HLAS

The Autumn Finance Bill 2023 has been published to enshrine tax changes into law. Measures in the Bill include helping businesses invest for less and making full expensing- an effective corporate tax cut - permanent. In March 2021, the former Chancellor announced the super-deduction, under which companies saved up to 25p in each pound they invested. Then at Spring Budget 2023, the now Chancellor introduced temporary full expensing, a three-year capital allowances policy which also delivered up to a 25p saving for every £1 invested. To provide certainty, when announcing full expensing, the Chancellor was clear that his ambition was [...]

Listed below are a number of live HMRC webinars that will help employers with payroll. The webinars are free and last around an hour. Employer filing obligations Wed 13 Dec at 1:45pm Taxing employees' benefits and expenses through your payroll Thu 14 Dec at 9:45am Statutory Sick Pay Mon 18 Dec at 1:45pm Statutory Maternity and Paternity Pay Tue 19 Dec at 9:45am

Artificial Intelligence (AI) holds enormous potential for businesses, enhancing productivity and competitiveness. However, adopting AI technology can be challenging. That’s where “BridgeAI” comes in to support businesses harness the power of AI and unlock their full potential. The Alan Turing Institute, a partner of the Innovate UK BridgeAI programme, is offering artificial intelligence (AI) mentoring support for small and medium-sized businesses This support is targeted at companies and organisations facing barriers to data science and AI adoption who would benefit from a bespoke approach. While other BridgeAI offerings focus on skill-building and knowledge transfer, this bespoke advice initiative addresses the [...]

P2P is a relatively new concept which bypasses the banks to allow businesses to borrow money directly from ordinary people. Businesses get the funding they need, and lenders get a better rate than they would from leaving their money in the bank. In between the borrower and the lender stands the P2P platform which handles the collection and distribution of loans and repayments. P2P is very bespoke. The idea is to assess what the business needs first, rather than attempting to fit them into a ‘product’. Consequently, an early informal chat-through is often the best way to progress. Our P2P [...]

While we all want to see our businesses thrive and grow, this is unfortunately not always the case. As a trusted adviser, accountants are often the first port of call for company directors facing the possibility of insolvency and we can often point them in the right direction. Enlisting the assistance of a licensed insolvency practitioner during this stage is highly recommended, particularly if your business is already in an insolvent position, or you believe it will soon become insolvent. Depending on the current position of the company in question, together with its likely future viability, there are several options which [...]

From 4 March 2024, all companies who want to file paper documents will need to post them to the Cardiff office: Companies House Crown Way Cardiff CF14 3UZ CH will not accept post or hand deliveries at the Belfast office from 4 March 2024. Since September 2023, companies registered in Scotland post their documents to the Cardiff office. Most companies can file online instead of posting paper documents. By filing online, you will: save your company time and money; get confirmation that we’ve received your submission; avoid rejects and be less likely to get late filing penalties; and get access to additional online services. [...]

Beat the festive rush and get all your letters and parcels in the post on time. This year’s latest recommended posting dates are: Monday 18 December 2023 – 2nd Class, 2nd Class Signed For. Tuesday 19 December 2023 – 1st Class, 1st Class Signed For. Wednesday 20 December 2023 – Royal Mail Tracked 48®**. Thursday 21 December – Royal Mail Tracked 24®**. Friday 22 December 2023 – Special Delivery Guaranteed® (Guaranteed Saturday delivery for an extra fee). ** Royal Mail Tracked 24® and Royal Mail Tracked 48® are not available to purchase at Post Office® branches. See: Get ready for [...]

Some employers pay their employees earlier than usual over the Christmas period. This can be for a number of reasons, for example, during the Christmas period the business may close, meaning workers need to be paid earlier than normal. If you do pay early over the Christmas period, please report your normal or contractual payday as the payment date on your Full Payment Submission (FPS) and ensure that the FPS is submitted on or before this date. For example, if you pay on Friday 15 December 2023 but the normal or contractual payment date is Friday 29 December 2023, you [...]

CAPITAL GAINS TAX The capital gains tax annual exemption is set to drop to £3,000 in 2024/25, down from £6,000 in 2023/24. This change will mean that those selling capital assets such as property or shares will pay more tax, where the new lower annual exemption is exceeded. Capital gains tax rates range from 10% to 28% in 2023/24, depending on the tax status of the seller and the type of asset sold. If you are planning any capital disposals, please contact us to discuss the best strategy for the disposal. INHERITANCE TAX The inheritance tax nil rate band continues [...]

The government has announced a comprehensive package of pension reforms that aim to provide better outcomes for savers, drive a more consolidated pensions market and enable pension funds to invest in a diverse portfolio. With people (especially younger generations) changing jobs more frequently than used to be the case, the government wants to tackle the long-standing problem of “small pot” pensions that accumulate with each short to medium term employment. There will be a call for evidence on a ‘lifetime provider model’ which would allow individuals to have contributions paid into their existing pension scheme when they change employer, providing [...]