Chartered Accountants | Alwyns

HMRC has always seen the private use percentages for motor as an easy target during their enquiries, but now it is putting the spotlight on the mileage of those in the healthcare sector.

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Uploaded: 13th April 2012

Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS)

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Uploaded: 22nd March 2012

Budget - March 2012

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Uploaded: 22nd March 2012

Tax Planning Reminder - March 2012

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Uploaded: 2nd March 2012

Calling all electricians

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Uploaded: 3rd January 2012

Structured investment products - what are they?

Many Financial Institutions are offering Structured Products to investors to tempt them to invest as normal cash deposit rates are so low. But what are they and what are the risks?

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Uploaded: 30th November 2011

Autumn Statement

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Uploaded: 4th August 2011

VAT - Supplies of services to non-business customers

January 2011 brought in changes for Business to Non-Business (B2C) transactions within the EC.

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Uploaded: 18th May 2011

VAT - Supplies of services overseas

January 2011 brought in changes for Business to Business (B2B) transactions between businesses based in different EC Countries.

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Uploaded: 9th May 2011

Tax Efficient Charitable Giving

Over the years, the tax reliefs for charitable giving have been progressively relaxed to the extent that the formalities are now easily satisfied in most cases. From April 2013, charities that receive small donations of £10 or less will be able to apply for tax repayments in respect of those gifts without any need to obtain a gift aid declaration at all.

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Uploaded: 9th May 2011

Property Letting and Development

With the appreciation in property values proving attractive, as well as increased media coverage of the attractions of property renovation activity, more people are undertaking property development as a hobby or as a secondary or primary source of income. Equally buy to let residential property investment has been very much in vogue in recent years, because, although property values may fluctuate, many people see bricks and mortar as the most solid investment they can make.

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Uploaded: 6th May 2011

VAT for Small Businesses

VAT inspections by HMRC are less frequent than was once the case and in fact many are now carried out purely by telephone. Nevertheless HMRC is adept at homing straight in on areas where mistakes commonly occur, and they will often magnify the fault several times over by assuming that the same error will have been made in previous years. The end result can be a large and unexpected VAT bill plus interest and a penalty.

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Uploaded: 6th May 2011

Employee Shares in Private Companies

One of the best incentives which can be offered to key staff in a private company is a shareholding in the company. This is the ideal method to give them a stake in the business and a share in the results of it. It also links the employee to the employer on a long term basis and offers opportunities for rewarding them in a tax-efficient manner so that, with time, much of the profit from the shares will escape the ravages of income tax otherwise payable on earnings. The drawback is of course that if he or she leaves the employment, it may no longer be appropriate for an ex-staff member to continue with a shareholding. Hence it may be advisable to deal with this point at the outset by including pre-emption rights in the company’s Articles of Association, by which other shareholders may have the right to buy out the shares for fair value.

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Uploaded: 6th May 2011

Inheritance Tax and Capital Gains Tax Planning for Farmers

Because farmland enjoys generous reliefs from inheritance tax, HMRC examines all such claims very carefully. As a result there has been a succession of appeals to the tax tribunals concerning agricultural property relief in recent years, although there have been notable successes by both taxpayers and HMRC. One of the lessons to be learnt from these appeals is that even working farmers need to take advice about their inheritance tax position, as it is easy to lose the benefit of some of the reliefs.

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Uploaded: 6th May 2011

Inheritance Tax Mitigation Techniques

Following an announcement in the Budget this year, it is now known that there are no plans alter the inheritance tax nil rate band (currently £325,000) in the life of the current Government. This is a far cry from the erstwhile pre-2010 General Election policy statement of the Conservative party, who claimed that they would increase the nil band to £1,000,000 if elected. IHT planning therefore remains firmly on the agenda for the foreseeable future. This memorandum summarises the main IHT mitigation techniques which are currently used by specialists in this field for those who are UK resident and domiciled.

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Uploaded: 27th April 2011

The Bribery Act 2010 For Businesses - Update

This briefing note should be read in conjunction with our initial review of The Bribery Act 2010 posted to this website previously. The long-awaited guidance has now been published, both by the Government and by the Director of Public Prosecutions and Serious Fraud Office.

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Uploaded: 19th April 2011

Recent Changes to Company Vehicle Drivers

On 5th April 2010, the CO2 emission rates that control the tax benefit in kind rates were reduced so that virtually all company car drivers are now paying tax on an extra 1% of the vehicle cost. Emission limits are steadily being reduced and whilst the Government has indicated what might happen in the years to come, this can always be changed.

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Uploaded: 24th March 2011

Budget Report

Click here to view the report

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Uploaded: 22nd March 2011

The Plumbers Tax Safe Plan (PTSP)

Apparently HM Revenue & Customs have highlighted the plumbing and heating industry for their next campaign to attract disclosures from taxpayers in a particular industry group. It is called The Plumbers Tax Safe Plan (PTSP).

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Uploaded: 22nd March 2011

The Bribery Act 2010 for Businesses

The Bribery Act 2010 received Royal Assent on 8th April 2010 and is expected to come into force some time during 2011. Despite recent articles in the press it is expected that The Bribery Act 2010 will remain unchanged but guidance as to how the Act will be interpreted will be issued three months prior to implementation.

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Uploaded: 22nd March 2011

VAT Alert - ECJ Decision in German "Takeaway Food" Cases

A recent ECJ decision in the case of Manfred Bog and others raises the possibility of zero-rating certain hot takeaway food in the UK. The Court considered the VAT treatment of takeaway foods and beverages from mobile snack bars, snacks stalls and in cinemas. One of the applicants was a butcher providing catering services.

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Uploaded: 17th March 2011

Record Keeping

HM Revenue & Customs are planning to make at least 50,000 checks on the record keeping of businesses and this could especially affect small businesses. This really is the first time that HM Revenue & Customs are looking closely at record keeping and ties in with their new penalty procedures.

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Uploaded: 10th March 2011

Year End Tax Planning

We await with interest George Osborne’s 2011 Budget, due to take place on 23rd March 2011 but, given the state of the economy, it is likely that the current high rates of tax will stay with us, aggravated by a 1% increase in National Insurance for both employees and employers.

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Uploaded: 4th January 2011

Autumn Statement

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Uploaded: 4th January 2011

December Tax Update

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Uploaded: 3rd November 2010

Helping Infant Children Through The Tax Maze

Over the past few years, there has been a sustained attack by the Government on the use of family trusts for general tax planning purposes.

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Uploaded: 2nd November 2010

Will Trusts: Tax Planning Before and After Death

Making a will is often treated as a project for some future time but it is essential that everyone should give it some priority if only because, in the absence of a will, the arbitrary rules of intestacy will apply.

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Uploaded: 23rd October 2010

Income Tax Relief on Pension Contributions

Changes to rules for contributions have been made or proposed at least 4 times in the last 2 years.

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Uploaded: 21st October 2010

Current Tax Planning Opportunities For Higher Rate Taxpayers

Any hopes that the new coalition Government might focus on spending cuts rather than increasing tax rates are clearly not going to be realised.

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