If you work for the NHS or for Local Government and you are a contractor then you will have been notified that there will be changes coming in as of April 2017. We are increasingly being asked the same question by many clients who are confused and have not been advised correctly by their recruitment agnecy or end client. So we have compiled an easy bullet point guide below:
For a vast majority of contractors this means the recruitment agency or NHS / Council paying you has to decide how to pay you after April 2017. They may opt for the safest course of action / most profitable for them which may not be financially beneficial for you. And increasingly we are seeing a knee jerk reaction by most NHS and Council Management staff and recruitment Agencies is to incorrectly lable everyone the same even when HMRC does not say this in their rules. The vast majority of NHS and Council Management staff and recruitment Agencies are wrongly saying everyone is inside the scope for IR35 just because they cannot be bothered to work out who is and who isn't and they do not care if a person pays more tax than is really due. So have at look below at the correct options as per HMRC, that all contractors have in all ongoing negotiations:
By Anni Khan at Tax Affinity Accountants Tax Affinity Accountants are experts in Tax and Accountancy. Based in Worcester Park and Kingston upon Thames they are considered in the Industry to be expert accountants and tax advisors for small businesses. Helping and supporting business throughout the UK, they regularly help clients grow their business providing tailored advice. For more information visit www.taxaffinity.com. To read more interesting articles like this visit www.taxaffinity.com/blog. Please feel free to comment and share this with your friends.
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If your thinking how to expand and grow your business in 2017. Then your not alone, many entrepreneurs and business owners are paying little attention to the media and hard focused on their business and making it even bigger and better than before.
So below is a helpful list of things that will help you: 1. Market Research Ask your customers what is good and what is not and improve the not. It doesn't mean making forms and handing them out to everyone only to be disappointed that 99% of people binned it. It means talking and listening to customers and getting the all important feedback about what you can do to improve the business and noticing the opportunities to grow. After all your customer will know what else they need and what you could also offer to increase your sales. 2. Segment your market for increased growth Ever heard of divide and rule? Well it works, sit down and look at your business and start to split it up into different parts especially your customers. Some splits may be geographic others age or income related etc. Knowing what are your customers key traits and background can highlight triggers to get them to buy more. Look at how the large corporations pour millions into analytics and data analysis. All businesses have this potential info at their finger tips but most small business owners chose to ignore it instead looking at day to day stuff. Plan far ahead and use analysis to get there. 3. Finance for growth Sometimes you just need more money to open more branches or take on more people or have the infrastructure to take on more business. If your looking to export (due to the GBP pound being lower) then maybe you need better logistics facilities. Therefore look at how you can raise finance cheaply for this. And don't trust the banks they are not really looking to help you, look at the old school way of borrowing from friends and relatives or crowd funding as these can help you more and leave you free to not worry about a greedy bank knocking on your door when you need more time. 4. Diversify services and products It sounds like common sense, and we see it every day in the supermarkets - how many different types of products do they have. There is always something for someone when you have enough choice. Well why not stock sale or return items and expand your stock and customer appeal. And if your a service industry increase your types of services or add more parts to your current level of service. e.g. if your a contractor get another qualification and get yourself in demand in another market place that may be more lucrative. 5. Partner with others and align with complimentary brands Have you seen some services advertised on the payment counter at your local coffee shop? They are partnering with that shop to promote themselves and they probably equally do the same at the their business. Look at what your customer's have in common and where else they frequent so you can partner with them and bring more customers in. And don't be shy what will the other business say at the worst it will be a no. Move on ask some one else. 6. New technology Try to see how new software and technology can help make things more efficient and cost effective. They say a pound saved is the same as a pound earned. In the old manufacturing days it was more advanced factory machinery that required less workers and produced more output. Today in the UK its more to doe with software and hardware that can do the same for you too in your industry sector. 7. Engage customers with social media Today increasingly customers are looking online and on social media platforms for service recommendations. Have you seen the size of the yellow pages now? Its like an A5 few page pamphlet , gone are the days people look in this great big yellow book. This means people do not need it to tell them where to look for a service. Post daily updates about your business and what's going on to engage an audience and build trust in your business, so when they make a decision to buy they come direct to you. 8. Merge or buy other businesses to expand rapidly Buy out another business or to merge with a competitor can be a quick and easy way to increase business and sales. The big companies seem to be doing it all the time, so why can't a smaller business do this to achieve rapid growth too. Maybe you want to sell up and try something else and someone could be interested in your business. Or your competitor is getting ready to retire and you can move in and take all his business. By Anni Khan at Tax Affinity Accountants Tax Affinity Accountants are experts in Tax and Accountancy. Based in Worcester Park and Kingston upon Thames they are considered in the Industry to be expert accountants and tax advisors for small businesses. Helping and supporting business throughout the UK, they regularly help clients grow their business providing tailored advice. For more information visit www.taxaffinity.com. To read more interesting articles like this visit www.taxaffinity.com/blog. Please feel free to comment and share this with your friends. A few months ago it was #Brexit hitting the UK headlines and now its Trump. The cartoon series The Simpson's, many years ago, predicted Donald Trump would be the President of America and joked that he will bankrupt the country. In the cartoon Trump calls America just another one of his ex-wive's. (they even flicked through different possible years in the cartoon in one spooky sequence).
And if your wondering what does all this mean to the UK economy and to your business, then your not alone. Speculation and peoples opinions are what effects business on an a very basic level. The UK has not yet even activated article 50 to start leaving the EU but the vote made the (GBP) Pound drop dramatically in value and UK public spending to slow. Who'd have thought that there were there that many Marmite lovers out there? Similarly the US election win of Trump doesnt mean he is the 45th President yet, but public and business opinion has swung already and made the GB Pound rise and become stronger against all currencies as the exchange rate investers shift from the Dollar back to Sterling. Far Eastern economies jitter and UK confidence rise thinking they will have have just found a better business partner than the EU. Brexit may mean better trade deals in the future with the US, Canada, India, China etc as we shift focus on building stronger ties with others rather than Europeans. But negatively in the short term it has also meant direct increase in costs for businesses, which may eventually mean more unemployment and less spending. Have you noticed how many recruitment agencies have been calling you to place their candidates recently? Across the pond, Trump promised lower corporation taxes and more investement in infrastructure and the economy. Although lacking in detail how he really plans to make 'America great again' (suggesting its not very great at the moment). And not to mention the huge (Berlin/Chinese type) wall against Mexico. That curiously seemed to go down very well with US voters. So with so much media trash being touted to sway public opinion. A clever entrepreneur will try to cut through opinion and see the facts only. Then try to foresee the rise and fall of public opinion before it happens. Letting this be his/her guide as to what to do with their business and ensure that it remains in an optimal position no matter what the economic situation prevailing. That is why at Tax Affinity Accountants in Kingston we recommend all our cleints worldwide who could be effected by Brexit and Trump or whatever happens next (bad news usually comes in three's doesn't it?) to keep a cool head and see the the wood for the trees. Focus on making your business better and stronger even more so than before. And just keep moving forward even if its only an inch a day, because that is how winners perform. And that is exactly what hugely successful multinational corporations already do. Look at the facts and view the visible signs to work out if The Simpson's predicted it right and Trump will make America another one of his ex-wives or if he will make make it a more profitable place to do business than ever before. Maybe your business needs to have a established foothold in the US while Brexit ping pong starts with the EU or maybe you just need to make sure you offer a better level of service today if your prices are going up in 3 months time. By Anni Khan at Tax Affinity Accountants Tax Affinity Accountants are experts in Tax and Accountancy. Based in Worcester Park and Kingston upon Thames they are considered in the Industry to be expert accountants and tax advisors for small businesses. Helping and supporting business throughout the UK, they regularly help clients grow their business providing tailored advice. For more information visit www.taxaffinity.com. To read more interesting articles like this visit www.taxaffinity.com/blog. Please feel free to comment and share this with your friends. HMRC has dramatically increased the number of raids on business premises in the last year as part of further criminal investigations into taxpayers.
After receiving extra resources by the UK Government, HMRC have searched over 761 premises, an increase of over 28% on the last year. They are clearly actively looking to secure more prosecutions for tax evasion. With a search warrant granted by a judge or magistrate HMRC now has the power to raid suspected premises, to try to seize vital evidence to help it secure a prosecution for tax evasion. And Limited companies are not off the hook either, as there is a HMRC proposal for a new corporate offence to be created, which would hold companies criminally responsible if they do not prevent staff, contractors etc from trying to commit tax evasion. Currently the UK government is reviewing responses to its consultation paper on the draft legislation. And as a tax evasion investigation can be typically complicated and very time intensive. Due to people often using elaborate ways to cover up their tracks. The best way is for HMRC to have a 'shock and awe tactic' that gets them first hand access to all personal files, emails/texts etc searching an individuals homes or business. So we recommend all business owners to be aware and to ensure they are complaint at all times with the current rules and regulations avoiding illegal tax avoidance schemes and practises. There are plenty of legal ways to use current tax allowances and permitted deductible expenses that an expert Tax Accountant like Tax Affinity Accountants can help you fairly minimise your tax bill. So if you feel you need any advice feel free to contact us and we would be happy to help and guide you as best we can. By Anni Khan at Tax Affinity Accountants Tax Affinity Accountants are experts in Tax and Accountancy. Based in Worcester Park and Kingston upon Thames they are considered in the Industry to be expert accountants and tax advisors for small businesses. Helping and supporting business throughout the UK, they regularly help clients grow their business providing tailored advice. For more information visit www.taxaffinity.com. To read more interesting articles like this visit www.taxaffinity.com/blog. Please feel free to comment and share this with your friends. As #TeamGB return triumphant from the Rio Olympics 2016 and the British media celebrate them lifting the nations pride and spirit this could be the right time to motivate more sales in your business.
Coupled with the warm summer weather and long periods of British sunshine, businesses can literally cash in on an increase in consumer confidence and spending in the economy. Thinking outside of the box, successful businesses have been promoting loyalty cards and coupons and vouchers to increase sales. How and why you may ask? Well read the short list below: 1. Coupons / Vouchers can have the effect of increasing your market and geographic catchment area. Some customers will travel far to redeem a valuable coupon or voucher.2. Coupons / Vouchers can encourage new customers to break the habit of only visiting your competitors and instead to come to you. Consumers can break normal shopping patterns to take advantage of a good offer. 3. Coupons / Vouchers can bring back old customers. Customers that were lured away by your competitors may start buying from you again if you give them a good enough reason.4. Coupon / Voucher marketing gives the seller an opportunity for additional profits by selling other full price items. If you see a special offer to invite a customer, this same customer may end up buying other goods that carry a much higher profit margin. 5. Coupons / Vouchers can increase footfall which can lead on to increase in sales, through good sales techniques or impulse buying. 6. A Coupons / Vouchers scheme is quantifiable and measurable to see its success. Simply count the number of coupons redeemed to work out the success. This valuable analysis will help in creating future offers to increase sales further. We recommend thinking about the points above to create coupons and vouchers in your own marketing campaigns to help increases sales in normally quiet period of the year. (Please be careful though not to infringe upon copyrights and trademarks belonging to others when making your vouchers and coupons.) By Anni Khan at Tax Affinity Accountants Tax Affinity Accountants are experts in Tax and Accountancy. Based in Worcester Park and Kingston upon Thames they are considered in the Industry to be expert accountants and advisors for small businesses. Helping and supporting business throughout the UK, they regularly help clients grow their business providing tailored advice. For more information visit www.taxaffinity.com. To read more interesting articles like this visit www.taxaffinity.com/blog. Please feel free to comment and share this with your friends. Since the Brexit vote, we have seen that a larger than usual number of enquiries about ensuring that an entrepreneur, doing business in the UK, needs to make sure they have updated their visa and rights to remain in the UK by the British Home Office.
Normally this involves the services of a solicitor to organise your paperwork or at the very least a good understanding of the Home Office rules for application if your doing it yourself. The solictor will often also ask you to provide a qualified accountants letter and financial evidence of the past 5 to 10 years of employed or self employed activity in the UK. With evidence showing how you have contributed to the British economy through your taxes and national insurance contributions (NI). If your employed this is through P60's, P45's and P11d's. And if your self employed this is in the form of Company Accounts, Corporation Tax Returns, Personal Tax Return's, SA302's (tax calculation) showing total income and tax and NI payable and a HMRC statement of account (like a bank statement showing payments made and balances due). Your accountant can provide the company accounts, SA302's and tax returns if required urgently. And copies of the HMRC headed statement of account and SA302's can be ordered from HMRC with a normal delay of 7 to 10 days. This information along with others required eg bank statements and ID documents etc can then be submitted with the application to the Home Office. Some types of visa's such as the entrepreneur visa require detailed business plans with the application and this is something we have a speciality in and can help create this to help your application. At Tax Affinity Accountants we have already helped many self employed businessmen and women with their successful applications. So if you feel you need help with any of these documents then feel free to contact us and we would be happy to help. By Anni Khan at Tax Affinity Accountants Tax Affinity Accountants are experts in Tax and Accountancy. Based in Worcester Park and Kingston upon Thames they are considered in the Industry to be expert accountants and advisors for small businesses. Helping and supporting business throughout the UK, they regularly help new and established businesses to succeed. For more information visit www.taxaffinity.com. To read more interesting articles like this visit www.taxaffinity.com/blog. Please feel free to comment and share this with your friends. A lot of wise entrepreneurs are making a lot of money in the fallout as the UK economy bounces around with the triple hit of Brexit, PM resignation and new appointment and the now predictable event of England being kicked out of the Euro 2016 football championships.
They know that there is money to be made where there is fear and speculation. Some are buying cheap UK Sterling others are snapping up cheap stocks and shares while others are haggling hard on basic business deals on such as renewing a lease for a property or machinery. Facing fears and thinking positive in times of an economic downturn is what a true entrepreneur does. Many success stories are about people who made their most money during recessions and economic slumps. Just read about billionaire businessmen and women such Warren Buffet. So when the chairman of JCB Lord Bamford recently said we have "little to fear from leaving the EU" and the business community "needed to look to the future", he was not wrong. He went on to explain "European markets are important to many UK businesses, including JCB, and this will not change," but also said "We should look ahead to opportunities to trade more freely with the rest of the world, as well as building on existing trading relationships with customers and suppliers in Europe." So he was basically saying, we have to remember is that the UK is the world's fifth largest trading nation in the world, and being positive and looking for the opportunites to do even better should be the priority not giving in to the nay sayers and fear mongers. With this in mind, some economists have predicted that the UK could be heading towards a recession, while others have predicted stronger growth once things settle down. "We can look forward to faster rates of economic growth as we embrace the world economy," John Hearn, an economist at the London Institute of Banking and Finance stated recently. But why the huge contrast? Well let's not forget that these people are paid employees and don't really understand what it means to be self-employed and how an entrepreneur's take home pay is directly effected by the sales they did that week. So its all well and good to reassure the doubtful but would a true entrepreneur even be paying any attention or be busy working hard? Sorry who said what? - Lets all work hard today to make more profit and be successful tomorrow, and the economy will take care of its self. Its core foundation is after all individual businesses not employed workers or politicians they are just the purchaser at the end of the chain. Top Tip: The fall in the exchange rates is benefiting UK exporters by lowering their prices and helping domestic retailers products look more attractive to the buyers from other countries, so look for opportunities to export your products and expand your market place overseas while it lasts. By Anni Khan at Tax Affinity Accountants Tax Affinity Accountants are experts in Tax and Accountancy. Based in Worcester Park and Kingston upon Thames they are considered in the Industry to be expert accountants and advisors for small businesses. Helping and supporting business throughout the UK, they regularly help new and established businesses to succeed. For more information visit www.taxaffinity.com. To read more interesting articles like this visit www.taxaffinity.com/blog. Please feel free to comment and share this with your friends. How to increase business profits in a slowing economy.
We often get asked ‘How do I still make more money if my sales go down?’ Using our extensive experience and broad industry knowledge our typical reply is that is actually depends on the industry and type of business that you operate. And then we analyse their business and let them know the best tailored way forward. But there are a few basic things that you can do whatever your business is and below is a helpful list - because everyone loves a to the point list:
We haven’t gone into details about the points raised above, as really most entrepreneurs already know then. It’s more likely that over time they have forgotten to apply or did once apply them but now are too busy doing other things and have lost focus of how important they are. As such they are more a timely reminder for the serious entrepreneur as the UK economy slows down towards the leaving the EU. As they say ‘the cream always rises to the top’ and you just cant stop a good business, so make your business better today for a successful future. By Anni Khan at Tax Affinity Accountants Tax Affinity Accountants are experts in Tax and Accountancy. Based in Worcester Park and Kingston upon Thames they are considered in the Industry to be expert accountants and advisors for small businesses. Helping and supporting business throughout the UK, they regularly help new and established businesses to succeed. For more information visit www.taxaffinity.com. To read more interesting articles like this visit www.taxaffinity.com/blog. Please feel free to comment and share this with your friends. As the new tax year begins so with it new tax savings rules and the potential to make more income in 2015/16 as the UK economy moves further away from the recession. The personal tax free allowance rises from £10,000 to £10,600 per annum and for those born before 6 April 1938 its £10,660. And married couples not using their entire tax free allowance can transfer some tax saving to their partner to help him/her save tax on their tax bill. Make sure to employ a good tax accountant (like Tax Affinity Accountants) that will take this into account as it could mean moving across up to £1060 in tax free allowance in the year. With the BOE base rate interest rate staying at a record 0.5% for the entire term of the current coalition government. Making any substantial gain on savings is relatively small. The ISA savings rate has grown to £15,000 per annum tax free but with rates of return at around 2.2% i.e. £330 profit (yes that really is it!). So any real entrepreneur worth his/her salt would never be happy with such low returns. So what should a UK entrepreneur be doing then? Well the word on the street is ‘expand and grow’ to take full advantage of the economic growth predicted in 2015/16 (2.5% Real GDP). This means plan ahead now and start making changes now, take full advantage of the optimistic uplift in consumer confidence after the general election on 7th May 2015 and the follow through of huge world cup sporting events, falling oil prices and UK growth leading London and the South East regions. If your business is in property then development is the real boom currently, buying a distressed property or expanding and renovate to a high standard of finish is the where the real money is in property. With older properties, with real potential, being snapped up by developers who have found rising equity easy from their portfolio to use as deposits. Or if you’re in the service industry then a shift to registering your own Limited company and working through this will mean you can take advantage of the lower 20% tax band for companies as compared to the higher 40% band for individuals earning over £31,865. We’ve seen an explosion in new company registrations in the last 12 months and are seeing more and more people not from just the IT crowd but from NHS staff working through agencies to construction workers and engineers moving into this. By Anni Khan at Tax Affinity Accountants. Tax Affinity Accountants are experts in Tax and Accountancy. Based in Kingston upon Thames they provide a bespoke service to clients right across the UK and are considered in the industry to be experts in business advice. They mentor and support members of the public to make their businesses grow and reach their full potential. For more information visit www.taxaffinity.com. To read more interesting articles like this visit www.taxaffinity.com/blog. Please feel free to comment and share this with your friends. With none of the politics and huff that goes along with a budget just before a major election. The media maybe filled with information about the colour of the chancellor's tie and the opposition's facial expressions.
So at Tax Affinity Accountants we know and understand that businesswomen and men simply just want to just know what the effect will be on their business. That's why we have compiled a simple at a glance list to help you. 1. The Income tax personal allowance will be raised to £10,800 starting from 6th April 2015 (from £10,600) and to £11,000 the following year. 2. The higher rate of tax threshold is also raised to £43,300. 3. Plans to abolish annual tax return and move to a more automated digital accounts system. 4. Plans to abolish Class 2 national insurance contributions for the self employed in next Parliament. 5. Growth of the economy forecast to be up to 2.5% this year. Then 2.3% next year before reaching 2.4% in 2019. 6. Inflation is forecast to be at 0.2% for this year and the same for the next three years. 7. Fuel duty to remain the same as before as September's planned increase is cancelled. 8. Plans to sell get money back when banks were bailed out. £13bn of mortgage loans still owned by the government from Northern Rock and Bradford & Bingley will be sold. Plus £9bn of Lloyds Banking Group shares to be sold this year. 9. Alcohol duty changes see 1p off a pint of beer and a 2% cut in cider and whiskey duty. While wine duty is to same as before. 10. Changes in ISA's. Total annual savings limit for ISAs has been increased to £15,240. With some types of ISA which will allow savers to draw money and put it back in the same year without losing any part of their tax free allowance. And a new help to buy ISA for first-time buyers will allow government to top up by £50 every £200 saved for a deposit. (speak to your bank for more details). 11. Changes so that pensioners will now be able to trade in their annuities for cash, with the 55% tax abolished and tax being applied at a marginal rate. 12. Plans to review inheritance tax avoidance through "deeds of variation". 13. A new personal saving allowance where the first £1,000 interest on savings income will be tax free for 20% basic rate taxpayers and £500 for higher 40% tax rate payers. 14. New tax on diverted profit to come into effect next month. This is aimed at companies moving profits artificially off shore. 15. There are plans to review of business rates to help businesses. 16. And for charitable donations the gift aid limit for charities to be extended up to £8,000. By Omar Tahir Khan at Tax Affinity Accountants. Tax Affinity Accountants are experts in Tax and Accountancy. Based in Kingston upon Thames they provide a bespoke service to clients right across the UK and are considered in the industry to be experts in business advice. They mentor and support members of the public to make their businesses grow and reach their full potential. For more information visit www.taxaffinity.com. To read more interesting articles like this visit www.taxaffinity.com/blog. Please feel free to comment and share this with your friends. |
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