HLAS

Making tax digital (MTD) for income tax self-assessment (ITSA) was originally scheduled to start in 2018 and was then put back to 2023 and then 2024. It was announced just before Christmas that the new system of submitting digital information quarterly to HMRC has been delayed yet again! The start date will now depend upon the gross business receipts of the individual. Self-employed individuals and landlords with annual gross receipts above £50,000 will need to follow the rules for MTD for ITSA from 6 April 2026. Those with annual gross receipts between £30,000 and £50,000 will be mandated into the [...]

Creative Catalyst, run by Innovate UK, provides end-to-end innovation support for high-potential businesses in the creative sector. The first £10 million funding call opened on the 5 December 2022. UK registered micro and small businesses in the creative industries sector will be able to apply for funding up to £50,000 with a package of support to grow their business. To be eligible, proposals must: be from the creative industries or support the creative industries; demonstrate clear benefits for the UK creative industry and the wider UK economy; focus on a clear opportunity and the proposed innovation which addresses it; and [...]

The Prince’s Countryside Fund Farm Resilience Programme (FRP) offers free business skills training to family farmers across the UK. The programme is open to dairy and livestock family farm businesses and takes a whole-farm and whole-family approach. Workshops include: Business Health Check, Benchmarking, Practical cost management, Getting to know your finances, Managing your farmed environment, Planning your future, and Business planning and managing change. See: Farm Resilience Programme - The Prince's Countryside Fund (princescountrysidefund.org.uk)

The Green Home Finance Accelerator (GHFA), part of the UK Government’s Net Zero Innovation Portfolio (NZIP) will provide up to £20 million grant funding to support the design, development and piloting of a range of finance propositions which encourage domestic energy efficiency and low carbon heating retrofits in the owner-occupied and private rented sectors. The UK Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) wants as many UK homes as possible to reach Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) C by 2035. Private investment, alongside government support, will be essential to meet this target – and the green finance market can play [...]

The way in which UK organisations responsible for packaging must carry out their recycling responsibilities is changing. If you are affected by the new Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for packaging (including reforms to the Packaging Recycling Note (PRN) system), you need to start to collect the correct packaging data from 1 January 2023. Collection of your packaging data won’t become mandatory until March 2023, and you will need to start reporting this data from July 2023. These regulations will apply to larger organisations that handle and supply packaging to businesses and consumers. This may also include products imported from outside the UK and online marketplaces. See: How to [...]

Businesses that use Royal Mail's services are urged to plan ahead as strike action is expected to take place this winter. If you use Royal Mail to deliver your goods you should be aware of planned industrial action that is due to take place on: Wednesday 14 December 2022 Thursday 15 December 2022 Royal Mail's services will be affected by delays to mail posted the day before, during, or in the days after any strike action. See: Royal Mail strike updates | Royal Mail Group Ltd

In response to a public consultation earlier this year, the government has confirmed that the Network and Information Systems (NIS) Regulations will be strengthened to protect essential and digital services against increasingly sophisticated and frequent cyber-attacks, both now and in the future. The UK NIS Regulations came into force in 2018 to improve the cyber security of companies providing critical services. Organisations which fail to put in place effective cyber security measures can be fined as much as £17 million for non-compliance. But high profile attacks such as Operation CloudHopper, which targeted managed service providers and compromised thousands of organisations at the same time, [...]

Millions of employees will be able to request flexible working from day one of their employment, under new government plans to make flexible working the default. Flexible working doesn’t just mean a combination of working from home and in the office – it can mean employees making use of job-sharing, flexitime, and working compressed, annualised, or staggered hours. The new measures will give employees greater access to flexibility over where, when, and how they work, and the government hopes will lead to happier, more productive staff. Flexible working has been found to help employees balance their work and home life, [...]

For the last couple of years during the Covid-19 pandemic many businesses put on “virtual” Christmas parties for their employees and HMRC agreed that would be acceptable and that the exemption from tax would continue to apply. There continues to be no taxable benefit for employees provided that all staff are invited, and the cost does not exceed £150 a head, inclusive of VAT. The £150 per head limit applies to a tax year, so if you have also had an annual summer event then provided the combined cost of the two events is no more than £150 a head [...]

This is a timely reminder that employers may make small tax-free gifts to employees and directors if all of the following conditions apply: The cost to the employer is £50 or less It is not cash or a cash voucher It is not a reward for their work or performance There is no contractual entitlement It is not provided as part of a salary sacrifice arrangement This is known as the ‘trivial benefit’ exemption. Employers do not need to pay tax or National Insurance or let HMRC know, however, they need to keep a record of the gifts should HMRC [...]