As part of its Tax Administration and Maintenance (TAM) Day, the government responded to a two-part review of capital gains tax (CGT) published by the Office of Tax Simplification (OTS). Earlier this year, following a request from Chancellor Rishi Sunak, the OTS made a series of recommendations for simplifying CGT. …
2021 Holiday Season
From all of us here at AVASK, we wish you all a bright and prosperous Holiday Season and send you all our very best wishes for a happy and successful New Year, 2022. Throughout the Holiday Season, AVASK in the UK will be operating modified opening hours. While our main …
Government sets out tax details on TAM Day
The UK government has marked the inaugural Tax Administration and Maintenance (TAM) Day with the release of 30 papers covering a wide range of tax issues. Chancellor Rishi Sunak made the commitment to have a TAM Day in the Autumn Budget. The aim was for a dedicated day for the …
Services sector continues to recover despite rising costs
Optimism improved for firms across the services sector in the three months to November, according to the latest Service Sector Survey from the Confederation of British Industry (CBI). However, cost growth continued to pick up, increasing at the fastest pace since survey records began in 1998. Additionally, business volumes continued …
Third of UK manufacturers struggling with debt and rising costs, research suggests
Research carried out by manufacturers’ organisation Make UK has suggested that more than a third of manufacturers in the UK are struggling with rising costs, debt and business red tape. 40% of manufacturers surveyed said that they had consulted an insolvency specialist or are looking to do so in the …
House sales drop dramatically after stamp duty holiday ends
House sales in the UK plummeted by more than half in October after the stamp duty holiday ended. There were nearly 77,000 transactions in the UK during October, a 52% fall compared to September, according to HMRC statistics. HMRC says this was down to buyers pushing through purchases before 30 …
Are you ready for Black Friday?
Q4 is the most important time of year for any e-commerce seller, and it is already well underway. While for consumers the highlight of the quarter is typically the Christmas holidays, for retailers the crown jewel comes much earlier in the form of Black Friday and, to an increasing amount, …
Jobs recovery continues despite end of furlough
There were 160,000 more workers on payrolls in October than in September despite the end of the furlough scheme, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Job vacancies also hit a record high of 1.17 million in the three months to October as firms continued …
Three-day wait for Statutory Sick Pay to return next year
The standard three-day waiting time for Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) will be reinstated for coronavirus (COVID-19)-related claims from 25 March 2022, unless the government intervenes. Under standard rules in the UK, employers do not have to pay SSP to an employee until the fourth qualifying day in the Period of …
AVASK US Shopify Promotion
Are you looking to sell on Shopify or are you already trading there? Have you registered for Sales Tax? All sellers need to consider whether they need to register for local Sales Tax in each State they sell or have a physical presence in, if they are selling on Shopify …
HMRC issues warning on self assessment scams
HMRC has warned taxpayers completing their 2020/21 tax returns to ‘be on their guard’ and stay vigilant in regard to tax-related scams. Nearly 800,000 tax scams were reported in the last year, HMRC revealed. It said that fraudsters use self assessment to attempt to steal money or personal information from …
Real Living Wage increases as cost of living rises
Over 300,000 people working for almost 9,000 Real Living Wage employers throughout the UK are set for a pay boost as the Living Wage rates. From 15 November the Real Living Wage increased to £9.90 across the UK and £11.05 in London. This is higher than the compulsory National Living Wage (NLW), which …
Only a third of businesses taking action to cut emissions
Only one third of businesses plan on cutting their greenhouse gas emissions over the next year despite the UK’s recent net-zero efforts, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). According to the ONS’s report, 11% of businesses are not taking action to reduce their emissions, with 13% stating that …
UK economic recovery slowed by supply problems
UK economic growth slowed between July and September as supply chain problems hindered the recovery from the pandemic, according to the latest data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Gross domestic product (GDP) expanded by a slightly weaker than expected 1.3%, down from 5.5% in the second quarter, according …
HMRC’s tax take falls by billions due to pandemic
HMRC saw a drop of almost £30 billion in tax revenues in the latest financial year because of the pandemic, according to its annual accounts. In its 2020/21 annual report, HMRC reported that it had collected £608.8 billion in tax revenues, which is down from £636.7 billion collected in 2019/20. …
Bank of England hints interest rates could rise in coming months
The Bank of England has hinted that it may raise interest rates in the coming months. Interest rates may have to escalate in response to increasing levels of inflation. Policymakers at the Bank recently voted to hold interest rates at the record low rate of 0.1%. The Bank’s Monetary Policy …
Household finances not set to return to pre-COVID levels until 2023
The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has warned that household finances are not set to return to their pre-COVID levels until 2023. In a hearing with MPs, Charlie Bean, a board member for the OBR, stated that incomes are not set to return to their 2019 levels for at least …
Growth Advisory Series: Financial reviews and analysis
It is easier than ever to build an unsustainable business. 2019 saw the largest class of unprofitable IPOs since the DotCom era. This is one of the reasons so many entrepreneurs fail: not investing in a solid financial strategy and not conducting rigorous financial reviews from the outset. But even …
Costs ‘weighing on businesses’ sustainability intentions’, FSB finds
A report published by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has revealed that the costs associated with going green have impacted small firms’ plans for becoming more sustainable. The FSB’s report found that the majority of UK small firms are concerned about climate change but just one in three has …
Payment period on residential CGT is doubled
The government has doubled the payment period for capital gains tax (CGT) on residential property from 30 days to 60 days. Although the measure was not announced by Chancellor Rishi Sunak in the recent Autumn Budget, it was included in HM Treasury’s Budget publication. The change applies from 27 October …
IFS predicts millions to be worse off next year due to tax rises
The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has predicted that millions of people will be worse off in 2022 as a result of spiralling costs and tax rises. Responding to the Autumn Budget, the IFS predicted that low-income families will ‘feel real pain’ due to a rise in the cost of …
Treasury received five million malicious emails over past three years, research finds
Research carried out by think tank Parliament Street has revealed that HM Treasury received almost five million malicious emails over the past three years. A Freedom of Information (FoI) request submitted by Parliament Street found that 4,870,389 malware, phishing and spam emails were blocked by the Treasury over the three …
Chancellor makes significant changes to fuel duty and alcohol duty
In his Autumn Budget speech, Chancellor Rishi Sunak made significant changes to fuel duty and duty rates on alcohol. The government will keep fuel duty frozen at 57.95p per litre across the UK for 2022/23 in recognition of the significant cost that fuel represents for households and businesses. The alcohol …
US e-commerce accounting made easy with AVASK
AVASK is already well known throughout Europe for the stellar support it offers European e-commerce sellers. From business formation to exit strategies, we are with you every step of your enterprise’s life cycle. If you already sell in the EU, you may have thought about your US e-commerce accounting needs. …
Chancellor delivers Budget to lay foundation for a strong economy
Chancellor Rishi Sunak delivered a Budget to ensure the UK economy bounces back following the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The Chancellor announced that total departmental spending will grow by £150 billion per year in cash terms by 2024/25, marking the largest real term increase in overall departmental spending for any Parliament …
HMRC’s additional Amazon VAT registration requests and how to navigate them
The COVID-19 pandemic reshaped e-commerce landscapes in dramatic but often positive ways. In the UK, retail e-commerce saw a massive boost, particularly in categories like food and household goods. In 2020 alone, the market saw 46.5% year-over-year growth, and that trend has only continued. By 2025, experts expect e-commerce to …
2021 Autumn Budget: what to expect
Chancellor Rishi Sunak will deliver the 2021 Autumn Budget speech today at 12:30pm. We will keep you up to date on the key Budget announcements and supply a full summary, which will appear on our website tomorrow morning. Speculation is rife that the Chancellor will increase capital gains tax (CGT) …
CBI urges government not to introduce business tax rises
The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has warned the government against introducing new business tax rises in this week’s Autumn Budget. The business group has urged the government to ‘end the repeated increase of business taxes that are stunting investment’; reform the business rates system; commit to maintaining ‘more generous …
‘Bank of mum and dad’ financing half of first-time purchases, research finds
Research carried out by property group Savills has found that half of first-time buyer home purchases are financed by the so-called ‘bank of mum and dad’. Parents’ contributions towards buying a first home are likely to top £9.8 billion this year, Savills found. It said that rising house prices have …
Manufacturing activity remains firm, but supply pressures mount, says CBI
UK manufacturing output volumes in the quarter to October grew at a similarly firm pace to September, according to the Confederation of British Industry (CBI). The latest quarterly CBI Industrial Trends Survey shows manufacturers reported output increasing in 11 out of 17 sub-sectors. Growth was driven by the chemicals, aerospace, …