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At the Conservative Party Conference, Theresa May pledged her government to improve the state of the UK’s broadband remarking that “half of people living in rural areas, and so many small businesses can’t get a decent broadband connection”.
In June, figures from the Office for National Statistics showed that unemployment had dropped to its lowest rate since 2005, and the employment rate was at a record high of 74.2%.
The US election is intriguing on many levels. On the one hand, you have Democrat Hillary Clinton, a long-serving and high-ranking politician with a working knowledge of US government administration, on the other, Republican Donald Trump, a larger-than-life billionaire businessman who has little or no political experience, but talks tough and makes extravagant promises.
In June, Switzerland became the first country to hold a referendum on the potential introduction of a universal basic income. Although it was defeated by 77 per cent of voters on this occasion, it has succeeded in starting a lively debate about the merits of such a proposal.
When will you reach your peak earning potential? Many people assume it will be towards the end of their careers, perhaps at some point in their 50s, giving them more time to plan their finances before they approach their retirement years.
It’s a familiar scenario faced by many parents: their children want to spread their wings, move out of the family home and buy a property, but they can’t make the sums add up without help from that well-known and often-used financial institution, the ‘Bank of Mum and Dad’.
It’s long been acknowledged that small to medium-sized businesses (SMEs) are the engine room of the economy, employing more than half of all private sector workers and contributing 50 per cent of UK GDP. They have a combined turnover of £1.8 trillion and hire 60 per cent of all private sector employees.
The Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), long regarded as a barometer of the health of various key sectors of the UK economy, has produced more good news this time about the state of the services sector.
Before the passing of the Bribery Act 2010, offering prospects or clients lavish corporate hospitality ahead of an important deal or contract might not have raised too many corporate eyebrows in some quarters.
The recent demise of BHS and the issues surrounding the potential sale of Tata Steel UK both served to highlight the significance of pension liabilities for UK companies operating underfunded Defined Benefit pension schemes
A good film has the power to transport the viewer to another place, with the spell only breaking when the end credits appear.
The prospect of tax cuts – or at the very least, the freedom to cut taxes unfettered by EU rules – was one of the Brexit campaign’s trump cards.
In the end, there was no eleventh hour reprieve. In August the Treasury confirmed that the UK Inheritance Tax (IHT) advantages enjoyed by non-UK domiciled owners of UK residential property will end, as planned, next April.
The announcement of July’s inflation figure spells further bad news for rail commuters.
Auto-enrolment is arguably one of the most fundamental changes to UK working practices to be introduced in the last few decades.
When the result of the EU referendum was announced in the early hours of Friday 24th June it was undeniably a tremendous shock to many people, both here and abroad.
Getting into debt was once viewed as a shameful state of affairs, with faintly Dickensian overtones of penury followed by the prospect of life in the workhouse.
When it comes to seriously engaging with savings, it had been widely assumed that it was the older generation who were best at making provision for the future.
There was a time, not so long ago, when many people’s lives fell neatly into three distinct stages – they were educated, embarked upon a career and then retired.
The new pension rules introduced a little over a year ago were rightly heralded as a revolution. Gone are the days when, on reaching 65, retirees automatically swapped their pension pots for lump sums and an annuity provided by their insurers, cleared their desks and embarked on their retirement.
ATED was first introduced in 2013 on high-value UK residential properties worth over £2 million which are owned by companies, partnerships with corporate members and certain investment vehicles. ATED has created a new filing obligation with penalties charged for late filing.
The government’s long-running drive to limit the ability of individuals to avoid tax by working through personal service companies has stepped up a gear.
Debt finance is the lifeblood of many companies, and arguably the banking system’s greatest contribution to the continued functioning of UK Plc.
The decision to penalise a business for making an error on its VAT return is supposedly at HMRC’s discretion.
Media coverage of the recent tax changes affecting buy-to-let landlords has talked breathlessly of the Exchequer “declaring war” on the estimated two million people who receive income by investing in British bricks and mortar.
China’s progress over the past few decades has transformed the economic might of hundreds of millions of Chinese households.
Licensing can be a complex process, and misinterpretation or miscalculation can cost businesses alarming sums.In the past, the receipt of royalties was largely confined to authors, screenwriters and musicians, keen to protect their artistic product.
A gradual tightening of the rules on shadow directors has imposed greater transparency and responsibility on those who influence companies but are not appointed directors.
In the midst of several high profile funding disputes, cases of vulnerable individuals being targeted by aggressive cold callers and increasing press criticism of ‘telephone chugging’, charities are subject to greater scrutiny than ever before.
Many small companies choose to place only “abbreviated” accounts on the public record. This option has now been replaced by a new regime which has a broadly similar effect but there are changes in the detail.
UK landlords are facing a series of radical tax changes which are hitting the buy-to-let market.
It’s a safe bet that whoever coined the phrase ‘you learn from your mistakes’ obviously never received a VAT penalty from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC).
Tax and savings were central to the Chancellor’s Budget speech in March.
The ease of doing business in the UK has played a massive role in attracting large numbers of foreign companies to set up in Britain.
Our back office services team, FisherE@se, provides bookkeeping, management accounts and payroll services.
Growing old is never a question of choice. But we can choose how to secure our financial future and the quality of life during retirement.
It says a lot about the state of British politics that when a senior cabinet minister resigned in March over the Government’s welfare reforms, his real motive was immediately judged to be something else entirely – Europe.
Might a non-EU UK end up aping the tax havens that sparked so much criticism following the release of the Panama Papers?
There is a new requirement which has recently been widely published in which the director of every Company has a new obligation under the Companies Act 2006 (“the Act”) to keep and maintain a new Register called a People of Significant Control Register (“PSC Register”).
Most people in the business world are familiar with a CVL or Creditors Voluntary Liquidation. It’s usually not good news and has a certain stigma attached to it. However, not quite so much is known about an MVL or Members Voluntary Liquidation. So what exactly is an MVL and how does it differ from a CVL?
Their causes may differ, but both these problems can needlessly cost a charity time and money.