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Want to Pay Less Tax? And Reduce Your Accountancy Costs too?

According to a survey by the Federation of Small Businesses, many companies are failing to grow because of complex tax rules. The findings also suggest that the amount a person is taxed is proving the hardest issue for companies and individuals to get to grips with.

John Wright, national chairman of the FSB, said: “As our survey findings show, three in four would grow their business if the tax system was simpler to understand.”

HMRC could be poised to name and shame tax dodgers from April 1 in new legislation that has just been brought into force.

HMRC will publish the names, addresses and details of the evasion of any individual or company that “dodges” tax payment.

Stephen Timms, Financial Secretary to the Treasury, said:

“It is only right that people pay their fair share of tax, which supports vital public services. We know that law-abiding taxpayers will want to see the results of HMRC’s investigations. We [HMRC] are only targeting deliberate tax evaders. So if you know that you have not paid the right tax, and you want to avoid being named, contact HMRC right away to set things straight.”

Want to Pay Less Tax? And Reduce Your Accountancy Costs too?

Let TaxKings Help!

Every January, annual self assessment tax returns cost individuals and new businesses needless stress, even more so this year as you MUST now file ONLINE before January 31st or face fines and penalties. Why not let TaxKings help and let you get on with your business… and your life.

For as little as £75 + VAT, TaxKings will analyse your self assessment return for potential tax savings and/or anomalies. Hence paying for our specialist tax advice not only saves you time but it could actually REDUCE YOUR TAX LIABILITY and SAVE YOU MONEY.

At TaxKings, we speak in language YOU understand. Our prices are fixed and competitive and we’re flexible in meeting times. So, if you’d prefer an accountant who’s on your side, you need to speak to TaxKings.

Call TaxKings NOW on 0141 333 1852 or email to arrange an appointment – because if your tax advice is poor then so could you be!

Many firms are foregoing expensive Christmas parties this year and as an alternative are giving small seasonal gifts to staff and customers. But before you break open the hampers consider what may be allowable for income or corporation tax purposes, and what VAT you can reclaim.

- Gifts to customers of the products or services you normally sell are tax allowable, as long as you are not in the food business.
- Small promotional gifts of any item are also treated as tax allowable for your business if they cost less than £50 each and carry a clear advertisement for the business. However, you cannot get income tax or corporation tax relief for the cost of gifts of food, drink, tobacco and gift tokens of any value.
- A number of gifts worth more than £50 in total should not be made to the same person in any 12-month period.
- If you are VAT registered you can reclaim the VAT on small gifts that cost up to £50 each, including gifts comprising of tobacco and alcohol.
- If the gift cost more than £50 (net of VAT) you must account for the VAT on the item as if you had sold it at cost.

Gifts to your staff are tax allowable, but your employees could be taxed on the value of the gift as a benefit in kind. In that case you would also have to pay Class 1A NI on the value of those gifts. The Taxman does consider some small items to be trivial benefits, which can be given as tax-free gifts to staff members. Trivial items can include seasonal gifts such as a turkey, an ordinary bottle of plonk (not fine vintage or champagne), or a box of chocolates.

Where you are considering making larger gifts to each employee such as a Christmas hamper, you can include the cost of those gifts in a PAYE Settlement Agreement (PSA) with the tax office. The PSA allows you pay the tax and NI due on behalf of your employees.

Some Clarification on the Enterprise Finance Guarantee (EFG) Scheme

The EFG scheme replaced the Small Firms Loan Guarantee Scheme and under this initiative the Government will guarantee lending to viable businesses to ensure that they can get the working capital and investment that they need.

Since launch of the scheme on 14th January 2009, anecdotal evidence has suggested that lenders are interpreting the scheme rules around the taking of security in different ways and indeed we at TaxKings have been told by our clients of different interpretations from different banks and lenders.

To clarify, The Department for Business Enterprise and Rural Reform (BERR) has recently confirmed that even if a lender determines that a borrower has access to security in a principal private residence but chooses not to take a charge over the property then that decision does not preclude the lender from making an EFG loan.

Under EFG, eligible businesses are able to borrow between £1,000 and £1,000,000 when this would not otherwise have been possible. Loans for most businesses purposes to businesses in most sectors are eligible. The Government will guarantee 75 per cent of the loan.

The TaxKings team have over 18 years experience in the Small Firms Loan Guarantee Scheme and would be delighted to assist any small business clients in eligibility and application for the EFG.

What do you really need to make from your small business to cause a significant change in your life? Have you ever seriously thought about that question? Probably not. In fact, I bet very few people busy managing their own businesses have. Let me explain…

What amount of extra cash in your pocket per month would seriously make a difference to your life? I bet it’s nowhere near what you think. You’ll often hear of people wanting to make vast sums. Yet I think few people stop to think about what sum would really change their life.

For example - let’s say your current drawings or directors salary covers your living expenses. An extra £1000 a month might make a large life change, even a few hundred would help. You might not have to shoot that far make this happen. A small goal can be a good place to start. Marketing your business cheaply and effectively is something that I’ll be going on to talk a lot about. Many start-up businesses we meet with claim not to have a marketing budget. Yet, when pressed, a thousand pounds has been spent on Yell advertising, newspaper and free sheet ads have been taken out without any real thought, etc, etc. So let’s start first by reducing unnecessary costs by saying that if you cannot prove the cash you spend persuades people to do business with you, you should not advertise. If you can’t see a direct relationship between marketing and increased sales, your marketing isn’t working.

If you take just this point on board, you should be a step closer to having some extra cash each month in your pocket.

According to unbiased.co.uk, around £10Bn will be wasted by UK taxpayers simply by not using their tax allowances properly. That works out at roughly £191 per taxpayer. It’s also more than what we charge for doing a self assessment tax return… so you could end up actually saving money by taking professional advice. With the tax year ending on April 5, now’s a good time to start speaking to TaxKings.