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British seaside towns dominate top 20 areas for bankruptcies
Seaside towns dominate the rankings for the areas with the highest levels of personal insolvencies in the UK (year-end December 31 2018), according to research by UHY Hacker Young. Scarborough ranks second out of 347 local authorities in the UK for personal insolvencies in 2018, with 47.8 insolvencies per 10,000 adults, compared with the UK average of 25. Torbay ranks
Read more‘Urgent action needed to fix apprenticeship levy’
The government must urgently reform the apprenticeship levy and provide additional funding to prevent the loss of up to 75,000 apprenticeships at SMEs, according to research from the Learning and Work Institute. New data shows the assumptions that underpinned the apprenticeship levy are flawed. Large employers are using more of their levy funds than forecast, with the amount left for
Read moreFocus on big business reaps dividends for HMRC
Probes into large businesses led to a 12% increase in revenue collected by the taxman in 2018/19, with a surge in the revenue generated from VAT investigations. HMRC data analysed by Pinsent Masons shows tax investigations into the UK’s 2,000 largest businesses generated £9.8 billion in extra revenue last year, compared to £8.7bn in 2017/18. There was a 67% increase
Read moreAPI streaming first from Companies House
Companies House has launched a new streaming application programme interface (API), designed to help users access real-time information about companies in a quick and easy way. The streaming API, a government first, allows users to tap into specific data from the register, pushing new information to users as it changes and updates. There are four different types of information customers
Read moreICO issues advice on dealing with data post-Brexit
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has issued guidance to help small to medium-sized UK businesses and organisations keep personal data flowing with Europe (the EEA) after Brexit (the EEA is the EU plus Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein). If we leave the EU without a deal, most of the data protection rules affecting small to medium-sized businesses and organisations will stay
Read moreCompanies face biggest lending squeeze since financial crisis
UK firms could be facing another credit crunch, with banks more reluctant to lend due to fears over the health of the economy, according to the Bank of England. In its quarterly credit conditions survey, it found that 13.5% fewer lenders expect to restrict access to credit over the next three months. It is the weakest set of figures since
Read moreHMRC urges taxpayers to ‘get their ducks in a row’
With less than 100 days to go before the 31 January deadline, HMRC is reminding taxpayers to complete their tax returns early to beat the Christmas and New Year rush. In a press release issued on 23 October, Angela MacDonald, HMRC’s Director General for Customer Services, said: “The deadline for completing Self Assessment tax returns is only 100 days away,
Read moreIR35: new briefing ‘cold comfort’ for UK self-employed
A new government briefing on the upcoming changes to off-payroll working rules, or IR35, offers little comfort to concerned self-employed people across the UK, IPSE (the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed) has warned. IPSE’s Deputy Director of Policy Andy Chamberlain said: “This briefing will be cold comfort to the millions of self-employed who are worried about the
Read moreClients Going Digital? Here’s How To Help With The Paper Tax Return Deadline
If your client is required to complete a Self Assessment tax return, there’s a possibility they may be already submitting (or would prefer to) via paper submission. Paper submissions, as opposed to digital, must be completed by 31st October every tax year. The relevant form (SA100) can be downloaded from the HMRC site along with any additional sections that you
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