More news on credit availability

Following on from our recent blog item on SME businesses finding it difficult to obtain credit, the Federation of Small Businesses has produced results of a survey which shows only 60% of small business applications for credit are successful, the lowest since the end of 2015.  The results also showed that only one in every four business borrower said that the credit costs were “affordable”- a fall from 33% only a year ago.  Our advice is that small businesses need to be more aware of the market for borrowing and be prepared to shop around more in order to get the finance needed at the best price.

Surprising sources of business funding ? – perhaps not

If businesses are trading through online sales platforms like PayPal and Amazon, it is clearly of mutual benefit for those platforms to help smaller businesses with their expansion plans.

PayPal provides cash advances of up to £100,000 based upon a company’s trading history with them and it says that approved funding can be released within 15 minutes. PayPal states that it has lent £625m to small UK companies, a 56% increase while Amazon has a loan book of over £3 billion. 

These trading platforms are able to assess risk on current data which the banks do not have, they are still using older legacy IT systems.

Lifetime pension allowance raises £70 million

HMRC have reduced the lifetime pension allowance from £1.5m to £1.25m to currently £1.03m. If a pension fund exceeds these limits then a tax charge arises of 55% on lump sum withdrawals and 25% if taken as a pension. The tax take from this measure rose from £40m in 2014/15 to £110m in 2016/17. Protecting your pension fund at the maximum level possible year on year as the value increases is certainly worth discussing with your broker

GDPR preparation failing

The Institute of Directors have announced that only 60% of members believe that their organisations will be fully compliant by the 25 May implementation day. It noted that SME’s are finding it extremely difficult to digest the sheer scale of the changes

Newsletter 119

Headlines from our latest newsletter.  Please click on any of the links below for more information :

MAKING TAX DIGITAL FOR VAT

The government have issued information on how Making Tax Digital for Business (MTDfB) is expected to work for VAT once the rules are introduced in April 2019 - see more at : http://www.walkerthompson.co.uk/newsletters/Newsletter-119#Digital

BUDGET ON WEDNESDAY 22 NOVEMBER AND 14 DECEMBER

Chancellor Philip Hammond has announced that he will deliver the Autumn Budget on Wednesday 22 November - see more at : http://www.walkerthompson.co.uk/newsletters/Newsletter-119#Budget

DEADLINE FOR ‘PAPER’ SELF ASSESSMENT TAX RETURNS

For those individuals who have previously submitted ‘paper’ self assessment tax returns the deadline for the 2016/17 return is 31 October 2017 - see more at : http://www.walkerthompson.co.uk/newsletters/Newsletter-119#Deadline

HMRC OFFER TAX SUPPORT TO GROWING BUSINESSES

HMRC have announced the introduction of a new service to directly help mid-sized businesses as they expand and grow - see more at : http://www.walkerthompson.co.uk/newsletters/Newsletter-119#HMRC

TRUSTS REGISTRATION SERVICE

HMRC have launched a new Trusts Registration Service (TRS), so that trustees can register their trust online and provide information on the beneficial owners of the trust - see more at : http://www.walkerthompson.co.uk/newsletters/Newsletter-119#Trusts

HMRC PHISHING AND SCAM ADVICE

HMRC have updated their list of examples of websites, emails, letters, text messages and phone calls used by scammers and fraudsters to obtain individual’s personal information - see more at : http://www.walkerthompson.co.uk/newsletters/Newsletter-119#Phishing

Newsletter 118

Headlines from our latest newsletter.  Please click on any of the links below for more information :

GET READY FOR THE NEW DATA PROTECTION RULES

The government is to introduce new data protection rules under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) which takes effect from 25 May 2018 - see more at : http://www.walkerthompson.co.uk/newsletters/Newsletter-118#Data

ADVISORY FUEL RATES FOR COMPANY CARS

New company car advisory fuel rates have been published which took effect from 1 September 2017 - see more at : http://www.walkerthompson.co.uk/newsletters/Newsletter-118#Fuel

HMRC ONLINE FORUM AND WEBCHAT

HMRC have announced the introduction of a new online tax forum and webchat service for small businesses - see more at : http://www.walkerthompson.co.uk/newsletters/Newsletter-118#HMRC

GUIDANCE FOR EMPLOYERS

HMRC have issued their latest guidance to employers in the August edition of the Employer Bulletin - see more at : http://www.walkerthompson.co.uk/newsletters/Newsletter-118#Guidance

PENSIONS AUTO ENROLMENT COMPLIANCE

The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has begun carrying out employer spot checks to make sure employers are complying with their automatic enrolment duties and that they are giving their staff the workplace pensions they’re entitled to - see more at : http://www.walkerthompson.co.uk/newsletters/Newsletter-118#Pensions

AUTO ENROLMENT FOR NEW EMPLOYERS

Under pensions auto enrolment employers have to enrol qualifying employees into a workplace pension - see more at : http://www.walkerthompson.co.uk/newsletters/Newsletter-118#Auto

CHILDCARE SERVICES COMPENSATION

The government are offering compensation to those who have been affected by problems with the implementation of Tax-Free Childcare - see more at : http://www.walkerthompson.co.uk/newsletters/Newsletter-118#Childcare

Newsletter 117

Headlines from our latest newsletter.  Please click on any of the links below for more information :

NEW TIMETABLE FOR MAKING TAX DIGITAL

The government has announced a revised timetable for the introduction of Making Tax Digital for Business (MTDfB) - see more at : http://www.walkerthompson.co.uk/newsletters/Newsletter-117#New

TAYLOR REVIEW OF EMPLOYMENT PRACTICES

The long awaited Taylor Review of employment practices suggests that a national strategy is needed to help provide security in such areas as wages, quality of employment, education and training, working conditions, work life balance and the ability to progress at work - see more at : http://www.walkerthompson.co.uk/newsletters/Newsletter-117#Taylor

AUTOMATIC ENROLMENT REACHES 8 MILLION

The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has confirmed than eight million employees have signed up for a workplace pension since the launch of automatic enrolment - see more at : http://www.walkerthompson.co.uk/newsletters/Newsletter-117#Automatic

LATEST LABOUR MARKET STATISTICS

The latest labour market statistics for the period March to May 2017 showed a 175,000 rise in employment and 64,000 fall in unemployment - see more at : http://www.walkerthompson.co.uk/newsletters/Newsletter-117#Latest

HMRC GENUINE AND PHISHING/BOGUS EMAILS AND CALLS

HMRC have issued an update of their guidance on how to recognise genuine HMRC contact be it via email or text - see more at : http://www.walkerthompson.co.uk/newsletters/Newsletter-117#HMRC

CHARITIES BOUND BY NEW FUNDRAISING PREFERENCE SERVICE

A new service is now available for individuals who want to limit the contact they receive from charities. The Fundraising Preference Service (FPS) should give individuals greater control over how and when charities can contact them - see more at : http://www.walkerthompson.co.uk/newsletters/Newsletter-117#Charities