Chancellor George Osborne delivered the 2011 Budget on 23 March, saying he intended to “put fuel into the tank of the British economy”. With the implications of the Budget still sinking in, this round-up of some key points also looks at the response to the measures. Corporation tax: main rate cut to 26% from April […]

Thousands of companies are benefiting from research and development (R&D) tax credits, according to new figures from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC). The figures, released in March, show that since the tax credits were introduced in 2000, 51,060 claims have been made, up to the end of the financial year 2008-09. In 2008-09 alone, there […]

Government plans to impose online filing on all the main businesses taxes have been criticised by tax campaigners. The 23 March Budget confirmed that all businesses will be required to register and de-register for VAT and notify changes online from 1 August 2012, as well as filing VAT returns online and paying VAT electronically for […]

A proposal by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to start making large-scale checks of business records before relevant tax returns are submitted is misguided, according to the Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT). HMRC is proposing to use powers in the Finance Act 2008 to check the business records of up to 50,000 SME businesses annually, […]

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has launched an online survey of its website, www.hmrc.gov.uk HMRC says it wants to know what its customers think of the website and that the answers provided by users will help it to identify what works well, where it can make improvements to meet customers’ needs and allow it to […]

Business organisations have welcomed plans, announced in the March Budget, to increase the number of apprenticeships over the next four years. Chancellor George Osborne said there would by £180 million for up to 50,000 extra apprenticeships over the next four years. They include 40,000 places to support young employed people, particularly as they move on […]

Business Secretary Vince Cable says the government will remove audit requirements from thousands of smaller businesses. Announcing the measures last month, Mr Cable said the small company audit and account rules in the UK were stricter than required by European Union (EU) law and that the government would amend the Companies Act to bring UK […]

Businesses are being urged to get involved in government moves to reduce the burden of red tape. A range of measures, announced on 18 March, will include a public audit of almost 22,000 business regulations to weed out those that are no longer needed. Other measures include: repealing the regulations extending the right to request […]