STAMP DUTY WIPES VALUE OFF HOMES

Stamp Duty has apparently been responsible for reducing house prices since 2012 by over £250 million.

Stamp Duty rises from 1% to 3% at £250,000.  People with houses worth just over that figure are on average reducing prices by £7,000 to bring them back into the 1% bracket.  If this affects some 40,000 homes as the figures suggest then the Government is losing approximately £200,000 in Stamp Duty but the housing market is still generally in a very slow recovery. ( The Times & The Daily Mail )

HMRC TARGETS LANDLORDS

HMRC are now warning Landlords of let property to take the opportunity of disclosure under the LET PROPERTY CAMPAIGN any rental profits not previously disclosed. They estimate that 1million such landlords are currently not disclosing either rentals or disposals for CGT. The loss is estimated at £550million per annum. It is thought that as most buy to lets have loans against them people believe that all repayments are allowable against income and that profits if any are small. We remind people that only interest on loans is allowable and that undisclosed profits discovered after the disclosure scheme ends will result in penalties of up to 100% of the tax found to be due.

UK TECH FIRMS SLOW ON PATENT UPTAKE

The number of patents being filed by UK technology companies is falling compared to overseas competitors according to a report by PwC.  It seems that overseas technology companies are far more astute yet aggressive with regard to the way in which patents both protect the technology and provide income streams in the future. There is little doubt that UK companies need to understand how best to account for patents in the first instance and then how to quickly develop the income flows from having the protection in place and stopping competitors.

HMRC NETS £110m FROM CGT UNDERPAYMENTS

HMRC collected £110m from investigations into underpayments of CGT in 2012/13.  The amount raised is a third higher than in the previous tax year.  HMRC’s clampdown targeted buy-to-let landlords and owners of multiple homes.  Claims for exemption on the sale of a property under principal private residence relief are under particular scrutiny.  Total receipts from CGT were £3.9bn in 2012/13

FCA URGES SMEs TO SIGN UP FOR SWAP SCHEME

The FCA has urged 1,900 small businesses to join its £3.75bn interest rate swaps compensation scheme before it closes this year. The regulator said that by the end of February banks had paid £482m - approximately 13% - of the compensation they have been told to hand over by the end of July. The average payout under the FCA scheme so far was £140,000 at the end of February and 3,430 companies have received compensation.

MIGRANT ENTREPRENEURS DRIVING UK JOB CREATION

A report from the Centre for Entrepreneurs has found that nearly half a million people from 155 countries have settled in the UK and launched businesses. In total there are 456,073 migrant entrepreneurs in the UK running active companies, with some running more than one venture. The majority of migrant entrepreneurs hail from Ireland, with 48,854 founders currently running businesses in the UK. In second place is India, with 32,593, and third is Germany, with 30,755.

  

BUSINESS OWNERS HAPPY TO REMAIN IN CHARGE

Aviva’s 2014 SME Pulse report has found that only 4% of small business owners would return to the workforce as an employee, compared to 25% in 2012. Two fifths of owners (41%) say they have a good work-life balance and just one in ten says running a small business has had a negative impact on family and friends. The report also found that over 60% of entrepreneurs turn to family and friends if they have a problem. After family and friends, SME owners look towards to the internet and other business owners.