Money Matters – Spring 2012 newsletter from Hart Shaw

The Spring 2012 edition of Hart Shaw’s Money Matters newsletter is now available to download from our website via: http://www.hartshaw.co.uk/newsletters.htm.

Hart Shaw Money Matters - Spring 2012

As now is an ideal time to turn your mind to a review of your personal and business tax strategies, this issue includes a special four-page supplement devoted to year end tax planning tips.

In April 2010 HMRC introduced new style penalties for late payments of PAYE and CIS payments, whereby the penalties increase each time you default. Our cover article highlights the need to have a reasonable excuse if you are late paying! On the flip side, HMRC continue to offer ‘Time to Pay Arrangements’ for individuals and businesses which meet the conditions and our summary will tell you more.

HMRC are in the spotlight in this edition of our newsletter as we also include articles on P11D pitfalls and the common areas that HMRC will focus on, and also their collaboration with the Swiss authorities. Swiss bank account holders beware!

Companies which have associates may have to pay higher rates of corporation tax due to the limits being split between the companies. If you or your family members have an interest in more than one company, our article will help to clarify the rules to determine if the companies are associated.

‘A game of location’ looks at Enterprise Zones, the latest Government initiative to drive growth and create jobs. Whilst there are conditions that need to be met, it may be of interest to know more, regardless of where you are based. It is important that business owners also understand the tax rules surrounding sponsorship so we have included a review that looks at the tax position.

Planned changes to tax credits continue to be a hot topic. To help you understand the latest position and to see if you or your family will be affected, we have written a summary on the planned changes.

Included with the newsletter you will find special briefing where we look in more detail at:

Employer update
An overview of recent developments and topical issues

Every year there is more red tape for employers to comply with. We have produced this briefing to provide employers with a practical summary of recent and forthcoming changes. The focus is on the key areas that may have an impact on your business and any associated costs you need to be aware of including the progress on the introduction of pensions auto-enrolment.

Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS)

In the Autumn Statement the Chancellor announced that a new relief is to be introduced from 6 April 2012 – the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS).

The aim of SEIS is to encourage individuals to invest in small companies by providing income and capital gains tax (CGT) incentives. Two key incentives on offer are the possibility of up to 50% income tax relief on a qualifying investment and the availability of a CGT exemption.

This briefing provides a useful summary of the proposals, in particular, how the scheme will operate and the key qualifying conditions that have to be met to obtain the reliefs available. It considers the key questions that need to be considered if you feel you would like to take advantage of the scheme.

Please contact us if you have any questions regarding any of the articles or tax planning tips we have included in our newsletter or if you would like further information on a topic we haven’t covered. Your views are always important to us and we would welcome any feedback you could give us.

Brendan Hall, Marketing Co-ordinator

Email: brendan.hall@hartshaw.co.uk.

Follow Brendan on Linked In

Money Matters

Money Matters – a winter 2010 newsletter from Hart Shaw is now available to doanload via our website.

With the publication of three Finance Bills, 2010 has been an unprecedented year and seen many tax changes, so unsurprisingly our winter newsletter concentrates on tax issues.

Our front cover focuses on the restrictions relating to tax relief on pension contributions and the bad news that some high earners could find themselves with an additional tax charge.

If you are a high earner, has the introduction of a 50% top rate of income tax made you think that it may be worthwhile leaving the UK? We consider if this is a realistic option.

When is a car a pool car? To make sure there is no tax bill for an employee to pay, certain criteria must be met and increasingly HMRC are looking for employers to ‘prove it’. If your business has a pool car make sure that you can indeed ‘prove it’ and if you have any concerns please get in touch.

Another area under the HMRC spotlight is tax deductions for repairs and alterations to buildings. The deduction may be challenged but the cases we have highlighted show that HMRC don’t always win!

VAT is a complex area and now it seems paying what you owe is also becoming more complicated. New rules when paying by cheque were introduced in April 2010 and HMRC have recently thought it appropriate to a issue reminder. They have also issued revised guidance on correcting your own mistakes! Read ‘VATs it all about’ to find out more.

We also look at the increase in National Insurance Contributions and the decrease in corporation tax from April 2011. Finally, if you feel you have anything left to give away we look at the most tax efficient way to make donations to charity.

Included with the newsletter there are also special briefings where we look in more detail at:

– Year End tax planning tips for the individual
– Keeping the lid on Inheritance Tax
– Securing business success

Our Money Matters newsletter and these client briefings are available to download from our website via: http://www.hartshaw.co.uk/newsletters.htm