HLAS

The newest partner of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) Working Minds campaign, Make UK, has launched a podcast series on the importance of mental health. Across six episodes, former BBC Business Editor Jonty Bloom interviews companies and experts – from large companies to SMEs. They include: Chloe Smith MP, Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work Andrew Ward, Make UK’s Health, Safety and Sustainability Director Rachel Newman, Head of People, Policy and Support, The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) Dr Shaun Lundy, Director for Strategy and Innovation, Tetra Consultancy You can access the podcast series by using the following [...]

HMRC have issued guidance for VAT-registered business and their agents on how to avoid penalties for non-compliance with the Making Tax Digital for VAT (MTD) rules. In particular, there is a new £400 per return penalty if you file a return but do not use functional compatible software. There are additional penalties if the business does not keep its records digitally. HMRC may charge you a penalty of between £5 to £15 for every day on which the business does not meet that requirement. Key extracts from HMRC guidance include: You must file your VAT return using functional compatible software [...]

If you have children under 12 who attend a nursery, after school club, play scheme, childminder or you are considering sending them to a summer camp, you should think about setting up a tax-free childcare account. The government adds 25% to the amounts that you save in the account, contributing up to £2,000 for each child each year (a higher amount applies for disabled children). For example, if you save £8,000, this is topped up to £10,000. The account is then used to pay approved childcare providers. It is worth noting that it doesn’t need to be the child’s parents [...]

HMRC are reminding sole traders and partners who have received Self-Employed Income Support Scheme (SEISS) grants that there are potentially penalties of up to 100% of amounts overclaimed in certain circumstances. HMRC may apply the penalty where they believe that the trader knew that they were not entitled to the grant and did not tell HMRC within a 90-day notification period. The law treats the failure as ‘deliberate and concealed’. This means HMRC may charge a penalty of up to 100% of the amount of the SEISS grant that the trader was not entitled to receive or keep. Traders are [...]

HMRC have also issued new guidance on the penalties that they impose for non- compliance with the Making Tax Digital (MTD) for VAT rues. In particular, there is a penalty of up to £400 for every VAT return a business files without using ‘functional compatible software’. Functional compatible software means a software program, or set of software programs, products or applications that can: record and store digital records provide HMRC with information and VAT returns from the data held in those digital records receive information from HMRC There are additional penalties if the business does not keep their records digitally. [...]

The Research & Development (R&D) tax credit scheme for small and medium sized enterprise companies is particularly generous as there is currently 230% relief for qualifying expenditure and, where the company is loss making, this results in a 14.5% repayable credit. This means that the company receives a £33,350 refund for every £100,000 spent on R&D. This generous tax break has reportedly resulted in abuse of the system. HMRC have recently paused some repayments while they investigate an increase in irregular claims. Unfortunately, even for legitimate claims, this is going to increase processing times. For the vast majority of claims, [...]

With many seasonal jobs being filled at this time of year, it is important that employers protect the health and safety of gig economy, agency and temporary workers. Workers are as likely to have an accident in the first six months at a workplace as they are during the whole of the rest of their working life. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) website has guidance to help users and suppliers of agency and temporary workers understand their health and safety responsibilities. For further information visit Health and safety for gig economy, agency and temporary workers - HSE

HMRC is closing the Customs Handling of Import and Export Freight (CHIEF) system for both imports (Sep 2022) and exports (March 2023) and is encouraging all businesses to move to CDS. You can find information for you and your importers below. Declarant Checklist – Moving to the Customs Declaration Service: Declarant checklist – moving to the Customs Declaration Service - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) Trader Checklist – Moving to the Customs Declaration Service: Trader checklist – moving to the Customs Declaration Service - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

HMRC have recently updated their guidance for companies looking to attract investors to buy shares in their company. If structured correctly, and if the company qualifies under the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) or the Seed EIS rules, the investors can potentially take advantage of a number of generous tax breaks. Under the EIS, the company can raise up to £5 million each year, with a maximum of £12 million raised in the company’s lifetime. This also includes amounts received from other venture capital schemes. The company must receive investment under a venture capital scheme within 7 years of its first [...]

Seven of Tech Nation's growth and sector programmes have opened for applications. If you run a tech company and want to accelerate its growth, Tech Nation could help you find the right programme. The different programmes can be found on the links below: NET ZERO X – a brand new programme for later stage climate-tech companies that are on track to become the UK's next gigacorns. Read more NET ZERO 3.0 – for early-stage UK tech companies that are creating a more sustainable future. Read more APPLIED AI 4.0 – caters to companies with Artificial Intelligence at the core of their key [...]