The Intellectual Property Office has issued commentary on the future of intellectual property (IP) issues following Brexit. We have copied in blow some of their comments to clarify various issues for companies with existing registered IP, or that have applications in progress. Trade marks The UK system for protecting trade mark rights is not affected by the decision to leave the EU....
Additional support for Carillion subcontractors
A further package of support for the businesses and workers affected by Carillion’s liquidation was announced Saturday 3 February, by Business Secretary Greg Clark. Through delivery partners that include all the major high street lenders, the British Business Bank will provide support to make available up to £100 million of lending to small businesses who may not have the security otherwise...
Text message scammers scuppered by HMRC
HMRC has stopped thousands of taxpayers from receiving scam text messages, with 90 percent of the most convincing texts now halted before they reach their phones. The milestone comes during Take Five To Stop Fraud Week, with the tax authority working to raise awareness of the tell-tale signs of fraud ahead of the Self-Assessment deadline. Fraudsters alleging to be from HMRC send...
Getting ready for Making Tax Digital
As our regular readers of our newsletter will be aware, the government has back-tracked on their original proposal to digitise taxpayers’ affairs. The original plan, to have most self-employed traders and landlords uploading accounts and VAT data from April 2018, was scrapped. The new plan, delayed until April 2019, requires traders registered for VAT, and with turnover above the current £85,000 registration...
Biker club wins VAT case
Many clubs offer members a range of services for their membership fee. For example, membership may include a members’ magazine. Ordinarily, a magazine subscription should be zero rated for VAT purposes, but when the magazine element is bundled into a general club subscription - that is standard rated for VAT - problems can arise. HMRC is prone to view the “bundled”...
Unexpected VAT charge for UK importers
With no agreement on tariffs, the UK will be treated as any other non-EU trading nation post Brexit. Consequently, UK importers would be required to make an up-front VAT payment in addition to any customs duties. This VAT payment will rank as input VAT that can be reclaimed from HMRC. However, a problem will arise if an importer submits VAT returns...
What is in a name
A company, Casio Services Ltd (CSL), had been registered with Companies House since June 2016, and after that confirmation by Companies House the directors would no doubt have felt that they could trade with the registered name with no restriction. Unfortunately, Casio Electronics Co Limited (CECL), a previously registered business disagreed. CECL were not happy with CSL’s use of the Casio name...
Tax Diary February/March 2018
1 February 2018 - Due date for corporation tax payable for the year ended 30 April 2017. 19 February 2018 - PAYE and NIC deductions due for month ended 5 February 2018. (If you pay your tax electronically the due date is 22 February 2018) 19 February 2018 - Filing deadline for the CIS300 monthly return for the month ended 5 February...
Young people with great business ideas apply here
The Princes Trust and Innovate UK have formed a partnership to support young people with business ideas that could become a reality. The nuts and bolts of the scheme are set out below. Ideas can come from anywhere The competition - part of the ideas mean business campaign - will help young adults to make their ideas a success, no matter where...
Reasonable excuse for late filing of tax returns
According to an announcement made on the gov.uk website last week, more than three million self-assessment tax returns had not been filed with just a week to go before the 31 January deadline. That’s a third of returns due to be filed. Readers who find themselves in this category may feel that they have an excuse for late filing, and should...