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The Rise of Remote Work: Transforming the Accountancy Industry Over the past decade, remote working has been on the rise, and the COVID-19 pandemic certainly accelerated this trend through the necessity to keep businesses running in lockdown and during a socially distanced return to work. In the UK, accountancy practices have been no exception. In […]

Commitments must be delivered if small businesses are to survive: FSB, BCC Self Assessment customers have been warned they have only one week left to submit paper tax returns or 100 days if they chose to go online. HM Revenue and Customs said last year 96 per cent of customers completed their tax returns online

Mixed reactions as Chancellor reverses almost all tax measures from the mini-Budget Jeremy Hunt, the UK’s new chancellor of the Exchequer, has scrapped almost all the tax cuts announced by his predecessor Kwasi Kwarteng in the latter’s ‘mini-Budget’ of 23 September. In a televised address, Hunt confirmed the government would “reverse almost all the tax

FCA places restrictions on twice as many consumer investment firms this year The Financial Conduct Authority stopped 17 firms and seven individuals attempting to obtain a new FCA authorisation in the investment market where phoenixing or lifeboating was suspected. The restrictions come as the FCA announced it has placed restrictions on twice as many firms

COVID payment fraud estimated at £4.5bn More than £4.5 billion (4.6 per cent of the total cost) was lost to fraud or error in the government’s COVID-19 employment schemes according to the latest estimate by the National Audit Office. The NAO found that the HMRC’s program of random checks would not have picked up certain

Small business seeking finance as late-payment culture grows More small firms are seeking finance to keep their businesses afloat with cash flow problems being compounded by a late-payment culture revealed in the latest report from the Federation of Small Businesses. The Q3 Small Business Index saw a fall in small firms’ confidence levels in Q3

Staff shortages impacting productivity especially in hospitality, manufacturing More than three-The data for the leading business group’s Quarterly Recruitment Outlook (QRO) for Q3 2022 was drawn from a survey of more than 5,100 businesses, 92 per cent of which were SMEs and revealed firms’ recruitment struggles remain at record high levels. It found that more

HMRC cracks down on unlawful estate agents Another 68 estate agents have been added to the list of named businesses not complying with money laundering regulations. HMRC has fined dozens of estate agents more than £500,000 for breaching anti-money laundering requirements. It named the 68 estate agents who have been fined a total of £519,645

Small firms call for action as job vacancies driven by long-term sickness hit record high The Federation of Small Businesses said the government needs to limit visa fees if small firms are to compete with bigger businesses in the global talent crisis. FSB national chair Martin McTague said the latest Office of National Statistics figures

Small firms call for action on cash as pay-to-use machines hurt vulnerable consumers The Federation of Small Businesses has called for access to cash to be protected, as bank branch numbers fall. A new report from Which? found that four in 10 small high-street businesses said cash is the number one payment method among customers, and six

2.1m annual tax credits packs to be issued More than 2.1 million tax credits customers will begin to receive their annual renewal packs this week from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). The packs will be sent between 25 April and 27 May, and customers have until 31 July to check their details are correct and

Labour’s non-dom pledge would ‘reduce UK’s attractiveness to ‘internationally mobile professionals’ Tax experts have said the Labour Party’s pledge to replace ‘non-dom’ taxpayer status in the UK could make the UK less attractive to internationally mobile professionals. Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves told the BBC on Monday that a Labour government would end outdated tax perks,

HMRC tax take soars HMRC collected £718.2 billion in taxes in the 2021/22 tax year, an increase of 22.9 per cent from the year before according to provisional figures. The latest figures showed that receipts from PAYE Income Tax and NIC1 for April 2021 to March 2022 are £338.0 billion, which is £34.8 billion higher than in the same period a

New ‘fraud squad’ will crack down on criminals who steal taxpayer money A new £25 million central government taskforce that will enlist an elite team of experts to crack down on fraudsters who attempt to steal taxpayers’ cash will be operational by the summer. The Chancellor has announced the new fraud squad, recruited from data

New guidance on repaying Job Retention Scheme payments Employers are being urged to move quickly to ensure they can maximise their ability to offset under and over claims for the Job Retention Scheme payments under HMRC’s updated guidance. The new guidelines come after HMRC has accepted certain historical underclaims may be deducted by employers when