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First there was Fair Trade, now there is Fair Tax……
The Fair Trade Mark is now common place on goods we buy ensuring that workers aren’t exploited, but now there is a new mark, the Fair Tax Mark.
The Fair Tax Mark Criteria assess the quality of a business’ publicly available information on key tax and transparency issues. In this context, publicly available information primarily means a full set of accounts available to all via Companies House or the company website. However, it can also include the company website and/or any other freely available printed material.
For every business type, the criteria are divided into two main categories that assess a business on:
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Transparency
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Tax rate, disclosure and avoidance
Will your business be applying to use the Fair Tax Mark? would you buy more from a business that uses the Mark?
steve@bicknells.net
Should you start your own business?
Economy in recovery
It now looks like the UK economy is in recovery. Even if this isn’t the case, when people think that times will get better they start to spend money again. With interest rates at historic low rates there is little incentive to stockpile cash in the bank for consumers and for entrepreneurs debt is relatively cheap to finance a new venture.
No Change for Currency (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
What’s your plan?
If you are starting a new business, it is important to work out what you will be selling, but to survive the early days of a start-up you will need good projections of your cash flow. As you grow you may need investment from banks or other third parties. Without good quality management accounts is it more difficult to persuade a potential investor to part with their cash.
Ask for help!
You can’t do everything on your own. Work out what your core activities are and how much time you need to do them. If you have time left over for ancillary activities then you are better completing these yourself too. The cost of hiring specialist help, whether it be an accountant, web designer or lawyer can seem to be too much for a nascent company to bear. However if you are spending so much time working out your accounts that you don’t have time for your customers you will cost yourself more in the long-term.
Business booming in Scotland
According to this article from the BBC more Scots are starting up their own business. Records from Companies House show that more than 340,000 companies were formed in Scotland last year. Glasgow and Edinburgh are at the forefront of the economic recovery in Scotland. If you have a good business idea, now could be the time to let that idea take form, especially if you have a service that supports other new businesses.
Give yourself a break
To give your business the best start, make sure you understand your finances. Don’t forget that if you registered a company you are obliged to file accounts with Companies House as well as HMRC. For more information on company formation see my blog here.
For support and advice on the finances of your business contact Alterledger or visit the website alterledger.com.
CIMA MiPs have secured an exclusive partnership with Angels Den
With over 6,000 investors, Angels Den has already been successfully matching entrepreneurs and investors for the past six years. They have a great track record of successfully funding growing businesses through their unique SpeedFunding and Angel Club events and now offer entrepreneurs and business owners the opportunity to pitch online via their crowdfunding platform.
Angels Den only want to bring their investors the best deals so they spend quality time with each entrepreneur, pre-screening and giving feedback on their business. Those businesses that aren’t quite ready for funding will now be sent to a centralised booking line at CIMA Accountant. Tel 023 8064 3763.
CIMA Members in Practice will provide consultancy in order to assist businesses to present their funding and investment opportunities to Angels Den through its regional offices.
When CIMA Accountant feel they have a business that may be ready for funding, they can now pass these deals onto Piers Lawford at Angels Den.
How HMRC use IT systems to seek out tax evaders
There is no doubting the resolve of HMRC to track down and prosecute tax evaders.
The Government has committed to spend £917m to tackle tax evasion and raise an additional £7bn each year by 2014/15.
HMRC are using 2,500 staff to tackle avoidance, evasion and fraud, there is also a website to help those who want to declare income https://www.gov.uk/sortmytax
In the search for tax evaders, HMRC have a £45m computer system called Connect which in 2011 delivered £1.4bn in tax revenue and the system is getting bigger and better all the time. According to Accounting Web:
It uses a mathematical technique to search previously unrelated information and detect otherwise invisible ‘relationship’ networks. Using Connect, HMRC sifts through information on property transactions at the Land Registry, company ownerships, loans, bank accounts, employment history, voting and local authority rates registers and compares with self-assessment records to spot taxpayers who might be under-declaring or not declaring income.
Last year Connect made links between tax records and third party data from hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, insurers and even gas SAFE registrations. DVLA records and the shipping and Civil Aviation Authority registers help identify owners of cars and planes who declare income that the computer suggests cannot support such purchases.
In addition HMRC have also identified 200 accountants, lawyers and professionals who advise on tax avoidance structures and its currently unclear how HMRC will be dealing with them and their clients.
It is important to remember that most people pay the correct tax, in fact HMRC calculate that 93% of tax due is paid correctly, its only a small minority who try to evade tax.
steve@bicknells.net
5 ways to reduce the risk of a tax investigation
THE TAX YIELD derived from HM Revenue & Customs investigations into the affairs of small- and medium-sized companies rose by 31% over the last 12 months, according to UHY Hacker Young.
Compliance investigations into SMEs generated £565m for HMRC in 2012/13, up from £434m in 2011/12, with the year ending March 31. Accountancy Age
Some investigations are random and some as a result of HMRC task forces, but many are triggered by risk profiling.
What can you do to reduce your chances of being selected:
1. File your tax returns on time and pay what you owe – If you file late or at the last minute HMRC will think you are disorganised and as such there are more likely to be errors in the return
2. Declare all your income – HMRC get details of bank interest and other sources of income, sometimes they test them and match them to returns
3. Use an accountant – Unrepresented taxpayers are more likely to be looked at, mainly because many of them don’t know what they are doing
4. Trends – if your business doesn’t match the profile of similar business in the same sector or your results suddenly fluctuate it could raise concerns at HMRC, for example, if you suddenly request a VAT refund
5. Tax Avoidance Schemes – if you are using a tax avoidance scheme I am sure HMRC will be looking closely, if they can find a way to challenge the scheme then at some point they will
steve@bicknells.net
Not all accountants are the same!
Watch this video to see how we are different…
steve@bicknells.net
Why start ups need a CIMA Non Exec
Before you have even started trading, getting advice from an CIMA accountant can be critical here are some key areas where advice can really help:
- Creating the Business Model and Business Plan
- Obtaining Loans, Finance and Investment
- Business Structure, Shares and Shareholder Agreements
- Choosing Accounting and Business Software and Systems
- Creating a Cash Flow Forecast
- Understanding your legal duties
Then when you start trading……
- Tax Compliance – PAYE, NI, VAT, Corporation Tax
- Pensions – Auto Enrolment
- Managing relationships with Banks and Investors
- Budgeting and Forecasting
- Product Pricing and Tendering
Once the business has become established……
- Growth Strategies
- Funding Growth
- Research and Development
- Decisions on whether to buy or rent new equipments and premises
- Managing the Cash Cycle
CIMA Accountants have worked in business, they understand from the inside what running a business is really like and how to make a business successful.
You can also get some useful tips from HMRC http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/startingup/
steve@bicknells.net
Financial Reporting – Strategic Report – Part I
In the excitement of an economic outlook rising like the incoming tide during the last quarter of 2013, together with the ‘silly season’ most of us would probably have missed Statutory Instrument No. 1970 – The Companies Act 2006 (Strategic Report and Directors’ Report) Regulations 2013, and off course you would be forgiven for it. This particular statutory instrument made the duty to provide a Strategic Report a part of UK financial reporting legislation.
To most us the update to the Companies Act 2006, Part 15 – Accounts and Reports, will not have any impact, if our our daily task is that of preparing annual statutory financial accounts for approval by the board of directors of a UK incorporated company. This is because under section 414B of the Act, an exemption applies as follows:
* Quotes and references (sections) to the Companies Act 2006 available from Companies House
Do you wish your accountant had an App?
According to a report by Distimo, an app market data and analytics company, there are now over 700,000 different applications available across both the Apple and Google platforms, and with the total market estimated to be worth around $22 billion we can safely assume that it’s a pretty huge market. It appears to be growing pretty quickly too, with the increasing adoption of tablets over traditional PCs, more and more users are getting their applications from app stores rather than traditional retailers.
http://www.androidauthority.com/apple-app-store-vs-google-play-distimo-141851/
SME’s everywhere are seeing the advantages……
But as with websites you need to give your clients a reason to keep coming back and using the App.
There are some pretty good Apps out there to help you with your record keeping and we blogged about them https://cimaaccountant.wordpress.com/2013/09/06/expenses-theres-an-app-for-that/
So does your accountant have an App?
Less than 2% of Accountants have one!!!!!
In a recent AccountingWEB survey on average survey respondents said more than 80% of their customers use a smartphones or a tablet and almost
all expect this number to increase over the next 12 months.
What does your accountants App do? is it just tax tables and contact details?
Should they have an App which contains services, directions, calculators, dates which you can download to your diary….
Are Apps a waste of time?
steve@bicknells.net
Have you filed your Self Assessment Return?
Last year, while millions of people were exchanging presents, feasting on turkey, and nodding off in front of the television, 1,548 people decided to take time out from the yuletide festivities and do their tax return online – a 40 per cent increase on Christmas Day 2011, when 1,100 people filed online.
The penalties for late Self Assessment returns are:
- an initial £100 fixed penalty, which applies even if there is no tax to pay, or if the tax due is paid on time;
- after three months, additional daily penalties of £10 per day, up to a maximum of £900;
- after six months, a further penalty of 5 per cent of the tax due or £300, whichever is greater; and
- after 12 months, another 5 per cent or £300 charge, whichever is greater.
There are also additional penalties for paying late of 5 per cent of the tax unpaid at: 30 days; six months; and 12 months.
Make sure you get yours done before the end of January!
steve@bicknells.net
Business Accountant 