News & Events

Reading Time | < 1 min 18 Feb 2016

Record business rates collection for councils

Local councils are expected to collect a record £23.5 billion in business rates by 2017.

The government plans to devolve control over business rates to local areas, allowing councils to retain all the income they collect in rates and gain new powers to vary rates under certain conditions.

The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) is calling for the government to introduce a reformed business rating system with the following features:

annual revaluation regimes to stop businesses being hit by an increase every 5 years
removal of plant, machinery and micro-generation
removal of the annual uplift multiplier
a business taxation review with forward plans to reducing share of business rates income as a proportion of overall business taxation.

Dr Adam Marshall, executive director of policy at BCC, said:

“The recent focus on changing ‘who controls what’ is the wrong approach when the government has still failed to address deep-seated problems with the current model.

“Business rates hit companies hard before they turn over a single pound, and discourage investment in premises improvements, plant and machinery at a time when we should be encouraging investment in supporting future growth.”

Contact us today to find out more about business rates.

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Reading Time | < 1 min 17 Feb 2016

Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act timetable released

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The Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act, which received Royal Assent in March 2015, will be implemented over the course of 2016.

The new measures will have an impact on companies and LLPs coming into force from 6 April 2016. The government is keen to stress that all companies operating in the UK will be affected in some way.

The measures will change legal requirements including filing with Companies House, effecting company systems and processes. The act will provide valuable information for businesses to grow and trade within their respective sectors. The changes that will have the highest impact will be introduced last.

Among the upcoming changes included in the act are:

Director disputes

From April 2016, measures will be put in place to provide a simpler mechanism for removing the details of falsely appointed directors from the register.

People with significant control (PSC)

Companies and LLPs will need to keep a record of people with significant control (PSC) in preparation to file their ‘confirmation statement’ at Companies House from 30 June 2016.

A PSC includes people within a company or LLP who meet the following conditions:

owns more than 25% of the company’s shares
holds more than 25% of voting rights
holds the right to appoint or remove company directors
exercise influence or control of the company.

Corporate directors

Prevention on appointing corporate directors will take place with limited exceptions, from October 2016. A company with an existing corporate director will need to take action explaining the conditions for an exception, or give notice to the registrar that they’ve ceased to be a director.

More changes may still happen as secondary legislation continues to pass through Parliament.

Contact us today to talk about how the act will impact your business.

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Reading Time | < 1 min 16 Feb 2016

Pension ISA tax relief could lower savings

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The potential pension ISA tax relief currently being considered by the government could lower savings by a sixth, according to research by the Association of British Insurers (ABI).

Based on calculations by the National Institute of Economic and Social Research, ABI found that along with 30% added contributions from the government, a move to a pension ISA over a 20 year period could:

reduce average annual contributions by £383
reduce average wages by £1,284 per year
increase average annual mortgage bills by £466
cut the size of the economy by 6%

In relation to the government’s 30% contribution and pension tax revenue, a move to a pension ISA could create a fiscal deficit of over £5bn a year for future generations.

Yvonne Braun, Director of Long Term Savings at the ABI said:

"The pension ISA would hit today’s savers and could create a fiscal time bomb for future generations. Many savers would be worse off and it would also damage the economy more widely because of its impact on saving and investment.

“It’s superficially attractive because of the savings it can deliver in the short term - but as the IFS have said, this is no more than a ‘temporary windfall’.

According to the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) pensions are still the most tax-efficient form of saving money.

Favourable schemes for individuals to saving money are private pensions and workplace pension schemes such as auto-enrolment.

Tax treatments such as NICs relief as well as a 25% tax-free lump sum have proved beneficial for individuals – as an employee receives as much pension income as if they had saved in an ISA with only 70% of the cost in upfront income.

Talk to us today to discuss about your pension plan.

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Reading Time | < 1 min 15 Feb 2016

An increase in buy-to-let purchases ahead of the stamp duty changes from 1 April 2016 is raising prices.

In a survey by The Royal Institution for Chartered Surveyors (Rics), 74% of respondents expected to be an increase of purchases by buy-to-let investors prior to the changes.

The survey suggests that the rise in purchases is due to buy-to-let investors beating the deadline before the 3% stamp duty surcharge that comes into effect in April.

New buyer enquiries rose for the 10th consecutive month in January, with growth levels in enquiries accelerating for a second successful month.

Agreed sales have also risen over the month at the fastest pace since April 2014, while further increases are expected in the housing market.

The new stamp duty surcharge of 3% will be introduced from 1 April 2016 on purchases of additional properties such as buy-to-lets and second homes.

Simon Rubinsohn, chief economist at Rics, said:

“With buy-to-let investors rushing to get into the market ahead of the stamp duty hike, the near-term pressure on prices is intensifying despite a higher level of supply.

"How the tax changes planned for the buy-to-let sector over the next few years play out remains to be seen but there are concerns raised in the survey that some existing landlords will look to either gradually scale back on their portfolios or exit the market altogether as the more penal regime begins to bite.”

Contact us today to discuss buy-to-let.

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Reading Time | < 1 min 10 Feb 2016

Employers feel the cost of auto-enrolment

Reading Time • < 1 minAuto-enrolment has had a financial impact on more than two thirds of employers. In a report by the CIPD, 70% of the employers had to take the financial cost of auto-enrolment into consideration. The most common reactions to increased costs were: absor...

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Reading Time | < 1 min 09 Feb 2016

Local authorities to extend Sunday trading hours

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Amendments have been made to the Enterprise Bill allowing local authorities to extend Sunday opening hours.

High street retailers will now be able to seasonally adjust their opening hours to enable them to better compete for trade with internet retailers.

In December 2015, online retailers accounted for 13.8% of all retail spending.

It is hoped that the extension will mean that high street retailers can increase their trade through capitalising on tourism opportunities. Examples of the potential benefits of this are those currently enjoyed by EU countries that have already extended their Sunday trading hours, such as Sweden where turnover has increased 5%.

The changes are part of new measures to delegate Sunday trading laws to local authorities to put a renewed focus on high streets and city centres.

The measures also allow workers to ‘opt-out’ of working Sundays, allowing them to give a months’ notice to retailers if they no longer want to work Sundays.

Business Minister Anna Soubry said:

“Extending Sunday shopping hours has the potential to help businesses and high streets better compete as our shopping habits change.

“The rights of shop workers are key to making these changes work in everyone’s interests. We are protecting those who do not wish to work Sundays, and those who do not want to work more than their normal Sunday working hours.”

Talk to us today to discuss about your business.

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Reading Time | < 1 min 08 Feb 2016

Peer-to-peer lending at record high in 2015

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Peer-to-peer (P2P) lending growth reached more than £2.2 billion in 2015, according to figures by Peer-to-Peer Finance Association (P2PFA).

The industry sector has lent more than £4 billion, meaning that the market has now doubled in size since the end of 2014. In the end of 2015, P2PFA members provided just under £660 million in new lending.

Users of P2P lending also grew over the last 12 months with lenders increasing by more than 22% to 128,000, while borrowers almost doubled to 273,000.

Christine Farnish, chair of the P2PFA, said:

“The growth demonstrates that more lenders and borrowers believe our industry to be a real alternative to traditional lenders. This is only enhanced by our members’ approach to transparency and strict business conduct rules.

“2016 is another important year for the industry as we look forward to the April launch of the Innovative Finance ISA.”

Talk to us today about securing finance for yourself or your business.

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Insights

Record business rates collection for councils

Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act timetable released

Director disputes

People with significant control (PSC)

Corporate directors

Pension ISA tax relief could lower savings

Self-employment growth needs more support

Pay equality increasingly important to workers

Buy-to-let purchases increase ahead of stamp duty changes

Employers feel the cost of auto-enrolment

Local authorities to extend Sunday trading hours

Peer-to-peer lending at record high in 2015

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