Last year the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) published a report entitled The Shadow Economy. They estimated that the shadow economy amounted to over £150bn in 2012 – and has no doubt increased since that time. In producing the report the authors admit that: “Measurement of the shadow economy is... read more →

Polls open at 7am today, Thursday 18 September, and close at 10pm tonight. It is estimated that the possible four million Scottish votes will be counted, and the results declared by 7.30am tomorrow, although it may be much later in the day before the final outcome is known. How will... read more →

You have probably picked up on the announcement last week that the last Autumn Statement from this Government, prior to the 2015 general election, has been set for 3 December 2014. This will be no doubt be used to showcase the fiscal changes that George Osborne would like to promote... read more →

Client centred has almost become a cliché in the profession, we all claim to be client centred but what exactly do we mean? A client centred therapy is essentially a therapy where the client is facilitated to discover their own solutions – in effect the therapist keeps out of the... read more →

According to fee protection specialists PFP HMRC’s Business Record Checks programme is running at its highest level since it began in 2011, with the number of checks increasing by 60% from 3,431 (2011/12) to 5,515 (2013/14). Ironically, 73% of businesses visited were found to have adequate records. PFP further stated... read more →

In a recent newsletter article we highlighted extracts from HMRC’s “Your Charter”: this sets out a taxpayer’s rights and obligations in their dealings with HMRC. In a nut shell they are: Your rights - What you can expect from us: 1. Respect you 2. Help and support you to get things right... read more →

The Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) has just posted the following on its blog: “Now that the 2014 Finance Act has received Royal Assent, we have updated our list of tax reliefs, which we last published in October 2010. The spreadsheet sets out all the reliefs, including those that have... read more →

The Pensions Regulator issued the following announcement on 17 July 2014: “The national roll out of automatic enrolment has reached a landmark with all of the country’s largest businesses now having passed their staging dates. The Pensions Regulator’s automatic enrolment: commentary and analysis report 2013-14, published today, shows that 99%... read more →

File & Sign - the only platform you need to share and sign documents with clients! Do you have problems getting clients to sign documents and forms? Are you wasting time getting clients to drop by the office and bring documents to you? Are you and your clients using an... read more →

We are constantly reminded that legislation is required to counter abusive tax arrangements designed to secure tax advantages that Parliament did not intend. There is an implied circularity about this assertion, as presumably the DOTAS, GAAR and other counter abuse rules will, in themselves, invite further, ingenious schemes to counter... read more →