You could be fined up to £1,000 if your company letters do not comply with Companies House regulations. It is our understanding that Companies House are taking a much harder line with companies who do not comply. The four items that must be shown are: The company name, including the word limited or ltd – [...]
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Verification of new staff
As an employer you have a duty to carry out verification procedures on prospective employees. You should take up written references, obtain proof of identity in the form of a photo ID and proof of address and also obtain documentary evidence of any qualifications. You should also obtain documentary evidence of an individual’s right to [...]
Are you liable for your employees underpaid PAYE?
HMRC sends notices of underpayment of PAYE to the individual concerned and under normal circumstances there is no resulting consequence for the employer. However, if the employer had made a mistake in calculating the PAYE then it could be liable for any underpayment. PAYE regulations state that the employer is liable unless it can show [...]
Did you know that your staff costs could soon be increasing?
With effect from October 2012 the government are phasing in enforced pension contributions for ALL employers and employees earning over the lower earnings limit (currently £102 per week). All employers will be required to set up a pension scheme that complies with the new rules. If you do not, the government will impose a scheme [...]
Claiming expenses for working at home
In order for expenses to be allowed for working from home they must be “wholly, exclusively and necessarily in the performance of the duties of the employment”. Whilst “wholly and exclusively” are relatively easy to prove and evidence “in the performance of the duties of the employment” might not be so easy. A recent tribunal [...]
Reasonable care?
In a recent tribunal a tax payer argued that HMRC were unduly harsh in imposing a 15% fine due to an error on a VAT return. The tax payer had claimed input VAT on the date of exchange in acquiring property instead of the date of completion. This had the effect of the tax payer [...]
Taxman suspends business records checks
A year or so ago HM Revenue and Customs embarked on a system of random visits to businesses to check their records. They initially stated that they would visit 50,000 businesses but after carrying out less than 3,000 checks they have given up on their current format. The records checks are likely to start up [...]
The end of the tax year is looming…
The end of the tax year is looming and as much as it is difficult to think about, none of us live forever. Normally giving away cash or assets will still form part of your estate should you die within 7 years. You can, however, give away £3,000 each year in cash or assets and [...]
Sole trader in financial trouble?
Sole traders are personally responsible for all debts incurred by their business, so if the business fails it can be disastrous. The debts for which the sole trader is liable even extend to employees being able to claim redundancy. The sooner a sole trader in trouble can talk to an Insolvency Practitioner the more likely [...]
Trading whilst insolvent
What are the pitfalls of trading whilst insolvent? If you are a director of a company, are you worried about the consequences of trading whilst insolvent? Directors are not normally liable for the debts of a company; there are, however, two situations where they can be. The first is for “wrongful trading”. That is to [...]
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