| Starting Up In Business |
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| Starting Up in Business |
| It is the ambition of many people to run their own business. Some may have been made redundant and find themselves with free time and financial resources. Others make the decision to start up in business to be more independent and obtain the full financial reward for their efforts. Whatever the reason, a number of dangers exist. Probably the greatest concern is the possibility of business failure. Read on for guidance on some of the factors which need to be ... |
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| Could I Really Make a Go of it? |
| Many people wonder deep down if they could really make a go of running their own business. It is not for everyone but the following is a list of attributes that successful business owners have. You do not need all of these characteristics but ‘go-getters’ have the majority of the qualities. |
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| Business Structures - Which Should I Use? |
| Having made the decision to be your own boss, it is important to decide the best legal and taxation structure for your enterprise. The most suitable structure for you will depend on your personal situation and your future plans. The decision you make will have repercussions on the way you are taxed, your exposure to creditors and other matters. |
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| Business Plans |
| Every new business should have a business plan. It is the key to success. If you need finance, no bank manager will lend money without a considered plan. |
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| Raising Finance |
| Every business needs finance - whether it is just starting up or looking to develop and grow. But what type of finance is best suited to the development of your business, and who should you approach for funding? We provide guidance below on types of finance available and outline the planning required before approaching any lending institution. |
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| Sources of Finance |
| The financing of your business is the most fundamental aspect of its management. Get the financing right and you will have a healthy business, positive cash flows and ultimately a profitable enterprise. |
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| Insuring Your Business |
| When starting a new business, you will no doubt recognise the need for insurance. It can provide compensation and peace of mind should things go wrong but can also represent a significant cost. |
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| General Business |
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| Directors’ Responsibilities |
| The position of director brings both rewards and responsibilities upon an individual. Whether you are appointed to the Board of the company you work for or you are involved in establishing a new business and take on the role of director you will feel a sense of achievement. |
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| Preparing for your Accountant |
| Whether we are producing your accounts or carrying out your annual audit, being prepared for us will ensure our work is carried out smoothly and efficiently and with the minimum disruption to yourselves. |
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| Company Secretarial Duties |
| The legislation surrounding companies often appears complicated and may at times be confusing for those involved. The company secretary plays an important role in ensuring that a company and its directors both comply with company law. The role might be described best as that of chief administrator. |
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| Grants |
| Obtaining finance is not always easy especially if yours is a small business and particularly if it is a recent start-up. Borrowing may be difficult due to lack of security. A grant may be the answer. |
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| Valuing Your Business |
| There are many reasons why you may need to calculate the value of your business. Here we consider the range of methods available as well as some of the factors to consider during the process. |
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| Fraud and How to Spot It |
| Major corporate frauds and collapses hit the headlines from time to time and many of these were high profile and the amounts involved quite spectacular. |
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| Corporate and Business Tax |
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| IR35 Personal Service Companies |
| The ‘IR35’ rules are designed to prevent the avoidance of tax and national insurance contributions (NICs) through the use of personal service companies and partnerships. |
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| Corporation Tax Self Assessment |
| Corporation Tax Self Assessment (CTSA) was introduced in 1999. It completed the self assessment reforms introduced for individuals some years earlier by extending the principles of self assessment to company tax returns. |
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| Corporation Tax - Quarterly Instalment Payments |
| Under corporation tax self assessment large companies are required to pay their corporation tax in four quarterly instalment payments. These payments are based on the company’s estimate of its current year tax liability. |
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| Companies - Tax Saving Opportunities |
| Due to the ever changing tax legislation and commercial factors affecting your company, it is advisable to carry out an annual review of your company's tax position. Topics covered: corporation tax, capital allowances, dividends, capital gains tax. |
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| Incorporation |
| The issue of whether to run your business as a company or a sole trade or partnership is an important decision. In this factsheet, we summarise the relevant tax changes and show the potential tax savings currently available from operating as a company. |
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| Franchising |
| Franchising is becoming increasingly popular in Britain with an annual turnover of around £9.5 billion. The business community now takes franchising very seriously and it is accepted across a range of sectors. |
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| The Construction Industry Scheme |
| The Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) sets out special rules for tax and national insurance (NI) for those working in the construction industry. |
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| Capital Allowances |
| The cost of purchasing capital equipment in a business is not a tax deductible expense. However tax relief is available on certain capital expenditure in the form of capital allowances. |
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| Business Motoring – Tax Aspects |
| This factsheet focuses on the current tax position of business motoring, a core consideration of many businesses. The aim is to provide a clear explanation of the tax deductions available on different types of vehicle expenditure in a variety of business scenarios. |
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| VAT |
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| VAT |
| VAT registered businesses act as unpaid tax collectors and are required to account both promptly and accurately for all the tax revenue collected by them. |
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| VAT Annual Accounting Scheme |
| HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) have introduced a number of VAT schemes over the years designed to reduce the administrative burden on small businesses. One such scheme is the annual accounting scheme. |
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| VAT - Cash Accounting |
| Cash accounting enables a business to account for and pay VAT on the basis of cash received and paid rather than on the basis of invoices issued and received. |
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| VAT Flat Rate Scheme |
| The flat rate scheme for small businesses was introduced to reduce the administrative burden imposed when operating VAT. |
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| VAT - Bad Debt Relief |
| It is quite possible within the VAT system for a business to be in the position of having to pay over VAT to HM Revenue & Customs while not having received payment from their customer. |
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| Employment Issues (Tax) |
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| Employment Benefits |
| Today the remuneration of many directors and employees comprises a package of salary and benefits. |
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| Employer Provided Cars |
| The current regime for taxing employer provided cars (commonly referred to as company cars) is intended to encourage manufacturers to produce cars which are more environmentally friendly and to give employee drivers and their employers a tax incentive to choose more fuel-efficient vehicles. |
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| National Insurance |
| National insurance contributions (NIC) are essentially a tax on earned income. The NIC regime divides income into different classes: Class 1 contributions are payable on earnings from employment, while the profits of the self-employed are liable to Class 2 and 4 contributions. |
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| Share Ownership for Employees - EMI |
| Retaining and motivating staff are key issues for many employers. Research in the UK and USA has shown a clear link between employee share ownership and increases in productivity. The government has therefore introduced two ways in which an employer can provide mechanisms for employees to obtain shares in the employer company without necessarily suffering a large tax bill. |
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| Employment and Related Matters |
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| The National Minimum Wage |
| The National Minimum Wage (NMW) was introduced on 1 April 1999. There have already been a number of instances of employers being penalised for not complying with the legislation. HMRC are the agency that ensures enforcement of the NMW. |
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| Statutory Sick, Statutory Maternity And Statutory Paternity Pay |
Statutory Sick Pay (SSP), Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) and Statutory Paternity Pay (SPP) are important regulations to understand as they enforce minimum legal requirements on employers. Each operates in a different way. This factsheet sets out the main principles of the regulations and what an employer needs to consider.
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| Dismissal Procedures |
| There have been many changes to employment law and regulations in the last few years. A key area is the freedom or lack of freedom to dismiss an employee. |
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| Recruitment Procedures |
Most claims for discrimination in recruitment have no maximum limit. Can your business afford compensation of perhaps £20,000 because you made a simple mistake?
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| Redundancy Procedures |
| There have been many changes to employment law and regulations in the last few years. A key area is the freedom or lack of freedom to make an individual redundant. |
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| Managing Absence |
| Recent surveys indicate that the adverse impact of absence on business profitability today is significant, with thousands of man hours lost every day. Recent statistics show that an average of 7.4 days are lost each year per employee with an average cost of £692 per employee. Approximately two-thirds of working time lost to absence is accounted for by short-term absences of up to seven days. |
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| Health and Safety |
| It is very likely that owners and managers of many smaller businesses are not aware of just how demanding health and safety regulations can be. |
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| Legal Working in the UK |
| In line with the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006, it is a criminal offence to employ anyone who does not have an entitlement to work in the UK, or undertake the type of work you are offering. Any employer who does not comply with the law may be facing a fine of up to £10,000 per offence. Further, if employers knowingly use illegal migrant labour it could carry a maximum 2 year prison sentence and/or unlimited fine. |
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| Age Discrimination |
| On 1 October 2006, the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006, one of the most far reaching pieces of legislation this century came into force to prevent discrimination against workers, employees, job seekers and trainees on the basis of their age. |
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| Annual Leave |
| Under the Working Time Regulations 1998 workers are entitled to paid statutory annual leave and prior to 1 October 2007 a worker was entitled to 4 weeks’ statutory paid leave. As a result of new amended regulations statutory paid leave was increased to 4.8 weeks annually (or 24 days for an employee working 5 days per week) from 1 October 2007 and this will increase to 5.6 weeks from 1 April 2009. |
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| Personal Tax |
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| Taxation of the Family |
| Married couples are subject to a system of independent taxation under which husbands and wives are taxed separately. This can give rise to valuable tax planning opportunities. Furthermore, the tax position of any children is important. Topics covered: income tax allowances, capital gains tax, inheritance tax, child tax credit. |
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| Charitable Giving |
If you are thinking of making a gift to charity, this factsheet summarises how to make tax-effective gifts. You can get tax relief on gifts to UK charities if you give: under Gift Aid, through a Payroll Giving scheme, run by your employer, or by making a gift of shares or land.
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| Child Tax Credit |
| This factsheet explains whether you or your spouse/partner are entitled to the Child Tax Credit and the childcare element of the Working Tax Credit. |
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| Enterprise Investment Scheme |
| The purpose of the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) is to help certain types of small higher-risk unquoted trading companies to raise capital. It does so by providing income tax and CGT reliefs for investors in qualifying shares in these companies. |
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| Venture Capital Trusts |
| Venture Capital Trusts (VCTs) are complementary to the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS), in that both are designed to encourage private individuals to invest in smaller high-risk unquoted trading companies affected by the equity gap. |
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| Property Investment - Tax Aspects |
| Investment in property has been and continues to be a popular form of investment by many people. This factsheet summarises the main tax issues. |
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| Individual Savings Accounts |
| Successive governments, concerned at the relatively low level of savings in the UK economy have over the years introduced various means by which individuals can save through a tax-free environment. Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs) were introduced in April 1999. |
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| Buy to Let Properties |
| In recent years, the stock market has not proved to be a successful investment. Add to this the serious loss of public confidence in pension funds as a means of saving for the future and it is not surprising that investors have looked elsewhere. This has resulted in a massive expansion in the buy to let sector. |
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| Personal Tax - Self Assessment |
| Under the self assessment regime an individual is responsible for ensuring that their tax liability is calculated and any tax owing is paid on time. |
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| Non-Domiciled Individuals |
| This factsheet sets out the rules which deal with the taxation in the UK of income arising outside the UK, for non UK domiciled individuals. The rules changed significantly from April 2008. |
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| Capital Taxes |
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| Trusts |
| Trusts are a long established mechanism which allows individuals to benefit from the assets without assuming the legal ownership of those assets so that others (the trustees) have day to day control over the assets. A trust can be extremely flexible and have an existence totally independent of the person who established it and those who benefit from it. |
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| Capital Gains Tax |
| A capital gain arises when certain capital (or 'chargeable') assets are sold at a profit. The gain is the sale proceeds (net of selling costs) less the purchase price (including acquisition costs). The taxation of capital gains has been significantly revised from 6 April 2008. This factsheet deals with the current position. |
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| Inheritance Tax |
Inheritance tax (IHT) is levied on a person’s estate when they die, and certain gifts made during an individual’s lifetime. Most gifts made more than seven years before death will escape tax. Therefore, if you plan in advance, gifts can be made tax-free: the result can be a substantial tax saving.
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| Stamp Duty Land Tax |
| Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) was introduced on 1 December 2003 and replaced Stamp Duty in respect of land transactions. Stamp Duty was an old tax which required the existence of a document, such as a conveyance. SDLT is a very different type of tax and the new regime is intended to be robust. This factsheet sets out some of the basic things you need to know about the tax. |
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| Capital Gains Tax and the Family Home |
| A capital gain arises when certain capital (or 'chargeable') assets are sold at a profit. The gain is the sale proceeds (net of selling costs) less the purchase price (including acquisition costs).The taxation of capital gains has been significantly revised from 6 April 2008. This factsheet deals with the current position. |
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| Pre-Owned Assets |
| Inheritance tax (IHT) was introduced almost 20 years ago and broadly charges to tax certain lifetime gifts of capital and estates on death. |
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| Pensions |
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| Personal and Stakeholder Pensions |
| Personal and Stakeholder Pensions are common types of ‘registered pension schemes’. A registered pension scheme allows the member to obtain tax relief on contributions into the scheme and tax free growth of the fund. |
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| Occupational Pension Schemes: Trustees' Responsibilities |
| Many employers offer their staff an opportunity to save for their retirement through an occupational (or company) pension scheme. We outline in this factsheet the main responsibilities of occupational pension scheme trustees. |
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| ICT |
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| Internet and E mail Access Policy |
| In order to protect the firm, its employees, and customers and suppliers, all members of staff should be given a copy of the firms policy regarding acceptable use of IT resources – particularly internet and e-mail access. This will form part of the contract of employment – to the extent that any breaches of the policy could result in disciplinary action, and in some cases dismissal. |
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| Accounting Package Selection |
| Selecting the right accounting package can be difficult, particularly as there are so many packages on the market. On top of that, price and functionality vary so widely as to make objective comparisons very difficult without spending days on the selection proc |
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| Data Security and Data Protection |
| Although it does not show on the balance sheet as an asset, the data stored on the PC or PC Network can be invaluable to a business - small or large. Here we look at some of the issues to consider when reviewing the security of your computer systems. |
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| Specialist Areas |
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| Charities : Trustees' Responsibilities |
| It is often considered an honour to act as a trustee for a charity and an opportunity to give something back to the community. However, becoming a trustee involves a certain commitment and level of responsibility which should not be underestimated. |
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| Money Laundering and the Proceeds of Crime |
| Recent times have seen tough new rules introduced to crack down on money laundering and the proceeds of crime. The new rules affect a wide range of people and in this factsheet we consider how your organisation may be affected. |
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| High Value Dealers |
| New regulations aimed at preventing money laundering became effective early in 2004. Known as the Money Laundering Regulations 2003 (the Regulations), these placed new onerous registration and procedural requirements on businesses that deal in goods and accept large cash payments. These were updated and replaced with effect from 15 December 2007 by the Money Laundering Regulations 2007. |
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| Limited Liability Partnerships |
| From 6 April 2001, there is a business vehicle in addition to companies, traditional partnerships and sole traders. It is now possible to run your business using what is known as a Limited Liability Partnership (LLP). |
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| Community Amateur Sports Clubs |
| Since April 2002, many local amateur sports clubs have been able to register with the Revenue as Community Amateur Sports Clubs (CASCs) and benefit from a range of tax reliefs including Gift Aid. |
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