Having glimpsed the light at the end of the COVID tunnel, many of us will have everything crossed that progress towards normality will continue. The winter months are not a brilliant time for infection and we should expect the usual rash of flu, and now COVID, cases to increase. In the past two years words such as unprecedented and exceptional have...
Hundreds of business names dismissed by Companies House during pandemic
Over the last two years, Companies House has disallowed more than 800 business names for being ‘too offensive’. Building That Fought Hitler Limited, Cambridge Cannabis Club Limited, Fancy a Bomb Ltd and Fit as Fork Ltd are among the company names that have been rejected by the executive agency and trading fund for the government. Other names to be turned down include...
Muras Matters: Health & Social Care Levy
Background The government has announced in the last week that they will be introducing a number of changes to income tax and National Insurance rates in order to support the NHS and help to reform the care sector. The prime minister has said that this will raise an extra £12bn per year with the money being ring-fenced for health and social...
Tax-free childcare costs
Families are reminded that they may be able to claim for tax-free childcare costs to help pay for breakfast and after school clubs as children go back to school. In a recent press release HMRC confirmed that Eligible families can save money on their childcare and benefit from a government top-up worth up to £2,000 every year, or up to £4,000...
SMEs can enhance business performance by joining Peer Network scheme
A government-funded Peer Networks scheme is offering support to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across the UK. The programme, which is free to join, helps organisations tackle common business challenges through interactive action learning. Additionally, the scheme’s trained mentors help small and medium-sized businesses handle new opportunities and build a strong support network. Business leaders can learn from like-minded individuals on the scheme...
Muras Matters: Company Cars Changes to Advisory Fuel Rates
This Bulletin is aimed at company car drivers (and their employers) who are not provided with fuel for private mileage. Although many of us will not have been using are cars very much over the last few months during the Coronavirus lockdown, as the potential relaxing of the rules lies ahead you will need to ensure that the appropriate fuel rates...
Supply chain issues gaining traction
News broke in recent days that McDonalds were running out of supplies. As a direct result of these supply chain issues their iconic milk shakes are being dropped from menus together with other bottled drinks. These particular shortages will apply to outlets in England, Scotland and Wales. Supplies in Northern Ireland are holding up, so far… Is this further evidence that...
HMRC discloses employer explanations for not paying legal minimum wage
‘She only makes the tea’ and ‘my employees are on standby’ are just some of the strange excuses used by businesses who have paid their workers under the National Minimum Wage, the UK tax office has revealed. Every employed worker in Great Britain is legally entitled to the National Minimum Wage, but many employers tried cheating the pay system during the...
Furlough figures continue to fall
Almost three million people have moved off the furlough scheme since March as the economy began to bounce back and businesses reopened, according to new statistics. This is unsurprising as employers are now expected to cover 20% of any hours not worked with government providing 60%. It will be sobering to see how the final closing of the furlough scheme on 30...
Electric vehicles for company car drivers
As most drivers of a company car will be aware, if you have any private use of the vehicle this will result in a significant Income Tax charge. The benefit charge is the way that HMRC levy tax on this benefit in kind; and the higher the CO2 footprint of your company car, the higher the Income Tax charge. Which is...