August 2006

Points to Ponder

This is now our Twentieth newsletter – produced during August 2006 and issued in September, to keep you up to date with some of the changes in Income tax, National Insurance and VAT along with compliance regulations for businesses. If you would like a copy of any past newsletters, please call and we can either send or e-mail them to you.

From July’s Newsletter

1. Composite Companies

Time to get out from under these “Umbrella” companies. Beware of IR35

2. HMRC Enquiries – Trials of Alternative Interventions

If you receive any of these forms of contact, please let us know immediately.

August Happenings

1.Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005

This is the next piece of red tape to tie up your business. This new legislation is to ensure that you and your staff know what to do in the event of fire, and involves yet another risk-assessment exercise. Don’t rely on common sense alone but take this one seriously and appoint a member of staff to check up on the regulations.

2.Status Enquiries

The Revenue is stepping up status enquiries via the Employers and Contractors PAYE schemes and is already implementing the new powers they have been granted. This work status, which doesn’t just apply to the Construction Industry, is not new legislation and isn’t just coming in next year with the CIS changes, but has always been around. It is only now that the Government has discovered a new rich source of fines and penalties, that it is being more rigorously enforced. Don’t get caught out, review your workers’ status NOW; get it wrong and the Revenue could bankrupt you.

3.Business Rates

The Federation of Small Businesses has taken up this cause and is lobbying for more reliefs for small businesses. There are some available – are you claiming your entitlement?

4.Revenue v Police – access to information.

If the Police open a fraud enquiry and request information, they need a full warrant to obtain paperwork from an accountant. If the Revenue opens an enquiry, the most junior officer has the full right to everything, by just sending a letter, demanding whatever papers he feels necessary to enquire in to a return. To refuse to comply is a criminal offence. At the moment, there doesn’t appear to be any co-operation between these bodies but with the Revenue publicising a free, anonymous phone line for callers to inform on their neighbours who they think are moonlighting, there is certainly a large opportunity here for underhanded access to records.