Posts Tagged ‘Worcestershire accountants’

Budget 2014 – What we know already

Wednesday, March 12th, 2014

Like businesses up and down the country (and beyond), we’re eagerly anticipating Chancellor Osborne’s Budget on 19 March and hoping that it contains measures to support and encourage continued growth throughout the economy. Here’s a reminder of some measures already announced:

Corporate

The main rate of corporation tax will fall to 21% in April 2014 before reducing further to 20% from April 2015 and in line with the small companies’ rate. This will help to simplify the compliance process as the rules identifying associated companies will cease to exist.

The rules governing the use of trading losses where there has been a change of ownership are to change and designed to ease current restrictions.

The Employment Allowance is introduced from 6 April 2014, reducing an employer’s National Insurance Contributions by up to £2,000 per annum.

Personal

From 6 April 2014, the personal tax allowance will rise to £10,000. There is speculation that this amount could increase further from April 2015 to £10,500. The higher rate threshold will rise to £41,865, representing a 1% increase. It will be interesting to see how Chancellor Osborne reacts to calls to increase this amount more in line with inflation as it is estimated that an additional 1 million taxpayers will be dragged into the 40% tax net.

Salaried partners will be taxed in line with employees for income and corporation tax, where certain conditions are met. There are also changes surrounding the allocation of profits within partnerships.

From 6 April, tax advantaged share schemes will be subject to self-certification with HMRC and the rules around this have been simplified.

We will be sending out our Budget highlights on the afternoon of the Budget. This will also be on our website.

If you would like to discuss anything surrounding Budget 2014, please contact Curo’s head of tax, Julia Whelan [email protected] or call Julia on 01527 558539..

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New Partnership Tax Rules

Monday, February 24th, 2014

From 6 April 2014, the rules governing the taxation of partnerships will change significantly and could affect a large number of people working under such arrangements.

The two main areas of focus are:

Limited Liability Partnerships

From 6 April 2014, the automatic presumption of self-employment will be removed for partners of LLPs. The salaried member legislation is being amended so that those members who are effectively in the same position as employees will be taxed as employees. Partners will have to satisfy certain criteria to continue to be treated as self-employed partners for tax and national purposes.

All Partnerships

The second strand of the new legislation focuses on partnerships with corporate members and is targeted to prevent tax motivated allocation of partnership profits and losses. Legislation will include provisions to allow excess profits to be reallocated from a non-individual partner to an individual partner and also deny certain income tax loss reliefs and capital gains for a loss allocated to an individual partner.

We are currently reviewing the possible effect of these new rules on all of our partnership clients. If you would like further information, please contact Helen Sewell on 01527 558539 or email [email protected].

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Curo featured in Economia magazine

Tuesday, February 11th, 2014

We’re delighted to be featured in this month’s Economia magazine, the official publication of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW). The article covers Curo’s early days, issues faced and how the business has expanded over the years. It also explains Curo’s unique approach to accountancy which has led to the firm being recognised as one of Worcestershire’s leading professional practices.

Here is a link to the feature – enjoy!

Curo Chartered Accountants

February 2014

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Statutory Residence Tests – the new rules

Monday, January 27th, 2014

Statutory Residence Tests – the new rules

From 6 April 2013 the rules determining if someone is resident in the UK for tax purposes have been put on a statutory basis known as the Statutory Residence Test (SRT).

The SRT is used to determine an individual’s status for income tax, capital gains tax and inheritance tax but not national insurance.

The SRT consists of a series of tests which include:

  • an automatic test to determine  non- residence; this looks at the position in the previous three years and the number of days present in the current year
  • an automatic test to determine residence; this looks at where homes are based and whether there is a UK presence of more than 183 days in the current tax year.

If individuals are not deemed to be automatically resident or automatically non- resident as a result of these initial tests, further testing comes into play as follows:

  • a test to determine sufficient UK ties which is split between ‘arrivers’ and ‘leavers’ and finally
  • a day counting test, again split between ‘arrivers’ and ‘leavers’.

Sufficient UK Ties

 If neither of the automatic tests determine the status, an individual’s UK residence status then depends on how many of the specified “UK ties” apply to them and how many days they spend in the UK in the tax year in question. The greater the number of UK ties that apply to the individual, the fewer the number of days they can spend in the UK without becoming UK resident.

The UK ties include:

–          having a UK resident family (i.e. a child under 18, spouse, civil partner or person with whom the individual is living as spouse or civil partner)

–          having substantive UK employment of more than 40 days in UK in a tax year

–          having accessible UK accommodation

–          being present in the UK  for more than 91 days in either of 2 previous tax years

–          country tie (applies to leavers only) – you spent more days in the UK than any other single country in the tax year.

Which UK ties are relevant depends on whether or not the individual was UK resident for any of the three tax years before the tax year in question.

When applying these rules, each tax year must be considered separately and the tests must be done in order. Once you meet an automatic test you do not need to consider any later tests.

To discuss residence issues in more detail, please contact Julia Whelan on 01527 558539 or email [email protected].

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How to avoid a fake accountant

Monday, January 20th, 2014

Accountants are all the same, right?

Wrong.

Just about anyone who deals with numbers could call themselves an accountant. They don’t have to be trained or qualified in anything or be subject to monitoring from any recognised professional body.

Being ‘chartered’ means someone is professionally qualified and includes not only accountants but also surveyors and engineers. Chartered professionals have had to train to the highest standards there are and maintain a high degree of ethics and professional conduct. We’re also obliged to undertake regular technical training to ensure we can offer the best and most timely advice to our clients.

When you first come across an ‘accountant’, the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) suggests asking:

  1. Are you a qualified chartered accountant?
  2. Do you offer the services and have the experience I need?
  3. Are you authorised to do audit work?

Some of the areas we can help businesses with include:

  • Planning your business, so accessing finance, preparing a business plan and advice on self-employment and limited company status
  • Starting your business – Tax advice for owner-managers and the employer aspects too, VAT, record keeping, forms and legal issues
  • Managing your business – we can advise on cash flow, budgeting, management accounts and employing staff
  • Expansion of the business – access to different types of funding, restructuring issues, exit planning

We also offer personal tax services from tax compliance and capital gains tax to estate planning and trusts.

Curo Chartered Accountants is also part of the ICAEW’s Business Advice Service. Chartered accountant members of this service offer a free hour’s advice to businesses and help guide them in their plans.  If you are interested in speaking with a qualified chartered accountant, please either get in touch direct on [email protected] or try the Business Advice Service on www.businessadviceservice.com

We look forward to hearing from you!

Curo Chartered Accountants

January 2014.

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Landlords in latest tax amnesty

Tuesday, September 24th, 2013

Landlords are the latest in HMRC’s tax amnesty drive. If you own and rent out a residential property, HMRC is urging you to bring your tax affairs up to date before an Inspector knocks on your door.

It’s estimated that up to 1.5m landlords are underpaying as much as £500m in tax every year in the UK and this sector is the latest to come under scrutiny from HMRC as it continues to focus on boosting its coffers by collecting underpaid taxes.

Landlords are being urged to come forward and tell HMRC about any unpaid tax or rental income and to settle any outstanding penalties or interest. Failure to approach HMRC first could mean harsher penalties, including even criminal prosecution.

HMRC is now using more sophisticated software (Connect) which is making it easier to identify individuals’ business interests.

If the latest crackdown is of relevance to you, the ‘HMRC Let Property Campaign’ hotline is 03000 514 479 and is open Monday to Friday between 9am and 5pm

If you need to bring your tax affairs up to date on any matter at all, we can help you achieve this quickly and efficiently whilst ensuring that your tax obligations are covered going forward.

Contact [email protected] or call Helen on 01527 558539.

Curo Chartered Accountants

Sep 2013.

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Employer Bulletin from HMRC

Tuesday, September 24th, 2013

HMRC has this week published a handy ‘Employer Bulletin’ packed full of information to help employers fulfil their tax obligations.

The information includes:

  • New helpline numbers
  • RTI top tips
  • Info on pension auto enrolment
  • Tax credits
  • Toolkits to reduce errors

plus a range of other useful topics.

Curo’s payroll department can assist and advise on your obligations in this area and to discuss your requirements, email [email protected] or call Helen on 01527 558539.

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HMRC crackdowns hit SMEs the hardest

Monday, September 23rd, 2013

Compliance investigations undertaken by HMRC into the SME sector netted £565m in penalties and fines for the 2012/13 tax year. This haul represents an increase of 13% on the prevous year as HMRC continues its onslaught on the corporate sector, desperate to hit government-imposed tax recovery targets.

The SME sector is being seen as ‘easy pickings’ in respect of tax investigations as SMEs often lack the budget for tax advice and representation by tax specialists, unlike the larger corporates.

The government hopes to raise around £7bn a year through tax compliance investigations, which will focus on ensuring a company has fulfilled its tax obligations with HMRC. Tax compliance includes the submission of forms such as the corporate tax return and supporting calculations, preparation of claims and elections and dealing with HMRC enquiries.

If you’d like to discuss your company’s tax position and exposures, Curo’s head of tax, Julia Whelan can advise. Email Julia on [email protected] or call her on 01527 558539.

Curo Chartered Accountants

Sep 2013.

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Curo Chartered Accountants grows by five new recruits

Monday, September 16th, 2013

Worcestershire-based Curo Chartered Accountants continues to grow at a rapid pace and has recently added five new recruits to its award-winning practice.

The team is now strengthened by further experienced technical staff for both the audit and taxation offerings.

Says Partner Anna Madden “We’ve been fortunate to recruit some excellent regional talent, including another ex ‘Big 4’ auditor and a returning staff member. Our offering to clients is stronger than it’s ever been and our recruitment drive is in response to a growing client portfolio”.

Curo’s expansion has continued throughout the recession and its latest growth corresponds with news that the economic recovery is gaining momentum across most sectors.

Continues Anna “What has helped us continue growing is sticking to a clear business plan, yet reacting quickly and positively to new opportunities in our market”..

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Worcestershire Women of the Year finalists interviewed

Tuesday, September 10th, 2013

The Worcestershire Women of the Year awards lunch is taking place on 27 September. The finalists were filmed talking about their achievements to date and plans for the future. This can now be viewed on You Tube.

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