The briefest of Acts

by | May 7, 2017

The Finance Act rushed in before Parliament dissolved ready for the snap election was very, very short. It had the bare minimum of information needed to keep tax running. By law, if Parliament closes with no Finance Act in place, all power to tax is lost. There was...

NICs again

by | Mar 15, 2017

The rise in national insurance contributions for the self employed has been abandoned. I don’t find sudden u-turns impressive, as anything this swift suggests more consultation was needed before deciding on the now-scrapped increase. However, this is good news...

2017 Budgets

by | Mar 8, 2017

The first of two budgets for this year. The timetable shifts after this to autumn budgets. This is potentially useful, as future changes to tax will be announced earlier giving more time for planning and preparation. With the uncertainty that EU negotiations will...

Flat rate VAT complications

by | Mar 7, 2017

Many VAT-registered businesses use the flat rate option. It saves time, means less record keeping is needed, and can bring cashflow and overall financial savings. HMRC have brought in restrictions which make using the flat rate more complicated and generally less...

Second class service

by | Mar 3, 2017

Class 2 self-employed National Insurance contributions are now collected through self assessment, and next year will be abolished. Unfortunately they are not going quietly! There have been several issues with collection. These include: Recalculation and refunds by...