Emily Coltman, chief accountant at FreeAgent, has published two useful self-assessment checklists – aimed at limited company contractors and freelancers.
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Small Business News
Limited company owners should make sure they meet the annual self-assessment deadline at the end of this month, as penalties for late submission can increase significantly the longer a return is outstanding.
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Having been granted an increase in specialist funding, HMRC is offering the participants of certain tax avoidance schemes the chance to settle their tax liabilities via agreement, rather than facing litigation.
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The start of a New Year is often the push aspiring business owners need to set up a new company. With the number of new company registrations typically higher in the first quarter of each year than any other, 2013 may set new records as the economy slowly crawls out of recession.
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The Office of National Statistics has released data showing that the rates of business births and deaths have moved back to near pre-recession levels. The study also reveals the 5-year survival rate for businesses.
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The expansion of the IR35 legislation to include ‘office holders’ – the first ever statutory change to the Intermediaries Legislation – should not be a concern for ‘genuine’ contractors, says a leading accountant.
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A new draft clause for inclusion in the Finance Bill 2013 explicitly extends the scope of IR35 to ‘office holders’ for the first time.
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Following the Government’s decision to abandon the ill-thought out ‘controlling persons’ proposals last week, perhaps the most relieved group of consultants are interims – who are often hired to influence board-level decision-making for end-clients.
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A specialist lawyer has warned that the increasing number of ‘zombie companies’ operating could lead to a surge in insolvency cases if HMRC and the banks start to take action against companies that are unable to pay their debts.
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One of the most significant announcements made during the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement was the temporary increase of the Annual Investment Allowance from £25,000 to £250,000.
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Following the introduction of new IR35 enforcement measures in May 2012, and ongoing efforts to clamp down on personal service companies in the public sector, it may come as some surprise that only a few lines in the supporting Autumn Statement documentation even mention ‘IR35’.
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With little room to manoeuvre given the country’s ongoing economic problems, the Chancellor managed to provide some good news to company owners in today’s Autumn Statement, with a ten-fold increase in the Annual Investment Allowance, and the scrapping of the unpopular ‘controlling persons’ proposals. On the flip side, pension tax relief has been reduced for higher rate taxpayers, and income tax thresholds will not rise in line with inflation.
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The Government has announced a range of new measures aimed at clamping down on ‘tax dodgers’ including ‘aggressive tax avoidance’ schemes which are often marketed to contractors and consultants.
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PCG, the contractors’ organisation, has written to the Chancellor in advance of his December 5th Autumn Statement, to highlight two controversial issues which affect public sector contractors and interims in particular.
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As an influential report criticises the taxman’s track record of tackling aggressive tax avoidance schemes, HMRC has stepped up its game by sending letters to 1,500 users of one particular scheme, in a ‘pre-emptive strike’.
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According to the trade body for insolvency professionals, there are 160,000 ‘zombie companies’ live in the UK – these are companies who can only afford to service the interest on outstanding debts, but not repay the debt itself.
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The ICAEW has published a very useful PDF guide to the different types of finance available to limited company owners – from a traditional bank overdraft, to equity finance.
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A leading tax body says that many smaller companies may find complying with the new Real Time Information (RTI) payroll rules will be ‘impossible’.
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Tax campaigners are calling on HMRC to clamp down on firms who force workers to incorporate, to avoid having to pay Employers’ National Insurance payments that would otherwise be due if the workers were paid via the PAYE system.
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When deciding between contracting via an umbrella or limited company, the main factors to consider are typically; the tax differences between the two structures, your IR35 status, and how much perceived ‘paperwork’ is involved. One service provider says that 50% of umbrella company contractors would be better off by incorporating.
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