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So far Harris Lacey & Swain has created 2142 blog entries.

New Penalties For Over claimed CJRS, SEISS and ‘Eat out to Help Out’ Grants

HMRC have announced that they will be imposing penalties of up to 100% of the amounts over claimed on businesses so make sure that your claims are correct. The penalties depend on whether or not the over claim is the result of a deliberate error and whether or not the disclosure was prompted by HMRC. The penalty may be reduced where the taxpayer assists HMRC in correcting the error. Many over claims may be the result of careless errors or a misinterpretation of the rules which have changed many times in the last 9 months so we hope that HMRC [...]

By |December 1st, 2020|Blog, COVID-19 Updates|
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Reference Pay

An employee’s reference pay will depend upon whether or not they were on the payroll and subject to an RTI submission for 2019/20 on or before 19 March 2020. Where that is the case their reference pay will be that used under previous furlough claims. Where the employee has joined since that date or not subject to an RTI submission prior to 19 March the reference pay will generally be that for the last pay period ending before 30 October. There are exceptions to these rules and complications for those working variable hours and with variable rates of pay. We [...]

By |December 1st, 2020|Blog|
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Claim your Furlough Grant by 14th December

We now have further details of the operation of the extension of CJRS “furlough” that will apply from 1 November 2020 through to the end of March 2021. The government support will initially be at the rate of 80% of an employee’s reference pay for hours they are furloughed, subject to a maximum of £2,500 a month. Claims must be made by the 14th of the following month although they can be made up to 14 days in advance. Another key difference from the previous versions of CJRS is that there is no requirement that the employee was on the [...]

By |December 1st, 2020|Blog, COVID-19 Updates|
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Brexit – what actions has the government taken to date?

New Legislation Post-Brexit legislation preparing the UK for life outside EU institutions next year have been drafted or are being reviewed by Parliament. The immigration Bill received Royal Assent last week. This ends freedom of movement on 31 December and replaces it with a new points-based system. If your business relies on EU or other non UK workers then check out the transitional arrangements to 30 June 2021 and the new rules here:https://www.gov.uk/settled-status-eu-citizens-families Last week the Agricultural Bill was debated and eventually passed through Parliament. This removes the Common Agricultural Policy and replaces it with new UK supports for farmers. [...]

By |November 30th, 2020|Blog|
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Brexit update 31 days to go

The UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, UK Chief negotiator David Frost and EU negotiator Michel Barnier continue to offer differing messages to the public about Brexit, some are positive, some ambivalent and occasionally negative remarks about the negotiations. It is hard to see through the comments made and whether we can take them at face value as, after all, there is a negotiation going on. So what can we expect with less than 31 days to go? Firstly, remain positive about the UK and EU reaching some kind of free trade deal or arrangement. It does not benefit anyone for [...]

By |November 30th, 2020|Blog|
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How do I pay my staff and deal with tax, NIC, and pensions?

Payroll is a serious consideration for any business. If you're at the point of taking on employees, it's important that you're able to pay them accurately and reliably on a weekly/monthly basis. Failure to do so could lead to problems with tax, employee dissatisfaction, and even litigation in serious cases. But how do you handle payroll? Taking things online Payroll used to be done manually, but this is a laborious and time-intensive process that the modern business owner just simply doesn't have time for. Advances in accounting software technology mean your payroll can now be handled online. If it's set [...]

By |November 26th, 2020|Blog|
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Government grant for Customs Training Funding

HMRC have extended the deadline for customs training funding; Applications are open until 30 June 2021 (or until all funding is allocated) The funding can be used towards helping businesses train staff in making customs declarations. The funding is open to businesses that are established in or have a branch in the UK when the grant is paid to you, and for those that have not previously failed to meet tax obligations. To apply for the grants, your business must either complete customs declarations for yourself or someone else (or intend to in the future) and you must import from [...]

By |November 19th, 2020|Blog|
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UK Tariffs from 1st January 2021

From 1 January 2021, the UK will apply a UK-specific tariff to imported goods. This UK Global Tariff (UKGT) will replace the EU’s Common External Tariff, which applies until 31 December 2020. The UKGT will apply to all goods imported into the UK unless: An exception applies, such as a relief or tariff suspension the goods come from countries that are part of the Generalised Scheme of Preferences the country you are importing from has a trade agreement with the UK It only shows the tariffs that will be applied to goods at the border when they are imported into the [...]

By |November 19th, 2020|Blog|
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The Border with the European Union

The Government produced guidance in July 2020 outlining the implementation of Border controls in three stages for importing and exporting goods. This document outlines the processes for moving goods between GB and the EU from 1 January 2021 onwards, including processes to be introduced in April 2021 and July 2021. Import and export controls are generally reserved, but the areas of food safety, the protection of human, animal and plant health, and the environment, are devolved to the governments of Wales and Scotland. This may lead to some differences in precise requirements and enforcement bodies. From January 2021: Traders importing [...]

By |November 19th, 2020|Blog|
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20 point UK Brexit Planning Checklist

There is still some uncertainty as to whether the UK or EU will agree a tariff free trade agreement. Either way UK business will face additional documentation for importing and exporting goods to the EU from 1 January 2021. Planning for the new requirements seems sensible right now. There are also other business matters to consider such as data protection, intellectual property and replacing existing agreements with EU suppliers and customers. Use this 20-point checklist to review your Brexit preparedness and the Government information to prepare actions for 1 January 2021. The Government has published guidance: “The transition period ends [...]

By |November 19th, 2020|Blog|
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