Tax experts have hit out at HM Revenue and Customs’ (HMRC) plans to stop issuing copies to tax agents of some mail sent to their clients to help cut costs. The Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT) said that while it supports the need to reduce government spending, it is concerned that the move will result […]

“Today’s the day when Britain steps back from the brink, when we confront the bills from a decade of debt,” is how Chancellor George George Osborne introduced his long-awaited Spending Review to MPs on 20 October. Mr Osborne backed up his fighting talk with a review setting out £81 billion in cuts over the next […]

The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) launched a new online resource to help businesses comply with the law when customers buy or return goods. The Sale of Goods Act (SOGA) is the main law that relates to the purchase of consumer goods, covering issues including quality of goods, how they are described when being sold, […]

A new regional national insurance (NI) holiday for start-up businesses has come into effect. Businesses setting up outside London, the South East and East of England will be eligible for a NI holiday worth up to £5,000 for each of the first ten employees they hire in their first year of business. This means a […]

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has issued guidance for up to 1.4 million taxpayers who have underpaid PAYE due to incorrect tax codes. It has been widely reported that around 1.4 million people had underpaid £2 billion through PAYE, an average of £1,500 each. Around 4.3 million people will receive a rebate from £1.8 billion […]

Businesses are being invited to have their say on guidance designed to help them implement legal measures designed to strengthen the UK’s stance against bribery. The Bribery Act, which will take effect from April 2011, will encouragebusinesses to adopt robust anti-bribery safeguards. Its measures include: introducing a new corporate offence of failure to prevent bribery […]

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has issued an alert to employers who use its Employer CD-ROM to help run their payroll systems. Employers using the CD-ROM must update it now, to ensure it has the most up-to-date guidance and calculators. HMRC will be replacing the Employer CD-ROM for  employers with a new downloadable application – […]

Businesses looking for opportunities to raise their profile are being given a helping hand by Business Link. A searchable database of awards now available on the Business Link website allows entrepreneurs and firms to search for awards appropriate to their business sector and will identify both national awards and those relevant to their location. Business […]

Large businesses will be among those targeted in a £900 million government plan to tackle non-compliance in the tax system. Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander has announced that the government will make £900m available over the Spending Review period to raise additional revenues from taxpayers seeking to avoid paying their fair share. The […]