HK HQ are pleased to announce another new team member, Rhys Havard has joined full time as an apprentice, following studying accounting and finance at The University of the West of England, where he gained a first class honours degree. For those with a keen eye, Rhys is not technically new, as he has spent his last couple of summer breaks working at HK HQ, helping in various teams. Rhys joins Leon who joined us July, both will be collaborate with Jo Shaw in the self-assessment team and various tax projects for clients.
BUDGET 30 OCTOBER 2024
Following the Chancellor’s announcement of the Budget date, the news has been full of speculation of which taxes are going to increase. The Prime Minister on Tuesday 27 August, delivering a speech in the Downing Street rose garden, asking the country to “accept short-term pain for long-term good ”, backing up the message from the Chancellor’s Budget date announcement that tax rises are to come.
“There is a budget coming in October, and it’s going to be painful. We have no other choice given the situation we’re in. Those with the broadest shoulders should bear the heavier burden.”
If you missed our August newsletter covering the Chancellor’s 29 July speech, if you operate a furnished holiday let business, or are a non-UK domicile we would recommend you look at the links below, as further details on the proposed changes in these areas were announced.
Although the main announcement is about Non-UK domiciles, it was also announced from 6 April 2025, that a new test for Inheritance Tax in relation to non-UK assets will be introduced. This is likely to be based on 10 years of tax residency and will keep someone within the scope of Inheritance Tax for 10 years after leaving the UK, but there is further consultation on the operation of the new rules.
We are not going to speculate on what taxes will be raised, and what reliefs will be abolished, only what we know. With that in mind, on being pressed in Parliament as part of the winter fuel debate, the Chancellor stated that the 25% corporation tax rate would remain in place for the duration of the parliament. In addition, the Chancellor also confirmed that at the Budget there will be a roadmap for business to offer the certainty that encourages investment, which will “give business the confidence to grow.”
If you wish to review possible tax changes that may be made, and undertake any pre Budget planning, please follow the link below.
THE GROWTH GUARANTEE SCHEME
The Growth Guarantee Scheme (“GGS”) is the successor to the Recovery Loan Scheme, and is Government backed like its predecessor. The GGS launched with accredited lenders on 1 July 2024, with a wide range of products supported by different lenders, including term loans, overdrafts, asset finance, invoice finance and asset-based lending.
Further details can be found at HERE!
Lending is still tough, despite the recent Bank of England reduction in interest rates, therefore the GGS may help with seeking funding.
HMRC ISSUES £22M FINES TO BUSINESSES FOR DELIBERATE MISTAKES!
According to information published by HMRC, almost £22 million worth of penalties have been issued to UK companies for deliberately lying about how much tax they owe. Deliberate and concealed mistakes are those where HMRC finds evidence that someone has either falsified documents or made other sorts of deliberately false representation to conceal their true tax situation. Your penalty could be up to 100% for these errors, for example if the additional tax is £5k, a 100% penalty is awarded, total payment to HMRC £10,000 plus any interest to be charged.
As team HK advocates, please keep records and evidence to support your income and expenses, to defend any HMRC challenge.
The Global Payroll Association has analysed newly released HMRC data on deliberate tax defaulters. The sector accounting for the biggest share of the £22m is the digital services and content industry, with companies fined £4.3m for deliberately defaulting on tax returns.
The property industry, including property development, has been fined £2.5m, followed by supply chain and wholesale trade (£2.3m), construction services including trades and engineering (£2.1m), and the agricultural industry with fishing and farming (£2m). The other sectors to have been fined more than £1m are logistics, courier services and transportation services (£1.9m), waste management and recycling services (£1.4m), income - trusts (£1.35m), and the hospitality and food industry (£1.3m).
AND FINALLY!
Our commitment to compliance work (company accounts, tax and self assessment returns) remains unwavering, doing a good job in a timely fashion. However, there have been a number of occasions recently where information from clients has been delivered right against deadlines with incomplete records and delays in dealing with queries from team HK. This type of behaviour could result in an error being made resulting in a tax enquiry, but also impacts our other clients work, which inevitably gets pushed back to meet deadlines for those who deliver late.
We kindly request our clients to address information requests and queries promptly, allowing us to efficiently complete our tasks without causing any delays in moving on to the next assignment, creating risk for the client, or an increase in fees.
Your timely cooperation is greatly appreciated.
DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
- Key tax dates for the period July 2024 to December 2024 can be found by clicking HERE!
- 30 October 2024 – Autumn Budget.
Should you wish to speak with us about a specific matter, or just to be a sounding board or for a chat, please do not hesitate to give us a call on 01452 713277
