HLAS

This new guide equips music creators with step-by-step guidance on what music data is, why it matters, and what to do with it. The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) has recently partnered with the Performing Right Society for Music (PRS), The Ivors Academy and The Music Publishers Association to develop and launch a new website that helps songwriters, composers, artists, and those supporting them, demystify music metadata. This follows the publication of the UK Industry Agreement on Music Streaming Metadata in May 2023. The digital Get Paid Guide equips music creators with quick and easy step-by-step guidance on what music data [...]

The Financial Services and Markets Act 2023 is part of the UK government’s plan to grow the economy and create an open, sustainable, and technologically advanced financial services sector. It is designed to help tailor financial services regulation to fit UK markets. The Act aims to improve competitiveness of the UK as a global financial centre and deliver better outcomes for consumers and businesses. It contains new powers that will set the path for reforms to the European Union rules on financial services the UK has followed since 2016. The Act also introduces new secondary objectives for the Financial Conduct [...]

On 1 August 2023, the Alcohol Duty system will change, taxing all alcoholic drinks based on their alcohol by volume (ABV). This replaces the current Alcohol Duty system, which consists of four separate taxes covering beer, cider, spirits, wine and made-wine. Small businesses as well as pubs and restaurants could benefit from reduced rates on qualifying products, such as draught beer and cider. See: One month to go until Alcohol Duty system changes - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

HMRC is seeking views on potential simplifications to customs declarations and the use of technology to facilitate declarations and other customs processes. This call for evidence is seeking views on potential simplifications to customs declarations and the way that businesses use technology to facilitate the completion of customs declarations and other customs processes. This will be of interest to traders of all sizes making either import or export movements, including traders who complete declarations themselves and those who use customs intermediaries and so do not interact with HMRC customs systems directly. It will also be of interest to customs intermediaries [...]

Innovate UK and its partners have created a series of scoping activities to gather information on how remote sensing is used to understand, monitor, and mitigate plastic litter. As part of these activities, they are inviting businesses to complete a survey, which aims to gather information on the current challenges surrounding remote sensing techniques for plastic litter studies and the challenges of policy making. They will use these survey results to craft three webinars/workshops that will discuss how the challenges identified by the survey could be addressed. The first webinar will take place on Tuesday 18 July 2023 from 2pm [...]

We never know what life has in store for us. We hope that everything goes our way, but we can’t guarantee it. What can be guaranteed is that the bills keep coming in even if our income doesn’t. Putting food on the table and a roof over it is expensive and could become impossible if a serious illness, accident or job loss were to stop us working. State benefits exist, but the sums involved and the help they provide is limited. Accident, Sickness and Unemployment cover, also known as ASU, is a type of insurance designed to replace a lost [...]

Ask us for a copy of our guide called “57 Ways to Grow Your Business!” Our publication is packed full of bright ideas for the Serious Entrepreneur and starts with the four basics of growth before looking at some really useful ideas. All the ideas in this guide ultimately revolve around four basic insights about growing a business by: Increasing the number of customers you have; Increasing the number of times each one does business with you; Increasing the average value of each transaction; and Improving your own effectiveness and efficiency. Here are some other business principles that we explore in [...]

After some of the hottest temperatures seen on record last month we have been reminded about global warming and how small businesses could help the drive towards net zero. Smaller businesses have recently been affected by the pandemic, higher interest and inflation, and increased energy costs, so it is worth discussing the viability of a green policy during these tough times. What is a “Sustainable” business? A sustainable business, or a “green business”, is an enterprise that has minimal negative impact or potentially a positive effect on the global or local environment, community, society, or economy. Going green could boost [...]

HMRC frequently warn taxpayers that when a tax avoidance scheme looks “too good to be true”, it probably is. They publish “Spotlights” on their website to alert taxpayers of schemes being marketed by promoters that are under scrutiny, and, in their opinion, do not work. Tax avoidance schemes need to be notified to HMRC under the Disclosure of Tax Avoidance Schemes (DOTAS) rules, normally by the scheme promoter. HMRC then issue a DOTAS scheme reference number (SRN). This does not mean that the scheme is HMRC approved, although some promoters claim this in their marketing literature. If taxpayers have used [...]

During the COVID pandemic the government relaxed the conditions to enable those working from home to be paid £6 a week tax free by their employer, or, where that was not paid by the employer, they could claim relief for £6 a week against their employment income for a tax refund from HMRC. Those relaxed rules applied for 2020/21 and 2021/22. Many employers and employees may not be aware that from 6 April 2022 the rules reverted to the strict statutory position. Employees can claim tax relief if they have to work from home under a homeworking agreement, for example [...]