HLAS

The ring-fenced funding, provided by the Government and the Environment Agency, will support natural flood management schemes across England that use techniques such as planting trees and creating wetlands to slow and store water to reduce the risk of flooding. These schemes are also proven to improve air and water quality, provide habitats for wildlife, and create green spaces for communities. This new funding builds on the £15m natural flood management pilot programme which ran until 2021. Across the 60 pilot projects supported by this programme, the equivalent of 1.6 million cubic metres of water storage was created and 15,000 homes were [...]

The Christmas season has a big impact on most businesses and employees in the UK. It will be a time when there is likely to be extra demand for products, services, and sales in some businesses whilst others may experience a quiet period or may shut for the Christmas holidays. This year, Christmas Day, 25 December 2023 falls on a Monday and Boxing Day, 26 December 2023, falls on a Tuesday. New Year’s Day also falls on a Monday. The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) has useful guidance for both employers and employees on their website about holiday entitlement. [...]

The first ever fully digitalised goods shipment landed in Singapore from Burnley after the UK introduced legislation to digitise trade documents to make importing and exporting easier for businesses. A valve produced by Burnley-based manufacturer Fort Vale set off from Manchester Airport on Thursday, facilitated by UK and Singapore based tech company LogChain, and arrived in Singapore. For the first time ever, the shipment was processed entirely digitally, rather than via physical customs documents. The news comes following the UK’s digital trade agreement with Singapore, which facilitated electronic trade, as well as the introduction of the UK’s Electronic Trade Documents [...]

The UK and the US state of Washington signed a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on trade and investment last week. Washington State is home to major US business including Amazon, Starbucks, Microsoft and Boeing, and has a GDP roughly equivalent to Poland. The MoU marks the sixth delivered as part of the UK’s state-level strategy to increase trade with the US and means that the combined GDP of states the UK has MoUs with now totals £2.2 trillion. The UK has signed MoUs with Indiana, North Carolina, South Carolina, Oklahoma, Utah, and now Washington. Collectively these states imported £5.1 [...]

From 6 to 10 November 2023, the British Business Bank, along with several partners from across the UK, will host Business Finance Week 2023. With a host of free nationwide and regional in-person events and webinars, Business Finance Week 2023 aims to help smaller businesses learn about the different finance options available to them to support their individual needs. Events coming up as part of the week include: Making sense of start-up funding: Where do I start? Monday 6 November 2023, 12:30pm to 1:30pm, online event Unlocking potential for your business through diversity and sustainability Tuesday 7 November 2023, 10am [...]

The annual Made in the UK, Sold to the World awards recognises and celebrates the global trading success of SMEs from across the UK. The Department for Business and Trade’s 2024 Made in the UK, Sold to the World awards will open for entries on Friday 10 November 2023, during this year's International Trade Week (6 to 13 November 2023). There will be ten categories of awards to enter: Agriculture, Food & Drink; Consultancy & Professional Services; Creative Industries; Education & EdTech; Financial Services & FinTech; Healthcare; Infrastructure & Engineering; Low Carbon Energy; Manufacturing, Advanced Manufacturing & Construction; and Retail [...]

Taxpayers who are new to Self-Assessment for the 2022 to 2023 tax year may include: those who are newly self-employed and earned more than £1,000; a new partner in a business partnership; those who had a total taxable income of more than £100,000; those who have received any untaxed income such as tips, commission, money from renting out a property or income from savings, investments, and dividends; and those claiming Child Benefit but they or their partner have an income above £50,000. Self-employed taxpayers must also register for Class 2 National Insurance contributions. You should register with HMRC by 5 [...]

Recent Tribunal decisions in favour of employing companies and against HMRC has caused many organisations in similar circumstance to make protective claims for the recovery of National Insurance Contributions (NIC) in respect of car allowances paid to employees using their own cars or vans for business journeys. Many employers have a policy of only reimbursing the fuel costs associated with those business journeys (for example at 15p per mile) rather than paying the maximum HMRC Approved Mileage Allowance Payments (‘AMAP’) rates (currently 45p/25p per mile) on a tax and NIC free basis. The employee can then make a claim for [...]

In the weeks before any Budget or Autumn Statement there are always leaks and rumours. Normally, in the run up to a General Election there are also tax give aways in an attempt to re-elect the incumbent political party. One rumour that has been circulating in the press concerns the possible abolition of inheritance tax (IHT). That would certainly be very popular amongst wavering Conservative voters as it would enable them to retain more wealth within the family. This rumour may have the effect of causing families to delay estate planning pending an announcement. Tax planning can only be based [...]

The Treasury has announced that the Office of Budget Responsibility (OBR) will produce a report on the state of the UK Economy in time for the Chancellor Jeremy Hunt to present his Autumn Statement on Wednesday 22 November. Last year the Chancellor announced a number of significant changes, reversing many of the proposals in the Kwarteng/Truss mini Budget the previous September. This time we are not expecting too many surprises. However, the leaks and rumours have already started with suggestions that there will be no significant tax cuts. There is also likely to be a General Election within the next [...]