The Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander, was quoted on the Andrew Marr show a few days ago as saying that companies that help clients evade tax should face the same penalties as the tax evaders. Oh dear... Although this latest round of tax dodger pursuit was triggered by... read more →

Imagine how you might feel if HMRC sent you an M & S voucher if you filed your tax return on time? Or offered you a discount if you paid your tax early? We live in a penalised rather that an incentivised society. Pay up, do this or else! But... read more →

Following a pilot, a counter-fraud security measure has been introduced by Land Registry for companies who own registered property and are concerned it might be subject to a fraudulent sale or mortgage. A similar facility is available to individuals to register up to ten properties. Why would a property owner... read more →

Almost everyone in business that uses email has issues with their Inbox. Complaints vary, but essentially, it appears that we all become the victim of communications that we would rather not have: loosely described as spam. If you’d asked accountants in the 1960’s if they were suffering from spam their... read more →

If your staff seem reluctant to promote your practice to clients and prospects send them a link to this blog and follow up with a staff meeting focussed on this topic. Why is marketing activity critical to practice development? Most fish will not jump out of the water and take... read more →

Before email, what did we do before email? Way back, those readers over 50 will probably remember, kids used to link two empty cans with a piece of string to talk to each other. Now of course, technology has moved on: the youth of today use mobile phones, iPads and... read more →

The dictionary definition of an “excuse” (used as a noun) is: a reason or explanation given to justify a fault or offence. HMRC have just published the top ten excuses for late filing. Unsurprisingly, they all failed to impress... Many of the excuses claim it was someone else’s fault –... read more →

Following on from last week’s blog posting, we thought we’d enlighten you about another “Christmas factoid” that may crop up during family entertainments over the Christmas holiday. The Twelve Days of Christmas is one of the best known English carols. The song was first published in England in 1780 without... read more →

Just in case this question comes up for you over Christmas: Trivial Pursuits? Here’s why we have our tax year for income tax purposes set as the 5th April. According to HMRC the reason for the tax year running from 6 April to 5 April is primarily historical and has... read more →

A number of the proposals set out in the Autumn Statement, 3 December 2014, are effective from the 3rd or 4th December 2014. Take a look at the list below that includes details of the taxes affected. Food for thought as many of these changes will affect clients now. Stamp... read more →