A recent survey of 2,000 of it’s 200,000 members by the Federation of Small Business found that 20% had paid late through errors when checking the due dates for payment. Significant numbers spent up to £5,000 paying Accountants and/or purchasing specialist software to try and comply with regulations. Almost one third said they were unable to pay taxes on time due to cash flow problems. If you are in the one third that struggles to pay taxes on time have you reviewed your systems to speed up invoicing and debt collection? Give us a call to see how we can help.

There are an increasing number of Inland Revenue records checks, enquiry cases and compliance visits being carried out by HM Revenue. Provided your records are in good order you have nothing to fear but getting your Accountant to represent you can be expensive. We believe you should be protected from these potential costs and so we offer an insurance scheme to all our clients that covers professional fees in the event of an enquiry. If you’re not covered – you’re not protected!

Over one million UK households are facing a financial “time-bomb” according to a report issued by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). This represents the estimated number of households that took out an interest only mortgage to purchase a home but have no plan in place to repay the capital sum at the end of the fixed term.

If you are one of these we would recommend you take urgent advice from your Financial Advisor as early intervention is always likely to give the best outcome. If you don’t have an Advisor we can access our profession network to make sure you get the best help.

From 1st April the Revenue have launched the “Managing Serious Defaulters” (MSD) regulations targeting those individuals who become insolvent to avoid paying tax or whose business fails owing large amounts of PAYE and VAT. These individuals will now be closely monitored by HMRC for up to five years and potentially face unannouced visits, in depth records checks and observation of ongoing business activities. Full details can be seen here: MSD Announced

Increasingly the Revenue are becoming less tolerant of the tax cheats and tougher action is being taken at all levels to increase the correct recovery of tax. Never before have the Revenue been so pro-active in the pursuit of tax evasion.

We now have only a month until Real Time Information (RTI) becomes a reality and reports suggest that large numbers of small business’ are not ready for the changes that represent the biggest shake-up of PAYE in a generation.

The new regulations will require employers to send details to HM Revenue every time they pay staff and use payroll software to submit this information electronically during the payroll process. If you are not prepared for the changes you need to take action now as ultimately penalties will apply for failure to comply with the regulations. An easier option might be to use our payroll bureau and let us deal with everything for you!