Points to Ponder!

Welcome to our 64^th newsletter issued in June 2010, to keep you up to date with some of the changes in Income tax, National Insurance and VAT along with compliance regulations for businesses, plus other oddments that have caught our eye. If you would like a copy of any past newsletters, please call and we can either send or e-mail them to you or you can find them on our website. To save paper, we shall no longer be carrying forward general items from month to month.

The end of another month and the start of a new political era, but who knows what it will bring. Whatever it does, it will hurt us all somewhere but something has to be done. Australia brought in strong measures in the recession of the 80’s but the UK missed the chance and we shall have to pay now. An emergency budget is scheduled for 22nd. June – the same day that England has its first World Cup match so it might be a day of total gloom, or does England stand a chance at football?

Anti tax avoidance legislation is likely to be a priority and possible increases in Anti Money Laundering regulations – although there are promises that other red tape will be reduced. Although the Government has pledged to cut the number of civil servants, increased activity from HMRC means that officers will become more active to save their jobs!

Surrey Chamber of Commerce is hosting a “Business to Business” exhibition at Kempton Park on Tuesday 22nd June from 9.30am to 5pm. It’s free with many business services exhibiting and opportunities for workshops and networking.

HMRC announced that it has sorted out the problem with the issue of incorrect tax code numbers. If you have been issued with one that seems very low, either for your employment or pension income, please let us know. It seems that following a computer crash, someone restored the wrong data backup and details of when many taxpayers left one job to move to another were lost. The system then decided that they had more than one job and issued incorrect code numbers to cover their “second” employment. At least three of our staff were affected.

Have you outgrown your home office? If you started your business from your spare room but feel it is taking over the whole house, it may be time to consider an alternative. Records have to be kept for six years; business waste, even if generated in your home, has to be disposed of by a licensed carrier and too many visitors may upset the neighbours. Moving in to a dedicated business property has its advantages and disadvantages. Working from home should give you more time management flexibility but may not give a full professional image to your customers. However, serviced offices can offer meeting rooms on an hourly basis. Also, setting the right level to charge for your use of home is not easy. If the taxman starts looking at these claims in detail, he may be able to undermine the capital gains tax-free allowance on selling your main residence. Dedicated business premises may mean more expense but do give you the opportunity to expand.

Did the volcanic ash cloud affect you? ACAS and Business Link have published guidelines if you had staff unable to get back to work. The last time this volcano woke up, it grumbled for over a year, but that predated air travel. Staff travelling abroad may have to be warned that they will not be paid if they can’t get back to work because of travel problems.

From April 2010 the law governing how employers manage sickness absence in the workplace changed. The Statement of Fitness for Work (Fit Note) has replaced the traditional sick note. Now GPs are able to suggest changes to working practice and roles which may help facilitate an employees' earlier return to work. ACAS has released guidance online for employers, explaining the changes and detailing changes in employer responsibility and procedure through its website www.acas.org.uk/fitnote

Are you a football fan? Are any of your staff or subbies? If so, be prepared for increased sickness during the series – business analysts suggest that the rate of absenteeism is likely to soar – especially if England does well.

Depending on what is announced in the budget, we may update this newsletter early, but if the presentation is the usual one, it is often several days before the full details become clear, so watch out for July’s bulletin.