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Welcome to AVASK News, where we post the latest industry updates from around the world
A study carried out by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has showed that small firms are losing £25 billion per year as compliance costs and time lost to dealing with tax admin soar. The FSB study found that the government’s Making Tax Digital (MTD) initiative has ‘significantly increased costs …
At some point in your life, you have likely encountered what is known as an armchair warrior. Someone who has a lot of criticisms and opinions about how to solve a problem but is not interested in being part of those proposed solutions. In looking for a reliable business consultant, …
Homeowners in England and Wales will be offered subsidies of £5,000 from next April to help them to replace old gas boilers with low carbon heat pumps. The grants are part of the government’s £3.9 billion plan to reduce carbon emissions caused by heating homes and other buildings. It is …
At AVASK, we understand how important it is to create a seamless shopping experience for customers regardless of where they are globally. But the wide variety of different currencies and financial regulations can make this a daunting prospect, sometimes to the point of preventing e-commerce sellers from expanding their businesses. …
A single person will need post-tax annual income of £10,900 for a minimum standard of living in retirement, according to the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA). The minimum retirement living standard covers a typical retiree’s basic needs plus enough for some social activities, such as a week of holiday …
Businesses that are planning to operate in the UK’s new freeports can now apply to HMRC. The tax authority has published the application forms to operate special customs procedures within the sites, along with further guidance on procedures for declaring goods moving into and out of sites. Freeports are areas …
A joint statement issued by 41 of the UK’s trade associations has called on the government to reform business rates in order to help unlock green investment. The statement comes in the lead up to COP26 from groups including the British Retail Consortium (BRC), Build UK and UKHospitality. Together they …
HMRC has reminded self assessment taxpayers that the deadlines for filing 2020/21 tax returns are now approaching. The deadline for 2020/21 tax returns is 31 October 2021 for those completed on paper forms and 31 January 2022 for online returns. HMRC has already seen thousands of people filing their returns …
Chancellor Rishi Sunak will have ‘little room for manoeuvre’ in this month’s Budget and Spending Review, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS). The IFS says that this year’s historic announcements of tax rises will increase the UK’s tax take to its highest sustained level in peacetime. The think …
The Tax Faculty at the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) has urged the government to use the upcoming Autumn Budget to help accelerate work on building a modern UK tax system. The ICAEW has called for the government to ensure the tax system is ‘fit for …
A survey carried out by the Institute of Directors (IoD) has found that three in ten businesses plan on employing fewer people as a result of the increase in national insurance contributions (NICs). Last month Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced plans to supply an additional £12 billion per year for …
It may seem like only yesterday that the new One-Stop Shop system came into effect for European VAT payments, but the first set of OSS filing deadlines is already upon us. Read on to find out more about the upcoming deadlines for OSS and IOSS and how you can make …
Business groups have warned Prime Minster Boris Johnson that the UK economy is fragile and the recovery from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic remains on shaky ground. The Prime Minister’s speech at the Conservative Party conference outlined his vision for an optimistic UK, buoyed by higher wages and improved opportunity for …
The Institute of Directors (IoD) has called on the government to introduce a tax super-deduction to plug an investment gap in retraining. The IoD also outlined other measures to ‘help the UK reorientate to a higher skill economy’, including reintroducing lifelong personalised training budgets to be used on accredited vocational …
The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has warned that tax rises could threaten the UK’s ongoing recovery from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. According to the FSB, small businesses are coming up against ‘unprecedented strain’, with the cost of doing business higher than ever. Small businesses are also being affected by …
Chancellor Rishi Sunak has committed £500 million to renew job support programmes set up during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic after the end of the furlough scheme last month. The Chancellor made the announcement during his speech at the Conservative Party conference in Manchester. The Kickstart Scheme – which subsidises eligible jobs …
HMRC is urging Working Tax Credit (WTC) customers to check if they need to update their working hours if these have reduced because of the pandemic. During the pandemic, WTC customers have not needed to tell HMRC about temporary short-term reductions in their working hours due to the coronavirus (COVID-19). …
Changes to the off payroll rules, commonly known as IR35, that were introduced earlier this year are the forgotten factor driving the HGV crisis, according to the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed (IPSE). IPSE has urged the government to repeal the changes to IR35 and at the very …
The government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) ends today (30 September) after supporting millions of workers during the pandemic. The government said the wages of more than 11 million people were subsidised for at least some of the scheme’s duration at a cost of around £70 billion. There is now …
A new emergency fraud hotline has been launched for individuals to report financial scams as they take place. The new hotline, which can be accessed by dialing 159, will connect an individual to their bank’s fraud prevention service. The new hotline is being trialed for a year, with fraud prevention …
According to Clutch’s 2018 Small Business Survey, small businesses that try to handle everything in house may end up stretching themselves too thin. And yet the value of having an outside perspective is evident every time a project goes through a sign-off process, or even just asking a colleague to …
Chancellor Rishi Sunak will deliver the 2021 Autumn Budget on 27 October. The Budget will follow the Spending Review and is expected to set out how the government will deliver on its promises to the British public. These include leading the transition to net zero across the country; ensuring strong and …
The government has opened a £800 million Reinsurance Scheme to cover live events against coronavirus (COVID-19)-related cancellations. The live events sector is worth more than £70 billion annually to the UK economy and supports more than 700,000 jobs, including small businesses and the self-employed. The UK Live Events Reinsurance Scheme …
UK workers could get more choice over when and where they work under new proposals to make the right to request flexible working a day one entitlement. The government will also introduce a day one right to one week’s unpaid leave for carers balancing a job with caring responsibilities. The …
The government has delayed the introduction of Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax self assessment (MTD for ITSA) for a year, HMRC has announced. The government says it has made the move in recognition of the challenges faced by many UK businesses as the country emerges from the pandemic. …
The Institute of Directors (IoD) is urging the government to use the upcoming Budget to reduce the planned level of business tax rises. The IoD believes that the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) will revise its GDP growth forecasts up for 2021, potentially resulting in stronger tax receipts. It stated …
Coronavirus (COVID-19) emergency finance schemes offered £81.5 billion of finance to almost 1.7 million businesses through the British Business Bank (BBB) during the last financial year. This support, which is not included under the Bank’s core programmes, was evenly distributed across the nations and regions of the UK. In addition, …
A survey carried out by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has revealed that three quarters of UK businesses are concerned about the impact of labour shortages on competitiveness. The survey found that 87% of firms are planning on recruiting this year, and seven in ten businesses are planning to …
The government’s scheme that enables small businesses to recoup statutory sick pay costs caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19) will end at the end of September. Legislation ending the Coronavirus Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme (SSPRS) was laid before parliament on 9 September. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, employers were obliged to …
Adopting a tax year which is either aligned with the calendar year or with a calendar month-end would have clear benefits, according to a review from the Office of Tax Simplification (OTS). The review considers the high-level implications of moving the tax year end date to 31 December, and a …
