NEWS AND ARTICLES
Don't Lose Sleep Over This
The latest "benefit" to find its way onto the Revenue's hit list is stress counselling provided or paid for by the employer.However, it is not all bad news because the Revenue have agreed that...
Tax: Can't Pay? Won't Pay!
We would not of course encourage clients to do other than file and pay their tax on time - to do otherwise would be to seek to frustrate Parliament’s intentions which would be wrong.  But...
Phantom Enquiry Notices
A number of clients have already received in the past Section 9A enquiry notices - which are the standard notification from the Inland Revenue that they may require further information in connection...
Regional Enterprise Grants
On 1 January 2000 the DTI introduced a new grant scheme, entitled Regional Enterprise Grants. These grants are available to small and medium sized businesses in specified areas in England, including...
Benchmarking
Have you ever stopped to think how large companies know if they are on the right track. The answer is benchmarking. For those of you unfamiliar with the term, let me explain just what large and...
National Minimum Wage
Does the legislation apply to directors of family or one-man companies?The answer is yes it does - in principle. But the Act applies only to a person who is a worker under a contract which is an...
Mortgage Lenders Relent
We are all encouraged to buy our own homes. We are told that bricks and mortar have always been a good investment but this has not been true for those caught by the last collapse in the housing...
New Trends for Internet Businesses
As head of our newly created Software and Internet Division I have recently been working closely with internet start-ups and review below trends in the business.Industrial RevolutionThere is no...
Pension Carryback - Use it or lose it!
Pension rules for the self-employed are changing. We explain below how to make the most of present concessions.The self-employed will lose valuable tax relief on their pension savings next year when...
Welcome
In his fourth budget speech, Mr Brown confirmed what many people have felt for a long time, that in terms of management of the economy, the annual set-piece is an irrelevance. Now that responsibility...
Harry Brown (1948 - 2000)
It is with great sadness that we report the death of Harry Brown on 18 February 2000. Harry had been part of Berg Kaprow Lewis for over 25 years and many firms and a wider circle of business and...
Knowledge - Accessing Your Most Powerful Asset
Many businesses have made significant investments in their IT systems, but the fact is, that most are not providing benefits in line with their potential. They perform tasks that have to be done -...
Stamp Duty & VAT
Stamp Duty is now getting to be more than a mere inconvenience and is becoming a significant transaction cost, a trend followed in the recent Budget. It won't have escaped Mr Brown's notice that we...
The Leased Said About That……..
Most people in business are aware that the tax relief for leasing or hire charges of motor cars is restricted where the car's retail price when new exceeds £12,000. A question recently arose as to...
Investors In People
We are delighted to announce that we have been successfully re-assessed by Investors In People and our accreditation has been renewed.This is a particularly fitting tribute to our late partner Harry...
Puzzle Corner
Our Quiz Master, David Whiscombe, has been trying out his little ones' homework again and provides us with this brainteaser.How many times must you roll an ordinary 6 sided die in order for it to be...
What's In A Name?
We were highly amused to receive a letter from the Inland Revenue back in January signed by the wonderfully suitable Inspector of Taxes - V...
The Creeping Euro
We all know that you can be harmed by passive smoke just by being near a smoker.  In similar fashion your business is in danger of being badly affected by the nearness of the "Euro Zone" despite...
Away Day
LET YOUR BRAIN TAKE THE STRAINWhen did you last spend quality time reviewing your business?Have you ever taken a day away from the work environment to do this?When we ask this question we quite often...
ISA Gets the Cold Shoulder
The Revenue have now published further guidance notes for ISAs which are due to be introduced next April to replace PEPs and TESSAs.The proposals continue to come under much criticism - even the...
Disqualification of Directors
There have been a number of well publicised cases involving failed companies where an action has successfully been brought disqualifying one or more directors from acting in a similar role for a...
Welcome
I hope you like the new format of our Newsletter which we have redesigned to incorporate a number of suggestions our readers have made.As ever, our editor in chief, Neil Graham, and his editorial...
Picking a Winner in the Conversion Stakes
Staking your claim to windfalls with converting insurers has become a little more difficult with many of the likely candidates upping the minimum investment.Our hot favourites for windfalls include...
By Appointment Only
HOW TO DEAL WITH UNANNOUNCED VISITS BY THE VAT MANUnannounced visits by Cusoms and Excise are (allegedly) rarely made, and only (allegedly) where they think they stand a better chance of getting to...
VAT News
DOCTORS 1 VETS 0Customs have bowed to pressure and extended the zero rating provisions to cover the sale of dolls for the practice of resuscitation procedures.  They had previously resisted this...
Reducing the Risk in Equity Funds
Investors may be nervous about investing into the current market but, taking a medium term view, there may be even more risk in staying out of the market.It's at times like this that those...
Student Grants & Loans
After some delay the Department for Education and Employment has published its guide for the 1998/99 academic year.  Grants will not now disappear quite as quickly as previously expected. ...
Do You Know Your Breakeven Point?
If not then you're not alone.  We are constantly surprised at how many businesspeople don't.  Many also believe that high sales will automatically lead to high profit.  But profit only...
What's Sauce for the Goose
Customs have changed the way in which they set their interest rates.  Underdeclarations of tax will now be subject to interest of 9.5% (up from 6.25%).  But if you were expecting the rate...
Make It Your Business
Networking with other women makes your business growOver half of women with children under 5, and three quarters of those with children between 5 and 9, are at work yet, according to statistical...
Internet and Intranets
New Look WebsiteThose of your with access to the internet will probably know about, and may even have visited, our website which was launched in June 1997.Technology has moved on over the past year...
The New Working Time Regulations
The new regulations came into effect on 1 October 1998 and will affect virtually every employer in the country.  The main provisions are:The 48 Hour Week  This regulation limits the maximum...
Retirement Relief
Retirement relief is being phased out so we are recommending that many of our clients crystallise the benefit before it fades away.  If this sounds like you, contact us now.  But how about...
Business Vs Pleasure
Question  An employer provided a car for the full year 1997/98.  Until September the company required all employees to pay for fuel for all private motoring, but in October the policy...
Quiz Corner
Congratulations to Andrew Wickham, head teacher at Weston Park Primary School in Crouch End, who managed to work out when the hedgehogs ran out of food.  For those of you who tried desperately...
Performance Management
All employers need to find ways to improve the performance and develop the capabilities of their teams and employees.  Many organisations are abolishing rigid systems of Performance Management...
Profit Margins & Product Mix
Very few businesses sell just one service or product.  Most have a range which they market to different audiences.  The diversity brings strength but sometimes we find that a business may...
Increase Your Turnover
Increase Your Turnover Without Increasing Your Customer BaseOne of the easiest and cheapest ways to increase your turnover is to sell more to your existing customers.  But you don’t want to...
International Connections
As part of our commitment to provide our clients with a comprehensive service, we are establishing associations with like-minded accountancy practices world wide.  We are delighted that,...
IR35
The original revised rules for personal service companies were introduced in Inland Revenue Press Release 35 (hence IR35) shortly after the 1999 Budget.  After a number of revisions, the new...
The Climate Change Levy
The Climate Change Levy is a new tax that will come into effect from 1 April 2001.  It is being introduced to help the UK meet its target for reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. ...
Employment Law Workshops
Over the past few years there have been many changes in employment law.  A change of Government here and new legislation from Brussels means that even lawyers have had a hard time keeping up...
Welcome
We are delighted that Nick Green has joined us as a partner to head up our Corporate Finance Department.  Our aim has always been to support our clients by providing the specialist services they...
Robert Kaprow (1953-2000)
It is with much sorrow that we announce the death of Robert Kaprow at the age of 46.Robert was diagnosed with cancer less than a year ago and battled very bravely against his illness. He was a...
Go West Young Man
We are delighted to announce the opening of our new West End office at 17 Cavendish Square.Partner Brian Berg comments: “We originally moved from the West End to Finchley at the end of 1989 but...
Computers - First Year Allowances
Most readers are probably already aware that the last Budget introduced a 100% first year allowance for small firms investing in “information and communications technology.”Press...
Inheritance Tax Planning
Inheritance Tax and the Family HomeMany married couples whose wealth is mainly tied up in the family home are potentially exposed to inheritance tax (IHT).Legal definitions can cause problemsThe...
Awards for Excellence
The 1999 Accountancy Age Awards for Excellence were presented at a gala ceremony at London’s Natural History Museum.  All sectors of the profession were represented to “recognise and...
PAYE & National Insurance Payments
These can now be paid on a quarterly basis if the average monthly liability is less than £1,500.  This change takes effect from 6 April...
Audit Exemption Limit Raised
The audit exemption limit has been raised to £1 million turnover for accounting periods ending on or after 31 July 2000 so companies whose turnover does not exceed this limit will in future be exempt...
National League Tables
The latest national league tables of the top UK accountancy firms were recently published in "Accountancy" magazine and we are delighted to report that Berg Kaprow Lewis now stands at number...
SAS Train Benefit Fraud Investigators
Former SAS and MI6 officers are teaching Benefit Agency fraud investigators surveillance techniques, and early results have led to several people being convicted, according to a recent article in the...
Puzzle Corner
Clearing out my desk the other day I came across an old calculator that printed out line-by-line (we used to call them add-listers).  Needless to say I can't get the rolls of paper for it any...
Employment Law Update
The contract of employment is the basis for any employment relationship and although employees will have implied rights and obligations even if there is nothing in writing, it is always advisable to...
Retirement Relief Update
As some readers will be aware, retiring company directors (by which we mean giving up work rather than being shy) will normally qualify for at least some measure of retirement relief if, at the same...
Windfalls from With-Profit Bonds
If you missed out on the hefty windfalls from the proposed Scottish Widows de-mutualisation you might consider buying a With-Profit Bond from another mutual.If you pick a mutual such as Equitable...
Cash is King
Cash, or rather lack of cash, is one of the most common reasons for business failures.  This is particularly true if your business is expanding.  Turnover is increasing and your business is...
Welcome
We have long campaigned for the government to avoid burdening businesses with unnecessary red tape and regulations.We therefore welcome the announcement from Stephen Byers, Secretary of State for...
Working Families Tax Credit
The Revenue recently produced a press release about this and one key point is that from next April, employers will have to deal with the administration via their payrolls. We hope that the following...
Gym Facilities
We recently encountered a situation where a company installed portable gym equipment in a room and made these facilities available for all staff.  The client wanted to know whether there would...
Staff Entertainment
In the past the Inland Revenue have accepted that most employers (and their accountants) have dealt with staff entertainment costs simply by adding back the expense when calculating the profits of...
Don't Drop Your Prices!
How often have you been tempted to reduce your prices to increase sales.  But will the increase in sales lead to improved profit?The answer is usually a resounding NO!The following table shows...
Light Relief
We found the following computer acronyms, sent in by a client, highly amusing and so we thought we would share them with our readers:-DOS: - Defective Operating SystemIBM: - I Blame...
Casual Employees
This still remains one of the Revenue’s favourite target areas during PAYE inspections and don’t forget that as well as income tax, they now deal with national insurance as well.With this...
Eye Eye
We were recently asked by a client director whether they would be able to claim corporation tax relief on glasses purchased for use with VDUs at work.  The client also wanted to know whether...
AA Windfalls
Some 4 million voting members of the Automobile Association benefited from windfalls of about £240 each following the sale to Centrica.  Ever keen to spoil the party, the Revenue have decreed...
Golden Handshakes
A recent House of Lords decision has confirmed that where an employee is contractually entitled to receive a payment in lieu of notice, this payment is taxable and does not qualify for the £30,000...
It's Good to Talk
There is no longer any taxable benefit-in-kind on mobile phones owned by an employer and provided to an employee.  However, if the phone is in the employee’s name and the employer pays the...
Puzzle Time
U2 are giving a concert at a riverside stadium.  For security their changing area is on an island in the river.  To reach the stage they have to cross the river on a long narrow foot...
Life After PEP's
‘Individual Savings Accounts’ or ISAs are now available as the new way to save ‘tax free’. The ISA is replacing Personal Equity Plans (PEP) and Tax Exempt Special Savings...
Interest on Debts
There is no doubt that the late payment of debts has an effect on the whole business cycle and particularly so for smaller businesses who are often at the mercy of their larger customers.  Now...
The UK 200 Group
LAUNCHES FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT WORKSHOPSA new initiative to assist companies in the growing business sector to develop stronger financial management has been launched by the UK 200 Group of Chartered...
Getting Connected to the Web
IT Partner, Jeremy Hyman, sets out a step by step plan to provide complete web access for smaller organisations.Ideally, every PC in the office should be connected to the World Wide Web and be able...
Corporate Tax Changes
There have been a number of changes to corporation tax in the last few months as follows:-Smaller CompaniesAdvance Corporation Tax on dividends has been abolished from 6 April 1999.  This makes...
Compensation & Tax
When is compensation received by a trader taxable?  The general rule is known (in this office at least) as the “filling a hole” principle and proceeds on the basis that if...
BKL Go East
The Metropolitan Essex office has been in existence since 1974 trading under the name of Taylor & Bryant.  Like us, Taylor & Bryant were members of the UK 200 Group.  Despite the...
Welcome
"…………we will cut taxes on enterprise.  And we will champion the needs of small business…."Fine words by Gordon Brown - if only he'd meant them!But lets look at the fine print of the budget to...
Email - Did You Know?
Under the Companies Act 1985, external E-mails are regarded as letters.Section 351 of the Act requires certain information to be shown on all business letters and order forms including the place of...
Minimum Wage - Did You Know?
The new rules are now in place and the rates are as follows:-Youth rate for workers aged from 18 to 21 - £3.00 per hour.Over 22 but in the first 6 months with new employer and undertaking accredited...
Construction Industry Changes
With effect from 1 August this year, all existing certificates held by construction industry sub-contractors will be obsolete and they will need to apply for new certificates if they wish to continue...
BKL Launch New Unit
We are pleased to announce the launch of our Unit for Growing Businesses headed by Harry Brown and Mark Levey.The unit has evolved as a result of requests for help from owners of businesses attending...
Are you running your business ...
...or is it running you?Now a regular feature of the Berg Kaprow Lewis calendar, the seminar  “Take Control and Improve Profits”, was presented by Harry in March. The half day...
Company Cars
Despite tax increases on a company car, this perk can still be attractive in certain circumstances.  However, the tax on private petrol provided by an employee is being increased much more and...
Disqualification of Directors - Did You Know?
It is now very easy to check whether a person running a company has been banned.  Simply use the Companies House website at www.companieshouse.gov.uk and you can then make a search based on...
New Partner
We are delighted to announce that Steven Hocking-Robinson has become a partner in the practice.Steven joined us in 1996 when he came to London from Plymouth seeking fame and fortune!  He went...
Mortgages 'R' Us
We welcome on board Danny Antoniou to head up our sister company Barton Mortgage Services Limited.A mortgage is probably the largest single financial commitment you are likely make and with 18 years...
Directors Liability for National Insurance
Increased  liability due to the Social Security Act 1998 Up to now company directors have not been held personally liable for National Insurance Contributions deducted under P.A.Y.E., which...
Puzzle Time
As always, thanks to Quiz Master David Whiscombe for this latest brain teaser:In a high-security prison there are 100 prisoners, each in a single cell, and 100 guards.  One night there is some...
The French Connection
When I speak with a foreign citizen about doing business in France, the response is always the same: "France is a nice country to travel or spend a holiday in but it's not a good place to run a...
Stakeholder Pensions
Pensions have been a hot topic in the financial media over recent months and with the arrival of the new stakeholder pensions in April 2001 we have a new pension regime that will affect...
Employment Law Workshops
With employment law and practice constantly changing, it is vital to know your legal rights and your obligations as an employer.  At the same time you need to find ways to improve the...
Case Study: The Less-Paper Office
In 1998, the Berg Kaprow Lewis internal IT department started to develop a knowledge management system to help us manage the extensive information and knowledge within the firm.  It has now...
Welcome
By the time you read this, the excitement of the election will be over, the swingometers will have swung and the results of the poll will be known.Labour"s campaign in the battle for No 10 was...
Berg Kaprow Lewis goes POP!
We are delighted to announce the arrival of top music and media accountant Lesley Alexander as a partner in the firm to head up our growing Media Division.Brian Berg comments "This is an exciting...
Berg Kaprow Lewis Wins National Award
Press Coverage (Digital Britain, May 2001)
We are delighted to announce that we have been named by the Added Value Network (AVN) as the Top Large Accountancy Firm of the Year.  The AVN is the largest network of accountants in the UK...
Property Matters
DepositsThe property market in many areas remains buoyant and with it comes the perennial problem of property chains and the dreaded gazumping.We were recently contacted concerning the sale of a...
Inheritance Tax: The dog that hasn't barked yet
At the risk of being seen once again to "cry wolf", we thought we should alert you to possible changes in the IHT rules if, as seems likely, Labour are re-elected.When in opposition Labour had a...
Own Goal in Gaul
Different European countries have different restrictions on VAT recovery and the question on whether restrictions are valid under basic EU law has sometimes been an issue.France has recently been...
Revenue Calling, Revenue Calling
We recently received a letter from the Inland Revenue with a note (in rather small print) at the foot of the letter stating "To help us to maintain and improve the quality of our services we may...
Puzzle Time
Congratulations to Nicky Schaffer who correctly calculated the length of the roll in our last puzzle at 1.21 inches.  This time, we move away from figures and test your powers of prose....
Equity Release Schemes
UNLOCK THE VALUE IN YOUR HOMEWith the significant increase in house prices, many people are now looking at ways to release the enhanced value in their homes to provide either a cash lump sum or an...
Are you paying over the odds for your mortgage?
RE-MORTGAGING CAN SAVE YOU MONEYSix interest rate cuts this year have led to the widest gap to date between the most expensive and the cheapest mortgages.  Choosing the right lender can save...
Buy to let
Buy-to-let has become an attractive investment option for many people as soaring house prices, increased demand for rental property and better legal protection for private landlords has made this a...
Handling redundancy
Avoid legal pitfalls when reducing your workforceIn the current economic climate security of employment cannot be ensured and where there is a down turn in business, various methods of reducing or...
Boost your pension
LAST CHANCE TO BOOST YOUR PENSION WITH UNUSED RELIEFMany people have taken advantage in the past of the facility to carry forward unused pension relief from the previous 6 years to make a larger...
Welcome
Gordon Brown fired a scatter – shot blunderbuss of measures in his pre-budget speech to help pensioners, people who do football pools, working mothers and small businesses – as well as...
Tax
Most modern buildings contain items which for tax purposes can be regarded as “plant” on which Capital Allowances can be claimed.  Not infrequently, in the tax consultancy group, we...
Electronic communication
NEW DOMAIN NAMEWe have changed the format of our e-mail addresses and domain name so that they now all have the suffix bergkaprowlewis.co.uk.New format e-mail addressesWe have also amended the format...
Case Study
NOW THE FUTURE"S SUNNY FOR SOL TRAININGAttracting and keeping a thriving group of customers is fundamental to every company’s success and, after just four years of creating and running...
40% Tax Relief on life assurance!
Amidst all the changes made to the rules governing Personal Pensions, one area that received little attention was that regarding life cover written under a Personal Pension.The new rules restrict the...
Business credit cards
WHAT SHOULD YOU SHOW ON A P11D?In normal business life, a business credit card might be used to buy either goods or services for the company from which the cardholders derives no personal benefit...
Banks fixed security
On 5 June 2001 the Privy Council handed down a decision in the Brumark Investments Limited case in which the validity of a bank’s fixed charge on book debts to secure the Company’s...
Did you know ....
It is generally known that a credit card company is jointly liable with the suppliers of goods, if those goods are not fit for the purpose they were intended, and the credit card transaction exceeds...
You're a record breaker
A few months ago a taxpayer (or very possibly a non-taxpayer by default!) reluctantly made history when he was jailed for two years and was made subject to an Inland Revenue confiscation order...
A short course in human relations
The six most important words are“I admit I made a mistake”The five most important words are“You do a good job”The four most important words are“What is your...
Some overheads are essential
It is always surprising that the first thing people do when business gets tight is to slash costs.  If you slash too much then you will not have the proper infrastructure to run an efficient,...
Ideas R Us
Many businesses involve their people very little if at all in the business despite the fact that they do most of the day to day tasks and often have the most contact with your clients and...
Puzzle Time
In our last puzzle corner, we asked for suggested responses to a letter from the Revenue at Tees Valley informing us that a client’s affairs had been transferred there from Enfield. ...
Welcome
A few months on and the changes announced in the Budget have started to be introduced.  The increase in National Insurance rates will plainly increase payroll costs across the board by about 1%,...
Website News
New – Interactive ToolsA range of company information servicesNeed to credit check a new customer or supplier? - Investing in a company? - Going into partnership? - Need details of a director's other...
How to Save up to £100,000 When You Die!
Inheritance tax ("IHT") is charged on the value of your assets when you die.  The first £250,000 of your estate is tax free: beyond that, tax is at 40%.  Do the sums yourself - the Inland...
Inheritance Tax is a voluntary tax.
To avoid Inheritance Tax you generally need to make an outright gift and then survive seven years.  But you can avoid Inheritance Tax without giving anything away, and without the seven year...
Car Tax
From 6 April 2002, two separate changes were made to car taxation for employees and directors.  One affects you if you have a company car, the other if you use your own car on company...
Tax Tips
 ·              A periodic review of your Will is essential. It should be done to ensure that your assets will be dealt with in...
Could Your Business Survive Without You?
Faced with the demands of running a business and managing personal and family finances, few of us take time out to consider what we should be doing to protect ourselves, our families and our...
Web Watch
Essential sites for business ownersE-Business Clubs www.ebusinessclubs.co.uk  Coalition of UK organisations helping businesses to trade on-line.Small Businesses in...
Late Returns
The Inland Revenue are now becoming much more enthusiastic about making sure that tax returns are filed.  They have now warned that they will be making increasing use of daily penalties which...
Managing and Monitoring Absenteeism
Managing sickness and absence at work is a key concern for all employers.  Estimates as to exactly how much it costs vary, but they range between £10 billion and £18 billion per annum. ...
The Curse of Enron
One of our partners was recently invited to a seminar entitled “Enron – Could It Happen Here?”. One of the speakers was a criminal lawyer previously with the Serious Fraud...
New Online Court Service
If you have a troublesome debtor who is not disputing the debt but simply isn’t paying then you can now sue online for debts of up to £100,000 rather than spend time filling in forms at your...
Puzzle Time
For those of you that are still puzzling over our last puzzle the answer was: Curate was aged 23The ladies ages were, 30, 14 and 2The vicar was older than 30 but less than...
IT Services
As a firm we pride ourselves on our own information technology systems; we believe our technology is fundamental in supporting our professional services and has helped enable us achieve and maintain...
Coming Soon - Fantasy Football
Who says accountants are boring!  Coming soon to our website is the Berg Kaprow Lewis Fantasy Football League. You will be given £ millions (well we said it was a fantasy) to spend on your team...
Reminders for your Diary
August2    Last day for notifying car changes in quarter to 5 July - P46 (car)31  Annual adjustment for VAT partial exemption calculations (May VAT year end)September30 ...
Do it yourself?
Most business owner-managers find that they spend only a small percentage of their time on important strategic planning.  A great deal of their effort is spent on the day-to-day running of the...
New Employment Regulations - Are you ready?
The Employment Act 2002 introduces significant changes which affect all employers There is no small employer exemption In this article we outline the key regulations being...
Alternative Investments
When it comes to investing there is more to life than ISAs, stocks and shares; those with an interest in collecting art or vintage wines can find that their investments yield higher returns than the...
Selling a business
Now is not a good time … or is it? With interest rates remaining low, and not expected to rise significantly (if at all) for at least another year, it is easy for investors to raise relatively...
Training Costs - Getting it right for tax
You might think, having regard to Mr Blair’s notorious enthusiasm for “Edukashn”, that the rules on getting tax relief for the costs of education and training would be consistent and logical....
Welcome
Businesses waiting for positive tax breaks will again have been disappointed by the budget.  There was little for SMEs, except a stronger case for incorporating and a welcome for extensions of...
Web Watch
Essential sites for business owners UK Patent Officewww.patent.gov.ukProvides a general public search facility for patents, trade marks and designs as well as renewal forms Intellectual...
Legislation Update
Company law reform  Small businesses could soon be benefiting from a “significant modernisation and reform” of company law, as the Government plans to update legislation that has remained...
IT Services - Exception to the rule
In this article I am going to look at how computer systems can sift through data and present reports which focus attention on areas within an organisation that are not performing as expected. ...
IT Tips
When you push a CD into the CD ROM drive on your PC, Window will Autoplay it.  If you don"t want this to happen, hold down a SHIFT key when inserting the CD. In Word and Excel, or any...
FREE - Human Resources Audit
With these and other regulations coming into force, we are offering a free Human Resources Audit to help you to make sure you are complying with the current legal requirements and codes of...
Seeds of doubt
We recently received a letter from the Inland Revenue regarding figures in the end of year accounts for one of our clients.  They felt the expenditure on grass seed and sand was excessive and...
Your Questions Answered
QuestionMy father and I own a limited company and we have one share each.  I actually run the business, but he has loaned money as necessary from time to time.  We’re looking for the best...
Reminders for your Diary
June 3rdEnd of CT61 quarterly period Last day for UK businesses to reclaim EC VAT chargeable in 2002 Annual adjustment for VAT partial exemption calculations (March VAT year...
Did you know?
In recent correspondence from the Inland Revenue, we discovered that their staff no longer work for HM Collector of Taxes.  They now work for the Receivables Management Stream of the Inland...
Puzzle Time
Our last puzzle proved too taxing for everyone.  Can you divide a circle into four equal portions using three non intersecting lines of equal length, that needn’t be straight? Answer...
What's in a Name
Most of the names that make us chuckle emanate from the Revenue, and this latest one is no exception.  Recent correspondence from one of their offices, claiming that a client had been breaking...
Avoiding Employment Tribunals & Litigation
Surprisingly 1/3 of tribunal applications are from people working in firms with less than 10 people and there can be considerable management time & stress involved in the process. The threat of a...
Research and Development Improvements and Issues
In 2000, an R&D tax credit was introduced for small and medium-sized companies (SMEs). This enables SMEs to claim tax relief on 150% of qualifying R&D costs or, if the company is loss making,...
Laptops - Better to be safe than sorry
For many people today a laptop is vital for communication, wherever you happen to be. But they are a prime target for thieves and therefore physical security is important. Insurance may seem a...
Beating the National Insurance increases
Beating the National Insurance increases - Some suggestions In April, national insurance (NI) rates were increased for employers, employees and the self-employed. For employers, the rate has...
Spotlight on VAT
Thresholds revisedVAT changes announced in the 2003 Budget include:an increase in the turnover threshold for immediate entry to the annual accounting scheme from £100,000 to £150,000 (upper limit...
Welcome
It is a feature of the current government that any significant changes in tax rules are subject to a lengthy and detailed consultation process before implementation. This is certainly one of the...
National Minimum Wage
With effect from October 2002, the basic national minimum wage rate increased from £4.10 to £4.20 per hour for workers aged 22 and over (except those on accredited training schemes). Workers, who are...
Gross Misconduct
Gross misconduct is not always straightforward to define and a recent case has highlighted this. The High Court found in favour of a managing director who was sacked for absence from work and for not...
Inheritance Tax Update
Eversden – latest estate planning ‘wheeze’ is blocked One of the downsides of making lifetime gifts of capital is the inability to continue to enjoy the income from the capital if the gift is to...
Advance Notice for Employers
Electronic Filing to become compulsory By 2010, all employers will be required to file their end of year returns (forms P35 and P14) electronically either via the internet, using electronic data...
Charitable Giving
Payroll givingThe government’s 10% supplement has been extended for one further year to 5 April 2004. Gift AidHigher rate taxpayers can now get the benefit of higher rate relief a year earlier...
Your Questions Answered
I have been told that there is a new simplified VAT scheme that might be suitable for my business. How does it work? You are probably thinking of the Flat Rate Scheme, which came into existence...
Howard Graff
Puzzle Time
The answer to our last puzzle was 7, 11 & 13 and the reason is because xyz,xyz is always divisible by 1,001 and 7 x 11 x 13 = 1001. Congratulations to Nigel Harding of TWM Solicitors whose...
Web Watch
Essential Sites For Business Owners Better Payment Practice Campaignwww.payontime.co.uk Credit advice, including getting paid on time, and current legislation. UK Online for Business...
Key Dates for your Diary
30 September                Filing date for inspector to calculate liability on last year’s tax return 5 OctoberEIS...
Stamp Duty Land Tax - A Brief Guide
From 1 December 2003, stamp duty is replaced by stamp duty land tax (SDLT) for most transactions involving UK land and buildings. Some features of the old stamp duty regime remain but others have...
Dealing with Work Related Stress
Work-related stress is an increasing problem both in Britain and abroad. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) estimates that as many as one in five employees are adversely affected and that it...
Doing the Right Deal
We are currently in a very flat climate in terms of corporate sales and takeovers where many people are pulling out of deals because they lost a lot on the recent stock market fall and the bursting...
Business Assets - further changes in store
The revision of the capital gains tax (CGT) regime in 1998 saw the introduction of taper relief. This has the effect of reducing the CGT charge on sale of an asset according to how long the asset has...
Welcome
The festive season is upon us and attention may turn to thoughts of gifts and parties. If you are an employer thinking of treating your employees then what are the rules? Of course the rules apply...
Financial Services
Making up lost pension contributions Are you aware that you can make a contribution to a personal pension/stakeholder scheme and have the contribution related back to the previous tax year for...
FREE Human Resources Audit
We are offering a free Human Resources Audit to review all your employee policies and procedures, contracts and systems against current and legal requirements and codes of...
NI shortfalls affect pensions
Did you know that according to the Inland Revenue there may be as many as ten million workers who face receiving less than the maximum state pension on retirement due to a shortfall in national...
Reimbursing Bank Charges
Do you as an employer ever reimburse your employees bank charges? If you do the general rule is that the amount is liable to tax and NI in the hands of the employee.  But if you pay an...
The Ebb and Flow of Our Taxes
Did you know that this year the Government’s tax take will exceed £1 billion a day? Now standing at a record £428 billion, taxes have increased by almost 25% in just four years. The Treasury expects...
Web Watch
Essential Sites For Business Owners Better Payment Practice Campaignwww.payontime.co.uk Credit advice, including getting paid on time, and current legislation. UK Online for Business...
Key Dates for your Diary
30 DecemberIf your tax liability is less than £2,000 and you file via the Revenue"s online self-assessment system by this date, the tax office will adjust your pay code so that you can...
Puzzle Time
"FAQ" is generally understood to mean "frequently asked question".  If you remember, our last puzzle asked for printable acronyms for ”FAQ” after the Revenue published several dozen "FAQs"...
What’s in a name
While dealing with a client's tax return, we found a letter from British American Tobacco plc signed by Adrian Ash. If you have come across correspondence from someone with an inappropriate...
Planning for Successful Funding
Attracting funding in the current climate can be very difficult. In the case of equity finance, investors are currently particularly risk-averse, having made losses after the dot.com bubble burst. In...
Invoice Changes for VAT
In recent months, scare stories have been doing the rounds suggesting that businesses were not prepared for the VAT invoicing rule changes introduced in January 2004.The main changes can be...
Community Investment Tax Relief - Worth a look?
The Community Investment Tax Relief (CITR) scheme offers investors the opportunity to invest in projects aimed at helping those in disadvantaged communities or under-invested areas. In order to...
Divorce and Gift Relief - Inland Revenue U-Turn
Married couples may consider a transfer of assets from one to the other often as a means of redistributing income between them (see the tax planning supplement with this newsletter). Generally such...
Pre-Budget Report Summary
Chancellor Gordon brown delivered a whirlwind Pre-Budget Report speech on 10 December 2003 lasting less than 35 minutes. Despite the length of the speech, many different areas were covered and...
Welcome
The 31 January tax deadline is now behind us and I am pleased to report  that we were again able to submit over 99% of the tax returns by the deadline, despite some of our clients habitually...
Discrimination - What Every Employer Needs to Know
Discriminating against people on the grounds of race or gender has long been wholly unacceptable in the workplace – as every business owner knows. However discrimination can take many forms and the...
Free Human Resources Audit
We are offering a free Human Resources Audit to review all your employee policies and procedures, contracts and systems against current and legal requirements and codes of practice....
Financial Services
Potential Mortgage Savings For YouWhen was the last time you checked your mortgage rate?Would you like to reduce your mortgage repayments?For only £30 we will compare your mortgage each day for three...
Money Laundering The Proceeds of Crime
The government has recently introduced tough new rules to crack down on the proceeds of crime. The new rules affect a wide range of people, including accountants.Most of us imagine money launderers...
Web Watch
Essential Sites For Business Owners National insurance contributions informationwww.inlandrevenue.gov.uk/nicUseful guide to aspects of NICs with access to information packs and...
Reminders for your Diary
 February 28                Failure to pay any balance of 2002/03 tax leads to an automatic...
Puzzle Time
Our last puzzle brought in our highest number of entries for years…must have been too easy! First correct answer out of the hat was Paul Kusak of Atlantic Trading Ltd who receives a bottle of...
What’s in a name
Thank you to Neil Minsky of J Minsky & Sons, for this contribution. He recently received some correspondence from Iceland Frozen Foods which was signed by a Mr Frost!If you have come across...
Tax saving tips for the family
Married couplesMarriage gives limited scope for income tax planning but spouses are taxed separately. Therefore, by careful planning maximum use can be made of personal reliefs and the starting and...
Pension contributions
Despite continued speculation to the contrary and plans to rationalise the rules relating to all aspects of pensions, tax relief is still available on pension contributions at the taxpayer’s marginal...
Employers...The form filling starts here
If you are an employer the end of the tax year marks the start of the form-filling season! Here’s a reminder of important deadlines for sending information (and money!) to the Inland Revenue.19 April...
Company cars and fuel
Company car benefits are calculated by reference to the CO2 emissions. Business mileage is no longer relevant as a factor in determining the taxable benefit. The greener (environmentally!) the car...
Investments - are yours tax efficient?
There is a wide range of investments with varying tax treatments. We take a look at some of the main ones that have special tax rules.ISAsIndividual Savings Accounts (ISAs) provide an income tax and...
Giving to charity
Charitable donations made under the Gift Aid Scheme can result in significant benefits for both the donor and the charity. The charity is able to claim back tax at 22% on any donations and if the...
Capital gains tax
Capital gains tax (CGT) was fundamentally revised and revamped in 1998. Further changes have been made since and the availability of taper relief at 75% on business assets after just two years of...
National insurance matters
If a spouse is employed by the family business it is probably now worth paying earnings in 2003/04 of between £77 (the lower earnings limit) and £89 (the earnings threshold) per week. There will be...
Cheltenham to Faro Bike Challenge
Two men….two bikes….1500 miles….17 days! …£50,000!Matt Evans from our Turnaround and Insolvency Department recently completed a charity bike ride with another mad member of The Variety Club, Brian...
Will Your Business Survive You?
Financial ServicesA Short Guide to Key Person AssuranceHow would your business cope with the death or incapacitation of a key director, partner or employee?A “key person” is any director, partner or...
Avoiding illegal working without discriminating
All employers have a duty to avoid discrimination in any area of employment and prevent illegal working. Discrimination is unlawful on the grounds of sex, marital status, race, disability, sexual...
The Family Home
Ever since the Labour Party came to power in 1997, rumours of a fundamental reform of inheritance tax (IHT) have abounded. Although this has not happened, the failure of the annual rises in the IHT...
Plant and machinery - what allowances?
The rules for determining what capital allowances may be available for expenditure on plant and machinery can appear confusing. Of course we are always here to help and answer any questions you may...
How much corporation tax?
Your company made profits last year of £150,000 and the corporation tax bill at the small companies rate of 19% amounted to £28,500.But if your company is part of a group of four companies the bill...
Independent taxation: the rules change
The independent taxation of husband and wife was introduced over 14 years ago in 1990. Ever since that time, husbands and wives have had their own personal allowances, starting and basic rate tax...
Simplification
We regularly hear that our tax system is being simplified. Much of the time it is hard to see how! But sometimes measures are introduced which seem to be a genuine attempt to do precisely that.A new...
Business rates
Business rates are the third largest item of expenditure for small businesses and, according to the government, place a disproportionate burden on SMEs as a percentage of turnover, profit and...
Reminders for your Diary
6 JulyDeadline for filing at the Inland Revenue and copy to employees P9D and P11Ds.  It is also the deadline for arranging PAYE Settlement agreement for last year. 19 JulyClass 1A NIC...
Web Watch
Essential Sites For Business Owners Skills for Employerswww.skillsforemployers.gov.ukGovernment site aimed at helping the employer to ‘make better informed decisions’.  National...
Puzzle Time
You know those photographs of common articles taken from odd angles?  Flag poles that turn out to be the tines of a fork and so on? Well, this puzzle is a literary equivalent.  The...
Puzzle Time (Answer)
The answer to the Easter Egg puzzle posed in our spring edition was: Child A: 3 large eggs + 2 Medium +3 Small Child B: 3 large + 2 Medium + 3 Small Child C: 2 large + 4 Medium + 2...
Welcome
Business confidence growing Recent surveys indicate that business confidence among small and medium-sized companies (SMEs) is growing. Many businesses believe that the economy is on an upward...
New News!
Wonderful though this Bulletin is, we've found it has some drawbacks as a medium for keeping in touch with our clients. For one thing, it is circulated only four times a year. For another, despite...
Merger of Tax Authorities
The Chancellor announced the integration of the Inland Revenue and Customs & Excise in his March Budget in accordance with recommendations from the O'Donnell report on the "Review of Revenue...
New Companies
This year"s Finance Act includes provisions that require a company to notify the Inland Revenue of its existence. The provisions apply both to companies coming within the charge to corporation...
Changes to the National Minimum Wage
Following recent changes to the National Minimum Wage regulations, the following rates will apply from 1 October 2004:The main rate for adult workers aged 22 or over will rise by 35p an hour, to...
Dispute Resolution Rules
Active from 1st October 2004!The new law is designed to encourage employers and employees to discuss problems first, before resorting to tribunals.From 1 October, all employers will be required to...
Childcare costs
Since 1990 employees provided with childcare through a workplace (or employer run) nursery have not had to pay any tax or national insurance (NI) on the benefit. However the exemption only helps a...
The Dividend Tax and Your Business
When the starting 10% rate of corporation tax was reduced to nil from April 2002, there was an added advantage for many small businesses to operate as limited companies.For example, a sole trader...
VAT Round Up
Annual Accounting SchemeChanges have been made to the scheme so that businesses with annual taxable turnover of between £600,000 and £660,000 may also now join. Businesses already using the scheme...
The law changes on cold calling
Individuals have been able for some time to register their telephone numbers with the Telephone Preference Service (TPS) to prevent unsolicited direct marketing calls being made to them.Regulations...
Reminders for your Diary
30 SeptemberFiling date for inspector to calculate liability on last year's tax return 5 OctoberEIS Investment deadline for carry back to last yearNotification of chargeability to the tax office...
Web Watch
Essential Sites For Business Owners Directgovwww.direct.gov.uk  New resource offering access to a wide range of UK Government information and services.  European Centre for...
Puzzle Time
I was flabbergasted by the large numbers of answers received to the last newsletter puzzle and bemused that 90% of them seemed to share the same mistake. Until, that is, I tumbled to the fact that...
Welcome
Beating the Drum for BKL Over 100 BKL team members drumming together - an exercise in corporate harmony… or a cacophony? Both, of course, and part of our successful annual away day. We looked...
Fun with Drums at BKL’s Annual Away Day
Our annual away day this year included something a little different, African drumming with DaDaDrums! With almost everyone in attendance, we spent an afternoon trying to co-ordinate hands and...
Late Payments
All businesses are entitled to claim statutory interest and debt recovery compensation of up to £100 for the late payment of commercial debts.The Forum of Private Business (FPB) has long campaigned...
New Customers for Complex Personal Returns Teams
The Inland Revenue has announced some changes to the customer base of the Complex Personal Returns (CPR) teams. The changes will lead to an increase of around 6,000 cases.CPR teams deal with more...
Cars and Vans: The Next Chapter
It is over two years since the current tax rules for company cars were introduced. When the regime began in April 2002, the minimum 15% charge applied for 2002/03 to cars with CO2 emissions not...
Legal Rights for Same-Sex Couples
The Civil Partnership Bill introduces, in the words of the Department of Trade and Industry, ‘ground-breaking proposals providing legal status for same-sex couples’. Currently same-sex couples...
The Missing Millions!
Have you ever considered whether you may be the owner of some of the estimated £15 to £20 billion of unclaimed, lost or abandoned money held in the UK?Research suggests that one in 12 adults in the...
Puzzle Time
The answer to the Autumn puzzle was GIT and the sentences, with their missing letters read as follows:  A grimacing gargoyle is less aggravating than a giggling gigolo.Imbibing gin in Illinois...
Web Watch
Essential Sites For Business Owners New Customs and Excise Websitewww.hmce.gov.ukDespite some early teething problems, the new Customs and Excise website is now up and running. The new design...
Reminders for your Diary
19 JanuaryPayment of the previous months PAYE (and every following month) 31 JanuaryFinal Balancing payment for last year’s returnFirst interim income tax payment for this year’s tax returnLast...
BKL Tax
As an increasing proportion of our work is done for other professional firms rather than for clients of Berg Kaprow Lewis Chartered Accountants (we now regularly assist over 200 firms of accountants...
Self Assessment - Record Keeping Riot Act
Within the last few weeks, we have seen a number of disturbing warnings from Tax Inspectors in connection with enquiries into Tax Returns relating to record keeping.The Rules on keeping records are...
Home is Where the Workplace is
With the number of employees who work entirely or partly at home continuing to grow, it is easy to imagine the immediate cost savings involved. However there are a number of important people-related...
Welcome
In this issue of the Bulletin we cover the highlights - and lowlights - of the budget.  For those of you contemplating a move of your workplace to your home we set out a number of important...
The Chicken Shed Theatre Company
Berg Kaprow Lewis are proud to have become sponsors of The Chicken Shed Theatre Company.The Chicken Shed’s objective is simple: invite people of all ages backgrounds and abilities through its...
Cover Girl
Our very own Human Resources specialist, Marjorie Bremner, was covergirl for Accountancy Age's Best Practice Magazine in February.Marjorie was profiled by the magazine who were looking for an...
Tax Seminars
We have run tax seminars for tax professionals very successfully in North London for many years. We took the decision in 2001 to repeat the exercise first in Southend and subsequently in Thurrock,...
Budget Summary
A good budget if you are one or all ofone half of a same sex couple planning on buying a property costing up to £120,000the holder or prospective holder of a Shari"a mortgage.Otherwise, the blessings...
Joined up Taxation?
How the "tax-free" vouchers can be taxed at 70%!Some publicity (but not enough yet) has been given to the laughably complex way in which the newly tax - and NIC -free status of childcare...
Insolvency Statistics Bring Mixed News
Official insolvency statistics released by the DTI showed there were 2,975 company liquidations in England and Wales in the third quarter of 2004. The good news is that this represented a decrease of...
Some Bad News Followed by the Good!
Royal Mail is now destroying undelivered business mail that does not have a return address. On the other hand, finance businesses have been warned that they should not include a return address on...
Web Watch
Essential Sites For Business Owners www.insolvency.gov.uk If you have particular concerns about an individual that you currently, or are about to, do business with, you can search the individual...
Retirement flexibility
A recent survey carried out by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has found that business owners want to be able to set the retirement age of their employees rather than having it dictated to...
Puzzle Time
What do elephants, beetroot, horsemen and totty have in common? For the answer, look back at the last newsletter puzzle, available on the internet at www.bergkaprowlewis.co.uk.  We...
Reminders for your Diary
May 19Last day for filing forms P14, P35, P38 and P38A - 2001/02 PAYE returns, without incurring penalties. Also last day for filing contractors returns, including CIS36  May 31 Issue...
How to Have a Winning Strategy if there is a Recession
Harry Brown outlines the 10 commandments of good business practice
If you running an efficient and profitable business you are probably already well placed to weather a recession. Good basic business practices will ensure that you automatically take into account the...
One-Man Companies
"Frequently Asked Questions about IR35" Inland Revenue October 1999
Frequently Asked Questions about IR35What is IR35 about?What has happened since the Budget? Where are we now? What are the modified proposals?How do the modified proposals differ from the...
Welform Reform and Pensions Bill
David Whiscombe warns of false hopes
You may have seen that the relevant clause of the Welform Reform and Pensions Bill (clause 71, I believe) was defeated in the House of Lords last night. One or two commentators have got quite excited...
Marketing - It’s Not Just Advertising
Half of the money I spend on advertising is wasted. I just wish I knew which half.
By Chris Estall, Elite Business SupportFor many business owners the word Marketing is synonymous with advertising. Advertising and promotion are important components of the marketing mix, but it must...
Joint Accounts
IHT Assets passing by survivorship may frustrate IHT planning
The wills of married couples will often leave property other than to the spouse. For example, a discretionary trust is often used as a mechanism to preserve the effective availability of the IHT...
A Question of Interest 1
Is releasing owner's capital an allowable purpose
Is releasing owner"s capital an allowable purpose for a loan?(Bright Ideas Jan 00) A current issue - to the extent that it has appeared in the pages of the FT and in a recent leader in Tolleys...
IR35 Avoidance
What's the Berg Kaprow Lewis advice?
There are all kinds of schemes still doing the rounds and which purport to get around the IR35 issue. Below are some briefing notes we've prepared and which I hope will clarify our view on the...
Recharges and Shared Costs
Documented cost-sharing can avoid a taxable supply
It is not uncommon to find that two or more associated businesses share resources to some extent. Often a charge will be made from one to the other so that the costs are ultimately borne in the right...
Caveat Claimants
Keep a clear head about deduction of tax from compensation payments (Bright Ideas Jan 00)
Are your clients being stitched up by insurance companies?Well, yes, obviously - most of us are, regularly! - but this particular point is about a recovery of profits under a damages claim.We have...
Growing Up
Problems of slipping into the CTSA payments on account regime (Bright Ideas Jan 00)
This note is about in-year instalments of Corporation Tax ("CT").X Ltd has been a medium-sized company for years, and thus outside of the in-year instalments regime for payment of CT. In June 2000 it...
IR35 Amulets
Not as easy as you think (Bright Ideas Jan 00)
Much nonsense is written and talked about the IR35 changes and how clients can be protected from their effect. I have even seen firms offering guaranteed "protection" from IR35.The plain fact is...
Research and Development
Some implications of the R&D relief exposed in the Chancellor's pre-budget report (Bright Ideas Jan 00)
After exposing his thoughts in a technical note and a consultative document earlier this year, the Chancellor has committed in his Pre-Budget Report to introducing an R&D tax credit on 150% of...
Compensation Received by Traders
When is it not taxable?
When is compensation received by a trader taxable? The general rule is known (in this office at least!) as the "filling a hole" principle and proceeds on the basis that if compensation is intended to...
Money Laundering
A warning
Deficiencies in Antigua and BarbudaThe Treasury have issued a Press Release drawing attention to "deficiencies in the anti-money laundering system in the Caribbean state of Antigua and Barbuda."The...
Auditors Liability on Dividends
A case with a message
Beware of dividendsThe case of Sasea Finance v KPMG held that an auditor who had negligently failed to spot that a company was insolvent, with the result that the company (with the auditors'...
Franchise Fee
Can it be tax-deductible?
Can it be tax-deductible?Is there a straightforward answer to the question of tax deductibility of the one-off payment of a franchise fee (not for stock or any other asset, merely for the right to...
Abortive Acquisition Costs
Examine the facts - tax relief may be forthcoming
Examine the facts - tax relief may be forthcomingProfessional fees on take-overs can be substantial, even where the proposal is abortive. The question was recently posed - can tax relief be...
ACT Carry-back
Claims must be given effect in chronological order
The High Court case of Carr v Armpledge confirms the Revenue's practice and reverses the Special Commissioners' decision with regard to the carrying back of Advance Corporation Tax.The long and the...
A Nation of Shopkeepers 1
Special Commissioners give relief for building repairs provision.
Without doubt, Edinburgh is one of the most attractive cities of the United Kingdom. And for those with a passion for shopping (or a wife with a passion for shopping), there are few more agreeable...
A Nation of Shopkeepers 2
A group warehousing facility fails in its IBA claim.
Some emporia, like Jenners, are famous for their elegance, charm and courtesy; and some are not. But even those with a pathological mistrust of the Johnny-come-lately breeds of retailer must own that...
Non-Trading Holding Companies
Should a holding company have a source of income or not?
Regular readers will be aware of the Revenue Statement of Practice SP5/94. This says that a holding company will not be treated as carrying on any business (and thus will not be counted as an...
Double Whammy
Concerns about the value of the SCO Hansard procedure
In Regina v W and another, taxpayers were investigated by Special Compliance Office and paid a large settlement in return for the Revenue's agreement not to prosecute them. Subsequently, the...
S419
Rate fixed at 25%
Readers may be wondering what happens to s419 tax when ACT is abolished next year (recalling that tax under s419 is set by reference to the ACT which would have been paid on a distribution equal to...
Dividends after April
A summary of the tax treatment for companies and shareholders under the new regime
Most people know that the rules change from 6 April 1999. In our experience fewer people know in detail what the position will be. By reading the following, readers can join that select band: UK...
Trading by Pension Schemes
A tax case with implications for approved and non-approved schemes
It is well established that if an approved pension scheme trades, exemption from tax does not extend to the trading profits. Three pension schemes (BT and two Post Office schemes) have just lost a...
The ISA Season Starts
Select the ISA which most closely meets your requirements
At the start of the tax year many investors’ thoughts turn to Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs). Whether you are a first time ISA investor or topping-up an existing plan it is important that you...
New Travel Rules
A very odd consequence
Ad-hoc visits retain relief Tom and Dick are both directors of Tom Dick and Harry Ltd and they live in North London. Each is based at the company's Head Office in Wembley. There is a branch office in...
The Enterprise Management Incentive
David Whiscombe looks at the detail of the recent Technical Note.
Tolleys Practical Tax, 19 May 1999In the previous article we looked at the proposed All-Employee Share Scheme ("AESS"). We now look at the Enterprise Management Incentive ("EMI") which will be...
Company Cars
A scheme that we distrust. And one we don't
Doing the rounds just at the moment is a scheme involving employer and employee sharing ownership of a car. The argument seems to be that since the normal car benefit rules apply only where the car...
No Car by Reason of Employment?
Employee hiring his car via his employers faces an unexpected tax bill
We recently encountered an employee who wanted to contract hire a car for his wife. The leasing company was (for its own reasons not material to the taxation issue) not prepared to enter into a...
Schedule D Contracts
Regards must be had not only to what any written contract says but also to how the parties have in fact conducted themselves.
An article by Sarah Deeks in Tolleys Practical Tax of 29 July contains some very useful pointers as to what should and should not be included in contracts. It is, however, worth making one additional...
Regular Income – Planning for the Unforeseen
Regular income is probably one of the most precious of your financial assets. Income Protection Insurance gives you a way of replacing some of your income if you are unable to work
Regular income is probably one of the most precious of your financial assets and if you became too ill to work your present (and future) financial situation could suffer drastically. For how long...
IBA - Are you Under-insured?
A look at the tax treatment of insurance recoveries on industrial buildings
Assume you built an Industrial Building 20 years ago. No doubt you've insured the building for full rebuilding cost. But what you may have overlooked is that complete loss or destruction of the...
IBA - Transfers to Pension Scheme
How to get the factory into the pension scheme without triggering an IBA clawback
A company has a building which it built 20 years ago and has used for its manufacturing trade. They'd like to sell the building to their pension fund. What's the problem and how do they solve it? The...
Rent and Other Guarantees
How careful structuring yields tax relief
Mr X owned X Ltd. X Ltd rented space for its trade. Mr X gave a rent guarantee. X Ltd failed and Mr X paid £10,000 to the landlord under the guarantee. Does he get tax relief for the payment? No. Mr...
Short leases
Consider whether it is necessarily a wasting asset (Bright Ideas Jan 00
A short lease of land (i.e., a lease of less than 50 years) is a wasting asset. Right? Well, maybe and then again maybe not. This may be important when (for example) it comes to determining whether...
Rollover Relief
A new tax case underlines the qualifying conditions
One of the endearing features of the UK tax system is the fact that a taxpayer may have his day in court notwithstanding that his case has all the strength of a undersized gnat suffering from...
Claims to Reinvestment Relief
How provisional claims (don't) work
Provisional claims to relief The client made a capital gain of about £50,000 on disposal of a property in March 1999. He and his wife want to start a new business. If this is a qualifying one and if...
Hold-over on Gifts
Windows of opportunity
A prospective change to hold-over relief At present, CGT hold-over relief under s165 is available on a gift of shares in a trading company which is either unquoted or is the donor's "personal...
Venture Capital Trusts
Significantly different from EIS where losses arise
If it goes horribly wrong… One small but important point to highlight when comparing VCTs with EIS investment is the effect if the shares in the VCT are sold at a loss. The deferred gain then...
Temporary Non-residence
Some less obvious consequences of the Finance Act changes
CGT "re-entry"Much publicity has surrounded the CGT "re-entry" charge which charges to tax gains made during a period of absence from the UK of less than five years.Less well publicised has been the...
Land and Buildings Rollover Relief
Maximising relief by splitting the sale consideration
We have mentioned before the strategy of breaking up a sale into two or more separate bargains so that partial re-investment may qualify for full roll-over relief as being reinvestment of the entire...
Non-business Assets
CGT risks of holding non-business assets in a company
To qualify for full holdover relief on gifting under s165 or retirement relief under s163, shares must be in a company that has no "non-business chargeable assets" - that is, chargeable assets which...
Retirement Relief
Relief can be lost where disposal is delayed beyond retirement
Relief can be lost where disposal is delayed beyond retirement.Despite its imminent demise retirement relief still throws up its share of interesting problems. Try this one: Tom, Dick and Harriet...
Crystallising Retirement Relief
Another way of taking retirement relief while its still available
By now, readers will have realised that crystallising retirement relief before it fades away can be a Good Thing. But how about taking the relief without actually disposing of any substantial part of...
CGT Matching
A bizarre consequence of the new B&B rules
QuestionShortly after my client bought shares in a major public company take-over talks were announced. He sold and made a profit which was just within his annual exemption. Talks have now broken off...
Taper Relief
Taper relief may make share options less attractive
More and more implications of taper relief keep appearing - it is becoming clear that the new relief re-writes CGT thinking and one wonders how many of the implications were considered by the Revenue...
Holdover on Gifts
Why the valuation matters even if the gain is held over
Take the following common situation. A client held a majority interest in his trading company in March 1982. He now wants to give some of the shares away, perhaps to a family member. All the...
Taper Traps
Some more points to bear in mind arising from the FA 1998 taper relief provisions
When on a take-over shares are exchanged for loan notes, the notes could be structured either as Qualifying Corporate Bonds("QCBs") or not as QCBs (either is possible). Either defers the gain but...
Reinvestment Relief and Holdover
Why reinvestment relief may constrain future tax planning
Here's another quirk. Under the old S164A relief was be way of rollover, i.e. reducing the base cost of the new asset. So if you subsequently wanted to gift the shares, you could do so, holding over...
IHT and the Family Home
Terry Jordan outlines the key planning issues and some solutions October 1999
Lifetime Planning The problemLady IngramAvoiding a "significant interest" Life interest trust Deferred lease Joint ownership and joint occupation Planning By Will "Beneficial Joint Tenants" v...
Death and Taxes - an Opportunity
Death-bed planning with EIS
Death has always been a good opportunity (as well, obviously, as a last opportunity) for mitigating taxes. One point which has just arisen here is that BES (and, now, EIS) income tax relief is not...
Catering
A summary of the criteria following another Tribunal case (Bright Ideas Jan 00)
Supplies made in the course of catering are standard-rated: sales of cold food are generally zero-rated. So - are party trays of food, set out neatly and covered in clingfilm, food or catering? A...
Finance and Insurance Commissions
Are you doing enough to sustain exemption?
A reminder that not all finance and insurance commissions are exempt from VAT. To fall within the exemption those receiving the commission must have been actively involved in the provision of a...
TOGC on Property
A headache on opted property re-appears in a Tribunal case
When must an option be notified? Where a sale of a business is a transfer of a going concern, the sale is treated as outside the scope of VAT and no VAT is due. Transfers of property may cause some...
Mileage Claims Revisited
Buy now while stocks last?
It looks increasingly likely that the UK will be required to amend its rules for the recovery of input tax on mileage allowances paid to staff. Under current rules input tax can be recovered based...
Third Party Stakeholder Pensions
More opportunities to contribute to a pension
Stakeholder pensions were introduced in April 2001 to significantly widen private pension ownership.  The resultant improved flexibility has created more opportunities for a number of...
Export Zero-Rating Evidence
Expensive cost of getting the paperwork wrong
Customs have won another case and so been able to impose UK VAT on goods, even though they have left the UK. In a complex case the facts were essentially that goods were moved from the UK and...
Welfare Services - Good News
Welfare services may have a wider meaning that you thought...
The wider definition of welfare services established before the Tribunal has been adopted by Customs. Previously they felt that services needed to be directly linked to the person's physical...
Tour Operators Margin Scheme - Bad News
... but so may Tour Operator
A recent case has shown that a hotel that arranged transport for some of its guests to and from the hotel was a tour operator and so was required to account for VAT using the special scheme. This may...
Moving Goalposts
Actors and musicians may be entitled to refunds
Actors and musicians are currently regarded as employees for NIC purposes and as self-employed for tax purposes. The Contributions Agency has had legal advice to the effect that their present stance...
School Fees and Phones
Do not be intimidated by specious arguments from the Contributions Agency
It appears that the Contributions Agency continues in some cases to suggest that NIC is due on school fees paid by an employer. The meretricious NIC argument is that it is a legal requirement of...
NIC Changes
Employers providing benefits will face higher costs after the imposition of employer NIC (at 12.2%) on most benefits from next April.Not a fat lot you can do about it, of course, except that it might...
Consultancy Payments to Directors?
In what circumstances will the Revenue challenge them?
A payment is taxable under Schedule E if as a matter of fact it is an emolument of the office or employment. The Revenue tend to take the view that anything which a company pays to a director is...
Shares for Employees
When is a subsidiary "dependent" and why does it matter?
A case (came to us recently) in which 49% of a company is owned by individuals and 51% by an (unconnected) company. The individuals were selling out to the parent and the case came to us for advice...
Explanation, Please
David Whiscombe reflects on a mould-breaking decision on the scope of pay-as-you-earn.
David Whiscombe, Taxation - 4th Febuary 1999 Finance Act 1994 extended the scope of PAYE regulations to cover remuneration given in the form of "tradeable assets." A series of cat-and-mouse...
The New All-Employee Share Scheme
A look at the details of the recent technical note.
David Whiscombe, Tolleys April 1999 The Government has on several occasions declared its commitment to furthering employee shares ownership as a tool to enhancing the productivity of UK plc. This...
Local firm wins national award
Press Coverage (Business Leader North London Chamber of Commerce, May-June 2001)
London based accountants, Berg Kaprow Lewis, a member of the North London Chamber of Commerce have been named by the Added Value Network (AVN) as the Top Large Accountancy Firm of the Year.The AVN is...
Foul Play
Among the responses to the proposed General Anti-Avoidance Rule there has been voiced the suggestion that any such rule should cut both ways.
David Whiscombe, Taxation April 1999 Among the responses to the proposed General Anti-Avoidance Rule there has been voiced the suggestion that any such rule should cut both ways. The general idea is...
Faites vos jeux
Any final review of 1997/8 returns needed? (Bright Ideas Jan 00)
31 January looms. Of course, it's the filing date for 1998/99 returns. But it's also the final make-your-mind-up time for 1997/98 returns. Thus, for example:Have you included estimated or provisional...
Nature is not random
A startlingly powerful fraud detection technique that you should know about (Bright Ideas Jan 00)
Fraud investigators (including the Revenue, according to a "Readers Forum" piece published in Taxation of 2 December) are using a curious mathematical phenomenon known as Benford's Law to identify...
Penalties for Pension Trustees
Know about them - and how to mitigate them (Bright Ideas Jan 00)
Approved pension schemes are required to tell the Revenue when certain things happen. The requirements differ according to whether the scheme is a SSAP or not. Usually, the pensioneer trustee is...
Last Resort 1
A brief summary of the rules on equitable liability (Bright Ideas Jan 00)
It occasionally happens. A client has failed to file returns and accounts: estimated assessments have been made: appeals have been lodged and in the continued absence of any information have been...
Private Bank Statements
When should the Revenue be given them?
When can the Revenue demand to see them? Taxation has an (unofficial) report of a General Commissioners case where the issue was whether it was reasonable for the Inland Revenue to demand private...
Errors in Returns
What you must do and when
Provisional returns under SA QuestionMy client filed his tax return for 1996/7 before 31 Jan 1998. It contained one figure which was marked as "provisional." I had expected that the Revenue would...
Overdrawn Capital Accounts
What you must do and when (again)
Sharpened compliance obligations under SA Where there is an overdrawn balance on both a proprietor's capital account and also the business bank account there is normally a pretty strong case for...
Certificates of Tax Deposit
They still have their uses
Still Useful The current CTD prospectus has no reference to SA at all. It still lists the due dates separately for the various taxes as they were pre-SA. But the Revenue will confirm (but only if you...
Reducing Payments on Account
Dangerous ground
SA Late Payment and InterestPitfalls of reducing payments on accountThe following case is reported in Taxation. A chap had a Schedule D partnership source which ceased in 1995/96. He then took up...
Avoiding the SA Late Filing Penalty
Late filing penalty Watch for penalties incorrectly charged
The £100 penalty is reduced where the "liability to tax shown in the return" is less than £100. Some have previously rather rashly suggested that this phrase means exactly what it says, i.e., the...
Tax Adminstration Issues
Approved pensions schemes; PAYE regulations; Payments on account
Approved Pension SchemesThese are within the scope of self-assessment. Last year the Revenue issued tax returns to those who had notified that they had tax liability (e.g. through trading). This year...
SA Enquiries
Some Revenue guidance
The ICAEW Tax Faculty have recently issued a useful (agreed) note of a meeting with the IR (albeit that the meeting took place in December 1997, so perhaps getting agreement to its content was not...
SA Late Payment and Interest
Pitfalls of reducing payments on account
The following case is reported in Taxation. A chap had a Schedule D partnership source which ceased in 1995/96. He then took up PAYE employment. The 1996/97 Payment on Account was thus reduced to...
Last Resort 2
Deathbed IHT planning (Bright Ideas Jan 00)
It is generally well-known that trading businesses are favoured in the IHT legislation. The value of a business, or of an interest in a business (e.g. as partner), or the value of shares in unquoted...
Cross-Options Pitfall
A CGT trap and how to avoid it
Avoiding an unexpected CGT charge on death.Consider a trading company worth, say, £4m. 3 shareholders have 10% each, and one has 70%. There is a Shareholders' Agreement under which there are...
Working from home
Office equipment to make it feasible is fast becoming affordable, working styles are making it practicable and transport congestion and costs are rendering it attractive
IntroductionWorking from home is becoming more popular.  Office equipment to make it feasible is fast becoming affordable, working styles are making it practicable and transport congestion and...
Group property companies
X is a holding company. It's non-trading but holds shares in a number of subsidiaries. One of them ("Y") owns properties that are let to other trading companies in the X group. Mr A owns 25% of the...
Transfer Pricing and UK Homes
A welcome Revenue confirmation on transfer pricing
Revenue confirmation that there is not a problem.For IHT reasons, non-domiciled persons resident in the UK will often arrange for their UK home to be held via an offshore company under an offshore...
ADRs
A useful form of ownership for foreigners
A useful form of ownership for non-UK domiciliaries. Non-domiciled people resident in the UK pay UK Income Tax and CGT on a remittance basis - but only in respect of non-UK assets. This can,...
Equality for Wives
Changes to entitlement to Additional Personal Allowance
A husband has always been able to claim the Additional Personal Allowance if he is entitled to Married Couple's Allowance, there is a child living with the married couple and the wife is totally...
Bill the Company
Dangers in billing private work to the company
"Send the bill to the company", is a popular request where work is done on a director's affairs. But readers may wish to consider the case recently reported of a solicitor who is now serving a...
Personal Portfolio Bonds
Regulations published defining scope and amount of the tax charge
To recap, these are - broadly - offshore investment products where the investor has a choice in selecting the underlying investment. FA 1998 introduced draconian measures to discourage their use....
One Man Companies 23 September 1999
David Whiscombe comments on the recent announcement by the Inland Revenue
After much speculation and some consultation (some of it more apparent than real by all accounts) the Revenue have today released their final proposals on the treatment of one-man limited companies....
BUDGET 2002
This year's Budget was announced on Wednesday 17 April. This section contains analysis, reports and tax tables on the Chancellors statement.
The Budget for SMEsComment on the Budget Statement from David WhiscombeBudget Report  A summary of the main features of the BudgetInland Revenue Press Releases The Budget Press Releases as...
All change - selling up for 10% tax
From 6 April the minimum effective rate of Capital Gains Tax is halved to 10%
This year, 6 April is an even more than usually important date for business people. Why?  Because from 6 April the minimum effective rate of Capital Gains Tax is halved to 10%.  ...
Proposed Changes to
"One-Man Companies" Effect on Agencies
David Whiscombe outlines the serious implications to agencies of the Chancellors proposals in his Spring 1999 Budget Statement.This note is about the changes which the Chancellor proposes to make to...
One Man Companies - Proposed Changes In 1999 Budget
David Whiscombe outlines the serious implications of the Chancellors proposals
This note is about the changes which the Chancellor proposes to make to the treatment for tax purposes of arrangements variously known as "one-man companies," "loan-out companies" or "personal...
Ten Tips for Starting a Small Business
Starting a business is a huge step and one which requires careful thought
Harry Brown outlines what to consider when creating your business plan.You're not aloneIt is a fact that over 96% of businesses in the United Kingdom have a turnover of less than £1 million and 93%...
The Virus Trap
The risks posed by computer viruses and how to protect your computers from infection
Jeremy Hyman, IT Consultant at Berg Kaprow Lewis, highlights the serious risk posed by computer viruses and explains how to protect your computers from infection Occasionally at the practice we...
Financial Information for Profit and Growth
During periods of growth and expansion businesses must strengthen financial controls in a practical way.
Managing your CompanyAll businesses, no matter their size and trade, whether manufacturing, retail, distribution or service, will encounter similar issues in the efficient and effective running of...
One Day this will be yours
Harry Brown looks at succession issues in the family business and sets out some of the critical areas
Richard and Jane Cross, both 60 years old, founded Cross Engineering Ltd in 1974. The company produces small parts for the motor industry and has developed into a profitable business with a turnover...
Tricky taper calculations
Press Coverage (Taxation, 12 October 2000)
When shares are transferred from husband to wife, the wife's "qualifying holding period" is treated as including any time when the husband owned them.  (Obviously the same applies on transfers...
Sods' Law
Inheritance tax relieving provisions relating to agricultural property
This article examines the primary legislation relating to agricultural property relief, most of which is contained in the Inheritance Tax Act 1984(statutory references are to this Act unless...
Self-Assessment
The pitfalls and penalties of the Inland revenue's self-assessment reforms.
Tax Returns and PaymentsThe old system of assessments, appeals, and Inland Revenue responsibility for determining tax liabilities is being swept away. Under the new system which replaces it : you are...
GPs face more tax investigations
GPs may be facing increased exposure to tax investigations by the Inland Revenue.
Punch-drunk from NHS reforms, introduction of fund-holding, and aggressive approaches to professional negligence, GPs must be wondering what will be the next change to hit them. The unwelcome answer...
Buy now pay later?
The pros and cons of the different types of hire purchase, lease purchase, Contract Purchase and Contract Hire.
There are two questions that I seemed to be asked several times a day every day of the week. The first one does not bear repeating and is almost certainly medically impossible but I think that I can...
Exploiting your Spouse
Turning the rules for the taxation of husbands and wives in your favour..
Don't worry. This article is not intended to foster marital discord by suggesting underhand strategies by which husbands may deceive wives and vice versa. Instead it deals with the rather less...
Travellin’ Man (And Woman)
Can you put your travelling expenses through the company?
"Can I put travelling expenses through the company?" must be, by a considerable margin, the question which I am most often asked. So let me try to answer it.First, let us define some terms. You can...
Now the Future's Sunny for SOL Training
Case Study
Attracting and keeping a thriving group of customers is fundamental to every company’s success and, after just four years of creating and running specially tailored training and development courses...
Option options...
The High Court case of Clark v Nomura, which was heard in 2000, made it clear that where a contract provides for a discretionary bonus to be paid, an employer must exercise his discretion reasonably...
Taper Tricks
A company which has traded since before April 1998 is about to sell its trade. Thereafter it will be liquidated. For taper purposes the company will cease to be a trading company when it ceases to...
EMI Clarification
Readers may like to note the following exchange of correspondence we have had with the Revenue regarding EMI schemes:Q1The Inland Revenue have made available specimen scheme rules for a company share...
IR35 and Substitution Clauses
Those of you interested in the Sch E/Sch D boundary (which should be most of you!) will need to know about an Employment Appeals tribunal decision in June in the case of Glasgow City Council v (1)...
National Minimum Wage
The application of NMW to family companies seems to have been the subject of much confusion and conflicting advice, to say the least.In principal, the NMW legislation applies to all employees. It...
Counselling
The application of NMW to family companies seems to have been the subject of much confusion and conflicting advice, to say the least.In principal, the NMW legislation applies to all employees. It...
Lease Losses
A company leases premises for the purposes of its business. The rent is in excess of a market rate and the company would like to get rid of the lease. The landlord is willing to accept cancellation...
Taper Relief and Spouses - Transfers of Shares
When shares are transferred from husband to wife, the wife's "qualifying holding period" is treating as including any time when the husband owned them. (Obviously the same applies on transfers from...
Taper - Period of Ownership
I've just been asked a particularly good question. So I'll share it (and the answer) with you. Under retirement relief, the qualifying period was (broadly) by reference to how long the business had...
Virtual Expenses
It is well-established that tax law generally has regard to what actually happened rather than what might have happened in different circumstances (which is why, incidentally, excrescences like IR35...
Timeo Danos, et dona ferentes?
Customs have announced that they will be offering on a trial basis a new approach to handling VAT civil evasion cases. The new approach is very much based on that adopted for many years by the Inland...
Long-Life and Good Health
Everyone knows that "long-life" assets get less favourable capital allowance treatment than short-life ones - broadly, no FYA and only 6% WDA. The de minimis limit is £100,000 - meaning, broadly,...
Accumulation and Maintenance Trusts - Length Matters
There is an interesting article in a recent edition of Taxation about these IHT-favoured trusts. Duration is not normally an issue but - in simple terms - if the class of beneficiaries is not...
Business Taper - Beware Minority Investments
The most important CGT planning nowadays is to ensure that you don't miss out on business taper relief: pretty well everything else is detail. And I've been advising in a couple of cases where the...
A Sporting Image
Those with clients in the sports and entertainment world will be interested to see the recent Special Commissioners decision in "Sports Club and others" v HMIT. The crucial issue was whether PAYE...
CT Payments on Account
Some of you are getting nervous twitches about this, particularly where UK subsidiaries of international groups are involved (which may have relatively small profits but nonetheless pay at the main...
More IR35 Nonsense - deeming, scheming
The more you look at this the less sense it makes. The latest thing to have crossed my desk concerns debtors.Assume that J Smith and his company J Smith Ltd are caught by IR35. Assume also that J...
French Defeated (again)
Different European countries have different restrictions on VAT recovery. The question whether restrictions are valid under basic EU law has sometimes been an issue. The French state has recently...
Calling the Revenue
I don't know if anyone else has noticed, but I did see at the foot of a letter we received today from the Revenue a note (in rather small print) saying "to help us maintain and improve the quality of...
National Minimum Wage
We know that the application of the NMW has been a burning issue for some of our clients. The long-awaited conclusive advice is now available in the form of a guidance note published by the Tax...
White-ish Lies
Q. In the course of an investigation, HMIT has served a s19A notice on the client demanding to see a copy of his mortgage application form (which overstates his income). Does the client have to...
Key Man - Key Question
Key Man cover is often a Good Idea. But when taking it out, take into account the tax treatment. The general rule is that cover which is put in place to cover loans - often a requirement imposed by...
Spread the Word!
Reviewing our BrassTax mailing list we see that there are several firms where only one or two people within the firm have the benefit of BrassTax e-mail updates. BrassTax is now free of charge for...
Widowers - An Update
Widows used to get a (now abolished) special tax relief. Widowers didn't. Obvious gender discrimination. Mr Crossland took his case to the European Court but it was never heard. Instead, the Revenue,...
Deferral Under EIS
It sometimes happens that the same point crops up more than once in quick succession. When that happens it usually means that it's worth more general clarification. This is one of those points.A...
Lost Deposits
Q. The sale of my client's house has fallen through and the intended purchaser has forfeited the 10% deposit. What"s the tax treatment of the receipt? Presumably tax-free as being related to a...
Splitting Business Splitting
Two recent Tribunal cases deal with business-splitting. They serve as a neat reminder of what Customs can and cannot do.Mr Trippit owned and ran a pub. Mrs Trippit offered bed-and-breakfast from the...
Pre-Budget Report: Key Tax Issues
We've identified some of the tax issues which we think are particularly relevant to owner-managed businesses. For a complete list of the announcements, visit...
Deferred Bonuses
We've been looking at a case in which the Revenue are causing difficulty about bonuses to directors which they assert relate to a year earlier than that in which they are charged. The particular case...
CGT Taper - Not Quite Right
Those of you who saw the otherwise rather good article recently in the FT on tax planning for a second home may have been surprised to read that business taper relief applies to any dwelling that is...
Second Home: Second Chance
One or two people have responded to the last paragraph of the CGT taper item (which commended the practice of making an apparently (but not actually) pointless CGT election as soon as a second home...
Electronic Periodicals
No, this note is not about "Practical Wireless" magazine.As we move with breakneck speed towards digitalised media, many interesting tax issues arise. One of them which you might like to consider is...
Occasional Subcontractors
If you have any clients that aren't obviously what you'd call a subbie, but (might) occasionally do work in the Construction Industry, it would probably be a good idea for them to have a Registration...
CT Payments on Account: Putting off the evil day
It is well known that a company does not have to make instalment payments for the first period in which it becomes large (unless it is "very large" in that period). But the detail of the legislation...
Send forth the best ye breed
Anomalous treatment of travelling expenses within or outwith the UKMr X lives in Yorkshire. He is a non-executive director of Amalgamated Consolidated plc and in that capacity travels to London every...
Car Tricks
A tale of an awkward Inspector and a possible solutionMr Jones is the proprietor of Jones and Co Ltd. There has been a PAYE inspection at which the treatment of a company car has arisen. Complete and...
Sorting out your IBA Claims
Sorting officesYou can't tell whether a building is an industrial building by looking at it. Some quite attractive modern buildings may be "industrial buildings" while it is quite possible that the...
Lost Deposits - Better News
We've come upon a concession (not in the published list of ESCs) which affects the piece we sent out last month about lost deposits. A revised version follows:Q. A sale of property has fallen through...
EMI, Spouses, Taper and Tea-Leaves
One of the main advantages of EMI options is that taper relief starts running from the date the option is granted, not the date the option is exercised. It has often been the practice with, for...
Accounting for Software
Mismatching: or pulled two waysOne of your clients is a company which has been established to develop and exploit some innovative software. For the first few months or years there is no income to...
Farming Losses
Those of you in agricultural areas will probably already know of the temporary extra-statutory concession on farming losses. Those of you with just the odd one or two farming clients may not.S397...
When Bumping Hurts
Mr X is self-employed and uses his motor-car as to 50% for business. The tax written-down value of his car is £10,000. He has been offered £14,000 as a "bumped" trade-in against a new £40,000 car....
Coster (and other) Mongers
This piece is almost topical although, sadly, it has nothing to do with whether a market trader sells his goods in imperial units or in incomprehensible multiples of grams.Most readers will be aware...
National Minimum Wage - The Last Word?
Although the DTI are responsible for policy and legislation on the National Minimum Wage, enforcement is the responsibility of the Revenue: and the two departments seem to have had different ideas...
PAYE on Quoted Shares
Checking out the OptionsMake sure that PAYE has not been over-deducted on exercise of options to acquire quoted sharesReaders will be aware that a charge to Income Tax normally arises on the exercise...
IR35 Reminder
In an ideal world, any company which is affected by IR35 will have a 5 April year-end. (OK - point taken: in an really ideal world, we'd wake up and find that IR35 was just a bad dream). But as it...
Incorporating a Business - Preserving Losses
A case arose here recently of the transfer of a business to a limited company. As is normal, we planned on transferring assets and liabilities to the company and taking shares for the net amount....
Bed-and-Breakfasting Shares
TCGA 1992 s106A is aimed at bed-and-breakfasting shares (which you might want to do in order to utilise annual exemptions and basic rate bands or to crystallise losses). But as 5 April approaches...
S419 Post SA
Broadly, loans which would be caught by s419 but which are repaid within 9 months of the AP in which they are made do not in practice give rise to a s419 charge.But strictly, the loan gives rise to a...
The Marital Home
Taxation on the breakdown of marriage has a number of quirks. CGT relief on the matrimonial home is one of them. The point we want to draw to your attention here is the very limited scope of the CGT...
Taper on Investment Assets
This falls under the category of "things that I assume are well known". But since some recent experience suggests that it isn't....Be aware of the fact that CGT business taper is available on assets...
Big or Little? Unexpected FYA Benefits
We've been looking at the rules for claiming 100% FYA on information and communications technology. The relief is of course available only to a "small enterprise." It's in the definition of small...
Not All Bad
What with the most expensive wallpaper in the world and his begging letters, Lord Irvine has sometimes been a controversial figure. But taxpayers will be glad to note his latest proposal which is...
Clean Rooms
Not something that one comes across every day - not in my household anyway! But this note is about the tax treatment of expenditure in the high-tech industries on creating controlled environments,...
Loose End
Here's an interesting one we came across the other day.One of the several conditions to be fulfilled if a company buy-back of shares is to be treated as a capital matter is that the shares in...
PAYE - The Buck Stops Here?
Taxation magazine (22 March) has an interesting short piece about entitlement of employers to recover PAYE tax from former employees. Conventional wisdom has been that the buck stops with the...
A Tax Road Map
Readers may like to note that there is now available on our website our "Tax Road Map" for 2001/02. The plethora of consultative documents, proposals, deferred action changes and so on mean it's...
IR35 and Construction Industry
The Revenue have published a new concession (C32) relating to companies which suffer deduction of tax under the CITD rules but which are also caught by the IR35 rules.Such companies will be deemed...
Still Life in Retirement Relief
This piece is a way of sidestepping a retirement relief difficulty.We've come across cases where a partnership is run alongside a company - sometimes, frankly, as a means of mitigating NIC. Your...
Counting Down to Zero
Royal Assent to Social Security Contributions (Share Options) Bill is imminent. Why is this important? Because employers who want to take advantage of the provisions of the Bill to cap their NIC...
CGT Bonus
We just came across a very interesting set of circumstances, which underlines a deeming rule which may sometimes be overlooked.Fifteen years ago Mr X bought a business which operated from leased...
Remotely Interesting?
Readers will no doubt be familiar with the concept of tax relief for employee for travel from home to a temporary (i.e., less than 24 months etc) workplace which is remote from the usual place of...
Penalties for Technical Adjustments
When I was in the Revenue I could never really understand in my youthful exuberance why Somerset House did not let me charge penalties on technical adjustments. It didn't seem fair to me that the...
P11D Penalty Confusion
There seems to be considerable confusion about P11D penalties this year. This note aims to resolve it.There are of course two different penalty regimes affecting end-of-year PAYE returns. Under s98A...
Counting your Losses
In the good old days, nobody needed to trouble themselves about CGT losses unless and until there were some gains against which to set them: very sensible system that avoided having to waste time...
Expatriate Commuters - Residence Status
The Revenue have published "clarification" of IR20 as it applies to people who spend time working abroad but retain a home in the UK to which they regularly return.As readers will know, the Revenue...
A Bad Thing
A Bad ThingThe dangers of dependent subsidiaries have been referred to in BrassTax before. Employees who acquire (by reason of employment) shares in a company which is a subsidiary of another company...
Go!
With Royal Assent being given to the Social Security Contributions (Share Options) Bill last week the time limit starts running for the making of the election by employers to account for NIC on share...
Deeds of Variation and Share Buy-Backs
One of the conditions for "capital" treatment to be afforded to a share buy-back is that the shares must have been held for five years by the vendor. This is relaxed where shares have been acquired...
Class 1A Miscellany
Readers may be interested in the following practical points that have arisen recently in respect of the Class 1A charge on benefits.First, there is no threshold for Class 1A benefits. If, for...
Newfields
The House of Lords has overturned the Court of Appeal decision in Newfields. This, broadly speaking, means that the law is to be interpreted in the way in which most people have always interpreted...
Class 1A Miscellany (translated)
BrassTax message, Class 1A miscellany, 24 May, has prompted some comment.One reader said: "Sorry. Para 3 is goobledegook. Too many negatives for my little brain. Please explain."Always ready to...
Weasels Rebuffed
The recent tribunal