Many of us will have experienced good and bad service in restaurants or hotels and wondered who actually received the service charges added to bills. Was it the grumpy individual who ignored our attempts to request a bill or was it the waiter with the engaging smile who very definitely deserved his fair share of the tip paid with our...
Muras Matters: ‘Lifetime ISA’
Background The Lifetime Individual Savings Account (ISA) was introduced by the Government in April 2017 to provide an another option for younger people looking to save flexibly for the future. The benefits it potentially offers are worth a revisit for those who may have forgotten about or are not aware of this particular ISA. The Lifetime ISA is intended to be a longer-term...
High risk and all eggs in one basket
The “boomer” population was used to the idea that you could have a job for life. That loyalty to your employer, and their ability to guarantee continuing employment, was something to rely on. How things have changed. Since the late twentieth century, employment has become a more transient affair. There are very few in the employed workforce who would believe in absolute...
More corporate red tape
We are still waiting for the government to introduce secondary legislation that will oblige directors and others with significant control – so-called PSCs – to verify their identity in order to file documents or set up a company at Companies House. According to Companies House this will: “…deter those wishing to use companies for illegal purposes.” Who needs to verify their identity For...
Muras Matters: Directors Loan Interest Frozen By HMRC
Background Where a loan is provided to a director by their company, interest free or below the official rate of interest, then a Benefit In Kind (BIK) can arise on loans above £10,000. The BIK is calculated on the loan at the ‘beneficial rate’, less any actual interest paid by the individual. H M Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has recently confirmed that the...
New employment protections
The following changes were enacted from 6 April 2024. These changes apply to England, Wales and Scotland. Northern Ireland is not included as employment law is devolved. The information that follows is reproduced from a post on the House of Commons Library at https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/what-employment-laws-are-changing-from-april-2024/#:~:text=New%20legislation%20has%20expanded%20rights,effect%20from%206%20April%202024. Changes to flexible working Employees can now make two rather than one request a year for flexible working,...
Opening up small company reporting
Companies House are working on detailed changes that will require small and micro sized companies to file information about their turnover and profits at Companies House. Once filed, this data will be available to anyone searching affected companies’ records at Companies House. At present, smaller companies can file abridged accounts that do not include a director’s report or a detailed profit and...
Muras Matters: Abolition of Furnished Holiday Let Rules
Background In the 2024 Spring Budget it was announced that the Furnished Holiday Let (FHL) rules will be abolished from April 2025. This week’s Muras Matters looks at how this might impact the owners of FHL’s. Detail Businesses currently qualifying as an FHL have the following tax breaks, which do not apply to general letting business: Business asset taper relief (BADR) can apply...
Boost for small businesses
In a recent press release, HMRC underlined the benefits to smaller businesses from the increase in the VAT registration threshold and the business rates freeze. Here’s what they said: “Small businesses have received a boost as the VAT registration threshold is raised from £85,000 to £90,000, and £4.3 billion of business rates relief comes into force. “Recognising the inflationary pressures facing small businesses,...
A new acronym
Most readers of our posts will recognise the acronym CGT or IHT -Capital Gains Tax or Inheritance Tax. And the myriad of other taxes that affect most UK taxpayers in or out of business: IT – Income Tax NIC – National Insurance VAT – Value Added Tax But what about MTD? What is MTD? MTD will be recognisable by most business owners who are registered for...