Does you employer still pay for your private fuel

As we are approaching the end of yet another tax year, it is worth repeating our suggestion that highlights the cash benefit to company car drivers and their employers, of reimbursing the cost of fuel provided for private motoring. The rates have been updated for 2017-18. Since the tax on private fuel provided with company cars is so high, many employers...

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CGT opportunities

This is also an appropriate time of the year to consider your capital gains tax position if you have already disposed (or are considering a disposal) of an asset subject to CGT before 6 April 2018. Most of our readers will be aware that they can make chargeable gains of up to £11,300 in the tax year 2017-18 and pay no...

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CGT opportunities

This is also an appropriate time of the year to consider your capital gains tax position if you have already disposed (or are considering a disposal) of an asset subject to CGT before 6 April 2018. Most of our readers will be aware that they can make chargeable gains of up to £11,300 in the tax year 2017-18 and pay no...

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Tax Diary January/February 2018

1 January 2018 - Due date for corporation tax due for the year ended 31 March 2017. 19 January 2018 - PAYE and NIC deductions due for month ended 5 January 2018. (If you pay your tax electronically the due date is 22 January 2018) 19 January 2018 - Filing deadline for the CIS300 monthly return for the month ended 5 January...

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A competition for budding space entrepreneurs

As we look forward to meeting our own challenges this new year, it is gratifying to come across a challenge aimed at stretching the imagination of our children. The SatelLife Challenge, now in its second year, is looking for innovative proposals from those aged 11 to 22 which have the potential to use data collected from space to benefit our economy,...

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Happy New Year and beware the gift card scam

Let’s hope that 2018 offers more cheer than 2017… Unfortunately, the season seems to bring out the good and the not so good in human nature. Readers are advised to be wary of the following scam that is targeted at vulnerable and elderly taxpayers. The notice issued by HMRC says: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is today (20 December 2017) warning the public...

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What happens if we can\’t manage

A reminder that as we age the argument that we should grant powers of attorney to trusted family members becomes increasingly relevant. A lasting power of attorney (LPA) is a legal document that lets you (the ‘donor’) appoint one or more people (known as ‘attorneys’) to help you make decisions or to make decisions on your behalf. There are two...

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Timing is everything

We are fast approaching the end of the 2017-18 tax year. In fact, the 31 March (or 5 April) is probably the most common trading year end date for sole traders, partnerships and limited companies. And individuals have no choice, the self-assessment tax year ends on 5 April. This being so, it is worth considering how business owners, particularly self-employed traders,...

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Data protection essentials for 2018

From 25 May 2018, any business that stores the personal data of staff, customers, suppliers and other business contacts will need to comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Basically, you will need to know what personal data you keep, where you keep it, who you share it with and how you will use this knowledge to comply with these...

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Sent to Coventry

The origins of the phrase, to be sent to Coventry, seem to have originated in the seventeenth century when Cromwell was purported to have sent Royalist soldiers to be imprisoned in Coventry around 1648. At the time, Coventry was a parliamentary supporter and it is likely that the hapless Cavaliers would have had a miserable time. In a contemporary sense, the...

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