taskforces to target tax cheats December 2011 HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has launched five new taskforces around the country to tackle tax evasion in sectors including fast food, property rentals and scrap metal dealing. Announcing the taskforces on 7 November, Exchequer Secretary David Gauke...
  • Employers offered help on training December 2011 A £250 million plan will be launched in the new year, designed to give businesses the power to design, develop and purchase vocational training. Announcing the scheme on 17 November, Prime Minister David Cameron said: “I know times are tough ...
  • New service set to cut costs of IP court cases December 2011 A new small claims service is to be introduced at the Patents County Court (PCC), helping small and medium-sized businesses to protect their copyright, trade marks and designs. With small firms often put off enforcing their intellectual property (IP) ...
  • The Autumn Statement November 2011 29 November 2011 Introduction Economic growth and borrowing Business Tax Pensions and benefits Infrastructure and transport Housing View official documents and full Autumn Statement   Introduction Despite warnings t...
  • ‘Millions’ may drop out of auto-enrolment, survey finds November 2011 Pensions experts have warned that around three million people may drop out of a government scheme designed to encourage more workers to save for their older age. According to the findings of a Populus poll for the National Association of Pension Funds...
  • A N Other fine mess on PAYE paperwork November 2011 Employers are being urged to make sure their PAYE paperwork is correct after hundreds of returns incorrectly claimed to employ A N Other in 2009/10. As well as 507 A N Others, employer returns submitted to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) for 2009/10 a...
  • Use your data protection knowledge, businesses told November 2011 Businesses are becoming more aware of their obligations under the Data Protection Act (DPA), according to new figures from the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). Data published on 21 October found that showed that nearly three-quarters of busi...
  • SMEs slipping up on credit checks November 2011 Almost three-quarters of small and medium-sized UK businesses are failing to check on their customers’ credit worthiness, according to new research. Global information services company Experian surveyed nearly 700 UK small businesses and found tha...
  • Cost of business rate appeals backlog soars November 2011 Delays in dealing with business rate appeals are costing businesses £300 million per year, according to new research. Business rates specialist CVS revealed in October that there was a backlog of more than 328,000 business rate appeals at the Valuati...
  • Patent documents go online – and free November 2011 Innovative UK businesses are set to benefit from a free system to access information on patents launched by the Intellectual Property Office (IPO). The new, online service, called Ipsum, will remove the cost to businesses of requesting patent document...
  • Business asset freezing plan under fire November 2011 Insolvency experts have warned that a proposed new European Commission measure to freeze the assets of British businesses could deal a serious blow to work to rescue firms in financial difficulties. The European Account Preservation Order (EAPO) is ...
  • HMRC criticised over tax amnesties October 2011 HMRC has hit back at suggestions that tax amnesties, such as the deals reached recently with Switzerland and Luxembourg, could help criminals gain respectability. Jonathan Fisher QC claimed last month in a speech to the 29th International Symposium o...
  • Calls made for simpler SME financial reporting October 2011 The Financial Reporting Council and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) have published a joint missive calling for annual accounts for the smallest businesses to be simplified in order to cut red-tape for micro-entities. The FRC s...
  • Three-fold increase in tax scam emails October 2011 HM Revenue and Customs say the number of scam “phishing” emails has increased by more than 300% over the past year. The figure comes in the lights of HMRC’s warning about the scam emails which aim to steal individuals’ bank account details. ...
  • New Agency Worker Regulation (AWR) comes into affect October 2011 The Government has introduced new Agency Worker Regulation (AWR) changing the way businesses introduce new staff on a short term basis. The Agency Workers Directive came into force across the UK on October 1 which will provide temporary workers equal...
  • Cable attacks banks over lending October 2011 The Business Secretary Vince Cable has once again attacked banks over a lack of lending to SMEs. Mr Cable made the attack during a speech on the economy at the Liberal Democrat’s annual conference in Birmingham. He said: “Productive British busine...
  • 2,250 tax inspectors in super rich crackdown October 2011 A crack team of more than 2,000 tax inspectors is to be set up by HM Revenue and Customs to target tax avoidance and evasion. The move was announced by Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander, during his speech to the Lib Dems’ autumn conf...
  • Small businesses fail to check credit scores October 2011 A survey of nearly 700 small businesses has found that more than 71 per cent did not check their customers’ credit status. Furthermore, the survey by credit agency Experian, found that 39 per cent of small businesses did not even know what a credit...
  • Banks to offer riot loans October 2011 A major bank is set to offer interest and fee-free loans to businesses hit by the summer riots. Natwest and RBS will provide small businesses directly impacted by the riots a loan of up to £25,000 for up to six months. This will create immediate fu...
  • How investors can weather the storm September 2011 Against the backdrop of global financial turbulence, AWD Chase de Vere, considers how sticking to some investment fundamentals can help investors weather the storm. It is not surprising that investors around the world are increasingly worried about th...
  • Research highlights cookie law non-compliance September 2011 New research has highlighted the potential scale of organisations and businesses failing to comply with EU directives on downloading cookies. An August report issued by the Society for Local Authority IT Managers (Socitm) revealed that only six out ...
  • NHS worker on sick leave for a year entitled to holiday pay September 2011 The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has found in favour of an NHS employee, ruling that she was entitled to payment in lieu of holidays she had been unable to take while on sick pay for a year. The NHS Leeds worker was signed off sick for the whole o...
  • Rule change on agency workers’ rights looms September 2011 New rules affecting employers who take on agency and temporary workers will take effect from 1 October 2011. From that date, the Agency Workers Regulations mean that agency workers who work in the same role with the same hirer for 12 continuous calend...
  • Retailers warned over online security September 2011 Businesses have been urged to do more to protect customers’ data after hackers were able to access the payment details of thousands of customers of cosmetics and toiletries retailer Lush. Lush breached the Data Protection Act after the security of i...
  • New guidance issued on distance selling September 2011 The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has launched a new online resource to help businesses comply with the law when selling goods and services at a distance, such as website or mail order sales. The Distance Selling Hub provides information about the rul...
  • Capital allowances loophole closed September 2011 The government has bought forward the closure of a loophole that allowed businesses to accelerate capital allowances claims for plant and machinery and obtain advantageous early tax relief. The change was announced on 12 August by Economic Secretary ...
  • SMEs access to equity finance eased September 2011 Small businesses are set to be able to access equity finance more cheaply and effectively with early changes to European regulatory measures. Two amendments to the EU Prospectus Directive have been brought into effect a year early by the UK, allowin...
  • Students urged to save on summer job tax August 2011 Students are being reminded that they may not have to pay any  tax on the money they make from summer jobs. Many college and university students take on temporary work over the summer to earn extra cash but HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) says that ...
  • Conciliation service helps to head off more tribunals August 2011 Conciliation service Acas helped to prevent more than 13,000 workplace disputes between individuals and their employers from reaching an employment tribunal, its latest annual report has shown. The report for 2010-2011, issued on 28 July, revealed th...
  • Information chief ‘disappointed’ at data protection checks take-up August 2011 Businesses should be more willing to undergo data protection audits, says the Information Commissioner. The warning came as figures published in the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) showed that private companies reported the most data security...
  • Businesses offered advice on reducing risk abroad August 2011 A new service has been launched to help UK companies learn about the security and business risks in 90 markets when working abroad. The Overseas Business Risk service is particularly aimed at giving SMEs the information they need to help them do busine...
  • UK leads on foreign investment August 2011 A new report has shown that the UK is the top destination for foreign direct investment in Europe and the third worldwide. The World Investment Report, published on 26 July by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), said the st...
  • Retail rules to be relaxed in Red Tape Challenge victory August 2011 Retailers’ lives are set to be made easier after the government said more than 160 regulations would be simplified or scrapped in the first changes to be introduced through its Red Tape Challenge. The first wave of reforms, announced by Business Se...
  • Tax specialists issue PAYE warning August 2011 Tax experts say there could be “grave consequences” unless problems with the PAYE system are resolved before the introduction of a new system. The Low Incomes Tax Reform Group (LITRG), an initiative of the Chartered Institute of Taxation, spoke out...
  • Businesses asked for views on tax and NI merger August 2011 The government is asking businesses for their views on integrating the income tax and national insurance contributions (NIC) systems. Its call to evidence, a preliminary consultation launched in July and continuing until 19 September, aims to build a c...
  • Taxpayers hit by HMRC hold-up August 2011 Around 500,000 people who complete self assessment tax returns will have to wait longer than normal to find out how much tax they have to pay, HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has announced. Some of the self assessment statements due to be issued in J...
  • VAT Rule Breakers Targeted June 2011 June 2011 HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has announced it is to target individuals and businesses who are trading above the VAT threshold but have not registered for VAT in a new drive against rule breaker. ...