The Intellectual Property Office has issued a video setting out the dangers of buying counterfeit goods this Christmas.
They say:
Counterfeiting can be defined as the manufacture, importation, distribution and sale of products which falsely carry the trade mark of a genuine brand without permission and for gain or loss to another. Counterfeits can bring many dangers...
The answer to this question depends, in the first instance, on the business structure you select.
If you run your business as a sole trader, or in partnership with another person, you are deemed to be self-employed. Partnerships also include Limited Liability Partnerships where the partners’ personal assets are protected from business risks.
The alternative to the...
This service helps people to detect fraudulent activity on their property by sending them email alerts when there is certain activity on the property being monitored, such as a mortgage being taken out against it. The recipient can then decide whether they think the activity is suspicious and act quickly if so. The alert email...
As we have noted in previous blog postings, Philip Hammond announced a significant change to the VAT Flat Rate Scheme (FRS) from 1 April 2017.
To join this scheme, businesses need to have turnover excluding VAT of under £150,000. VAT payable to HMRC is based on a fixed percentage of turnover including VAT. The percentage rates...
For a number of years, it has been possible to make gift aid donations and carry them back to the previous tax year. This is a useful tax planning facility if earnings were higher in the previous year, and in some cases it may mitigate loss of personal allowances and tax at higher rates.
There are,...
A lasting power of attorney (LPA) is a legal document that lets you (the ‘donor’) appoint one or more people (known as ‘attorneys’) to help you make decisions or to make decisions on your behalf. There are two sorts of LPA. They can cover personal issues (health and welfare) or financial issues (property and financial...
1 December 2016 - Due date for Corporation Tax due for the year ended 29 February 2016.
19 December 2016 - PAYE and NIC deductions due for month ended 5 December 2016. (If you pay your tax electronically the due date is 22 December 2016.)
19 December 2016 - Filing deadline for the CIS300 monthly return for...
From April 2017, the National Living Wage (NLW) for the over 25s is being increased to £7.50 per hour. This is an increase from the current NLW rate set in October 2016 of £7.20 an hour. For the over 25s, this will represent a wage increase of just over 4%.
The National Minimum Wage (NMW) will...
HMRC is to introduce an additional test that will determine the flat rate percentage used by traders. It would seem that HMRC presently considers the benefits obtained by certain businesses to be excessive and not in accord with the intentions of Parliament.
Traders that meet the new definition of a “limited cost trader” will be required...
Salary sacrifice is a term applied to benefits taken in place of salary. In many respects these benefits provide employees with higher “take home” value than if the benefits were treated the same as cash income. Mr Hammond is mindful to curb this practice as it is intended that the change will add £1bn a...