21 March 2012.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer presented his Budget to Parliament today, 21 March 2012. For further details on how the changes affect you, contact Key Accounting Services.
7 March 2012.
Electricians' Tax Safe Plan campaign
If you are working in the electrical industry, have not told HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) about all your income and now want to get your tax affairs back on track, use Key Accounting Services.
On your behalf we will:
- Notify HMRC that you wish to take part in the campaign by the HMRC deadline of 15 May 2012.
- Calculate what you owe by 14 August 2012 - the HMRC deadline for payment, ensuring the only the correct income is disclosed and that all business expenses are claimed.
If you take part in this campaign we will tell HMRC about any income that you haven't previously disclosed:
- you may only have to pay for a maximum of six tax years
- we can tell HMRC how much penalty you should pay
- you may be able to pay what you owe by instalments
It's basically a 'fresh start'. You can stop worrying about what might happen when HMRC find out that you've not been telling them about all of your income. It's a chance to start getting things right from now on, whilst knowing exactly how much it's going to cost to sort out things for earlier years.
Contact us as soon as possible.
5 March 2012.
Tax Catch Up Plan for tutors and coaches
If you have notified HM Revenue & Customs about your coaching, tuition or other undisclosed income, you now need to disclose and pay what you owe by 31 March 2012 - if not, contact Key Accounting Services for help.
Failure to disclose may result in a penalty being charged by HMRC.
3 February 2012.
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has announced a fresh approach to its business records checks programme in 2012, following a review.
The review, which included discussions of the pilot programme with trade and professional bodies’ representatives, found clear evidence that it is effective in improving record-keeping practices in smaller businesses. However, it recommended that the checks are more targeted in future, linking to available education and support.
The pilot programme of business records checks (BRCs) began in April last year and involved checks by HMRC on the standard of small and medium-sized enterprises’ statutory business records. Up until 4 January 2012, 2,437 business records checks had been carried out. These found that 28 per cent of those businesses visited had some issue with their record keeping, and an additional 11 per cent had issues serious enough to warrant a follow-up visit.
HMRC will now postpone making any new business records check appointments until the revamped approach outlined in the report is launched early in the 2012/13 financial year. This will allow further consultation with representative bodies on the implementation of the recommendations in the review and on some details of the new approach. In the interim, HMRC will only undertake visits already booked, as well as follow-up visits to businesses that have already been identified as having seriously inadequate statutory records.
Advice on setting up, maintaining and retaining sound business records can be obtained from Key Accounting Services.
31 December 2011.
Deadline for the submission of the 2011 tax returns. If your return is outstanding conact Key Accounting Services for help.
7 November 2011.
A new taskforce targeting scrap metal dealers who are deliberately failing to pay the right amount of tax has been launched today by H M Revenue & Customs.
The new taskforces will target:
* scrap metal dealers in Scotland, focusing on those who are deliberately suppressing their income or inflating expenditure to evade paying tax
* construction traders who are self employed or run their own company who suppress sales or over-claim expenses in the North West and North Wales
* taxpayers not submitting their statutory returns across Corporation Tax, Income tax Self Assessment, PAYE and VAT in the South East
* fast food outlets deliberately falsifying their records and mis-declaring their true sales levels to avoid paying the correct taxes in Scotland
* landlords – owning or renting three or more properties – evading their tax responsibilities in North West and North Wales.
31 October 2011.
HMRC's Business Record Checks step up a gear
HMRC have released some early findings in respect of their ongoing Business Record Check pilot, confirming that 44% of enterprises had issues with their record keeping and 12% had seriously inadequate records.
During this initial stage HMRC confirmed it would only issue penalties in the most extreme cases. In the longer term it plans to impose penalties of up to £3,000 for serious inadequacies.
The business records check programme stepped up a gear from mid September, with the number of staff on the project rising from 30 to 120 and HMRC plan to conduct 12,000 checks by the end March 2012.
Keeping adequate records has always been vital and clearly now with the prospect of financial penalties for failure it even more important. Please contact Key Accounting Services for more infomation on maitaining adequate business records.
18 September 2011.
The chief secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander, wants to recruit more than 1,000 new HMRC tax inspectors to form a team dedicated to ensuring the richest members of society pay their taxes in full.
He is keen to stop well off individuals having access to schemes that limit their tax liability and to take a harder line with people who use illegal tax evasion techniques.
Mr Alexander promised that there will be new campaigns launched by HMRC to encourage people in particular sectors to pay their fair share.
He said that HMRC will be taking additional prosecutions against tax evasion where we identify that illegal activity; they will be investigating when measures are set up that are designed to avoid tax and close loopholes if that is necessary.
1 September 2011.
HMRC Real time review of Business Records.
HMRC have a new campaign to review current business records. Officers from HMRC will visit you and carry out a check of your record keeping systems over, typically, a 3 to 4 hour period.
The HMRC Officer will be reviewing what systems are in place to ensure accurate business records are maintained and ensuring that you have safely retained previous year's records for the stipulated time.
To date HMRC have reported, via our professional body, that they have found, in general, poor sales invoicing, no record of business mileage, no record of cash transactions and a lack of knowledge of what does and does not require recording and retention.
HMRC can make a return visit after 3 months to ensure that the record keeping has improved and can charge a penalty (fine) for not setting up. maintaining and retaining accurate business records.
Not sure if your business records fit the bill? Contact us for help.
11 July 2011.
Do you need to register for VAT?
VAT have an Initiative campaign. Between now and 30 September 2011 businesses can telll HMRC that they should be registered for VAT. The campaign is aimed at businesses that:
- have already passed, or are expecting to pass within the next 30 days, the current VAT threshold of £73,000
- have passed the VAT threshold in a previous 12 month period but did not register for VAT
- want to take advantage of a reduced penalty
You must register for VAT if any of the following applies:
- your VAT taxable turnover for the previous 12 months is more than £73,000 (the current VAT registration threshold)
- you think your VAT taxable turnover will exceed the threshold in the next 30 days
- you exceeded a VAT threshold at an earlier point in time and have not registered for VAT
- you take over a VAT-registered business as a going concern
Not registering for VAT when you have exceeded the threshold may incure a penalty charges in addition to the VAT due.
If you tell HMRC voluntarily under the VAT Initiative before 30 September 2011 you may get a reduced penalty
- contact Key Accounting Services for more information.
16 June 2011.
Don't be caught by the latest surge of fake ‘phishing’ emails sent out by fraudsters.
The email informs the recipient they are due a tax rebate, and provides a click-through link to a cloned replica of the HMRC website. The recipient is asked to provide their credit or debit card details. Fraudsters then try to take money from the account using the details provided. Victims risk having their bank accounts emptied and their personal details sold on to other organised criminal gangs.
13 June 2011.
HMRC's latest campaign targets VAT defaulters, private tutors and e-marketplaces - if you trade on E-Bay HMRC will be using cutting-edge tools such as “web robot” software to search the internet and find targeted information. Using the software, the department can pinpoint more accurately people who have failed to pay the right tax. The “web robot”, used with the department’s Connect computer system, also helps find people who are trading without telling HMRC.
12 May 2011.
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) today announced a new task forces to tackle, what they referred to as 'tax dodgers'. These specialist teams intend to undertake intensive bursts of compliance activity in high risk trade sectors and locations across the UK. It seems we may therefore see a sharp increase in HMRC investigation work.
30 March 2011.
HM Revenue & Customs will soon issue 2010-11 Self Assessment tax returns. A new penalty framework is being introduced and it will significantly increase the penalties (fines) for those who file and pay late. A tax return filed six months late could attract a penalty of £1,300. The most important change is that if a tax return is late, previously, if no liability to tax arose no penalty was charged. In future a penalty will be charged on all late returns regardless of the tax due, including those with no liability.