HLAS

New emails and letters appearing to be from employees of the Government Legal Department/Bona Vacantia Division are in circulation. Emails are being sent from bogus email addresses purporting to be from members of the Bona Vacantia Division. These emails are not from the @governmentlegal.gov.uk address and may ask for confirmation of personal information or provide false links or download attachments. Do not give out private information (such as bank details or passwords), download attachments or click on any links in emails if you are not sure they are genuine. See: New internet phishing alert - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

The UK Government is now offering help to businesses with the upfront costs to install charge points. The Workplace Charging Scheme (WCS) is a voucher-based scheme that provides eligible applicants with support towards the upfront costs of the purchase and installation of electric vehicle (EV) chargepoints. The scheme is available for B&Bs, campsites, small hotels, charities and any other accommodation business with less than 250 employees. See: Workplace Charging Scheme: guidance for charities and small accommodation businesses - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk

The Recovery Loan Scheme supports access to finance for UK businesses as they grow and recover from the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Scheme is to help businesses of any size access loans and other kinds of finance so they can recover after the pandemic and transition period. The Recovery Loan Scheme will accept applications until 30 June 2022. Up to £10 million is available per business. The actual amount offered, and the terms, are at the discretion of participating lenders. The government guarantees 80% of the finance to the lender. As the borrower, you are always 100% liable [...]

Check a list of recent letters from HMRC to help you decide if a letter you've received is a scam. Contents: Letter OCA300 — repayment of Student Loan deductions Overpaid Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) grants Research about employee experience of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme Research about the digitisation of Child Benefit Refund of Income Tax from changes to your Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) grant Other letters you should check If your letter is not listed here check other letters sent by HMRC Report suspicious phone calls, emails or texts to HMRC

The Employment Allowance (EA) is a £5,000 allowance set against employers National Insurance Contributions (NICs) and has to be claimed each tax year if the employer qualifies. This allowance was introduced in 2014/15 and was increased to £5,000 from 2022/23. Employers make a claim for the Employment Allowance through their payroll software. They do this by completing and submitting a Real Time Information - Employer Payment Summary (EPS) to HMRC. The employer must enter “Yes” in the “Employment Allowance Indicator” field of the EPS confirming that they are eligible to claim the allowance. Eligible employers can claim the Employment Allowance [...]

A business plan is an essential tool, whether it is for raising finance or for putting your objectives into writing. In either event, a business plan will give you some form of direction and help you set goals, and most importantly, enable you to monitor your success! Business plans should be as clear as possible, and since brevity aids clarity, they should also be as short as possible. A useful way of achieving this without losing any important points is to stratify the plan by confirming all details, where possible, to an appendix, leaving only the overall message in the [...]

The Government has announced further steps to support farmers with cost pressures caused by demand and instability seen across the globe. Under the latest plans, Direct Payments in England will be paid in two instalments each year for the remainder of the agricultural transition period, to help farmers with their cashflow. The deadline for submitting Basic Payment Scheme 2022 applications is today, Monday 16 May 2022 and, under these plans, farmers with eligible applications will receive the first payment of 50% from the end of July and the second from December. With agricultural commodities closely linked to global gas prices, [...]

The UK Government has announced a £1 million package to boost seafood exports and promote the industry’s high-quality produce overseas. The package will target growing overseas markets and provide new export opportunities for the UK fishing industry and seafood sector following the departure from the European Union. Global exports of UK seafood amounted to over £1.6 billion in 2021, with salmon the UK’s fourth top food and drink product exported in 2021, totalling around £730 million. See: Export package launched to promote world-class UK seafood overseas - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Here is a summary of the main tax breaks for capital expenditure that are currently available: - 130% relief for investment by limited companies in new plant and machinery that would normally be dealt with in the general pool 100% relief for investment in new and used plant and machinery by all businesses but limited to the first £1 million 50% relief for investment by limited companies in new plant and machinery that would normally be dealt with in the special rate pool (typically fixtures in buildings and long-life assets) 18% writing down allowance for plant and machinery in the [...]

Small businesses will be protected from predatory practices and consumers will get more choice and control over their online experiences as the government sets out its final vision for how the new digital markets regulator will boost competition to drive economic growth and innovation. The majority of UK companies now rely on powerful tech firms to ensure customers find their business online. These firms control key online gateways for millions of internet users and give preference to their own apps and browsers. They are also able to set their own prices for the online services they provide businesses without challenge, [...]