UK Taxation System Gets An Overhaul
Posted: 28/07/2010 Filed under: UK Taxation | Tags: business concerns, corporation tax, non dom tax, Taxation, uk companies, UK tax Leave a comment »There are more talks for the launch of the Office of Tax Systems in today’s news. It always makes me a little nervous when they start talking about changes to the UK tax system. I know how hard some of clients find it when it happens. Lucky we are here to help them.
Anyway back to the subject at hand. The new version will apparently simplify the existing overly complicated version, making it much easier for all Britons, especially small businesses.
Liam Byrne, Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury said he welcomed the significance of the government’s plan to simplify the tax system, but he then went onto say “today’s announcement, I’m afraid, sounds rather more like an attempt to grab headlines than real evidence of a push to improve legislation”.
He called on the government to scrap plans to “complicate the tax system by introducing a marriage tax allowance, all for the sake of sending an ineffective £3 a week signal of what his party thinks a family should look like” and what he said was a “more complicated stamp duty system when it comes to energy conservation for housing”.
The TUC union body said it was concerned the OTS could become a “softening-up exercise for tax cuts for the rich”.
But the launch was welcomed by business chiefs.
Richard Baron, of the Institute of Directors, said it was “a brilliant idea” but that it would be judged by its results.
David Frost, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce, said it was “a necessary and long overdue response to the relentless chop and change of tax law”.
I find all of these statements interesting, it is about time the government updated its archaic taxation system. If people understand what they are paying tax for it makes it much easier for them to part with their money. On the other hand the most profound utterance definitely comes from Mr Baron, we will indeed judge it by its results.
If taxation still baffles you or you are concerned about how these changes may affect you please get in touch with us here at St Mathew’s eAccounting and we will be pleased to help you see it all crystal clearly.
Non Dom Charge A Flea Bite
Posted: 18/06/2010 Filed under: Moving to London, Non Dom | Tags: business concerns, moving to UK, Non Dom, non dom tax Leave a comment »Despite the fact that the new non dom tax has now raised 1.3 million in its first year, the Lib Dems are still not describing it in very flattering terms. In fact they have called it a flea bite.
Introduced by the previous labour government the non dom payment which directs non doms to pay a flat rate of thirty thousand each year was originally predicted to raise 650 million a year for the country. The 130 it has bought in is certainly a far cry from that kind of sum.
People who have been resident in the UK but are non domiciled for taxation reasons are liable to pay the fee or they can choose to be taxed in the normal fashion.
Part of the reason the collected figure is so much lower than expected is that we now have fewer non doms. As some people pointed out would happen many non doms have left the country taking their cash with them and many more have been deterred from coming. I think i remember some pretty prominent people predicting that this is exactly what would happen.
Andrew Rodger, executive director of Stonehage, says: “This piece of evidence seems to suggest that less tax is being generated than anticipated by the 2008 changes but we are nonetheless losing tax revenue as a result of the changes.”
Ah, I don’t think that is quite what the xenophobes had in mind.
UK Top For European Investors
Posted: 03/06/2010 Filed under: Non Dom, Offshore Solutions, Small Business, UK Immigration | Tags: business, business concerns, Non Dom, non dom tax Leave a comment »Despite what sometimes feels like the best efforts of successive governments and the UK press, the UK is still top of the pile when it comes to European investment. Even though the press seems determined to talk nonsense about non doms owing the UK something more, European investors still see the UK as a very attractive place to spend their money.
In 2009, the UK attracted 678 investment projects, which gave us 2017 jobs. Terrible what all these foreigners are doing to our beloved Britain, hey?
“When seen in the context of 12 months during which the European economy suffered a deep recession, the resilience of the UK in securing FDI [foreign direct investment] is a remarkable economic success story,” said James Close, a partner at Ernst & Young.
Quite and and it is even more remarkable given the attitude of some people toward foreign investment.
Non Dom Issue Rears Head Again, Scaring Investors
Posted: 02/06/2010 Filed under: Non Dom, Offshore Solutions | Tags: corporate tax, corporation tax, moving to the UK, moving to UK, Non Dom, non dom tax Leave a comment »It seems to me whenever a politician needs a boost in popularity or more usually a distraction from the really important things taking place in our economy they turn the talk to the subject of non domiciles. Things that they think may not be as popular as a little non dom bashing. And a couple of weeks ago it happened again.
The idea that non doms should be hunted down and taxed within an inch of their lives came under discussion again. It was a discussion that quite frankly scared the life out of those in the know in the financial industry. Those that have no political barrow to push are fully aware that the UK gets its fair share from non doms in monetary terms. They are dismayed every time some politician ‘pledges to review’ the situation. It makes foreign investors nervous.
Believe it or not this is not a good thing, the UK does very nicely out of non doms and only those that have their own agenda would suggest otherwise.
As an article in the financial times pointed out recently further changes to the non-dom rules would be a “real deterrent for wealth-creating individuals to come from overseas”
Why is it the general public finds this so hard to understand? I think it is because politicians are intent on feeding them misinformation on the subject.
UK Immigration The Topic Of the Moment
Posted: 04/04/2010 Filed under: UK Immigration | Tags: Immigration, Moving to London, moving to the UK, moving to UK, Non Dom, non dom tax Leave a comment »There were quite a few stories around regarding the topic of UK immigration this week and depending entirely on who you listen to and what your stance is Gordon Brown was either the villain or the hero of the piece.
He was on the receiving end of a fairly stinging and humiliating rebuke from the Government’s own statistics watchdog yesterday. He was accused of using dodgy immigration statistics to suggest that the number of immigrates is falling. It has been said that the figures he chose to use were 30 000 lower than the ones he should have been quoting.
There was a certain irony to the rebuke he received given that it came not long after he had delivered his own rebuke on the subject directed at the Tory party. In Mr Browns version he warned the population that they should choose the party that would best realistically control immigration not just say things that appeal to ‘our worst instincts of nationalism and xenophobia’.
His speech on the subject, his third in three years would have been certain to carry more weight if the statistics watchdog head Sir Michael Scholar had not chosen the same week to point out Mr Brown’s manipulation of the figures.
Overall though I applaud the stance that Mr Brown is taking on immigration. There is entirely no need for a knee jerk reaction on this subject. By all means stop the visas for people who wish to work in trades that are over catered for such as chefs and careworkers ( one new policy that Mr Brown has suggested) but overall immigration is a good thing.
If you are thinking of moving to the UK then here at St Matthews eAccounting we can help smooth the transition for you. We have be doing it for years.
UK Needs Tax Reform To Encourage Investment
Posted: 21/03/2010 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Moving to London, moving to the UK, moving to UK, Non Dom, non dom tax, tax refunds, Taxation, uk companies, UK tax Leave a comment »The treasury has recently announced proposals for the reform of taxation in this country that has given real hope that the UK will once again become attractive to people managing a multinational. The proposals for reform centre mainly on holding companies and there is no doubt that bit of complex taxation law does need some attention and some serious sorting out. It is certainly not the only part of our system that could do with an overhaul but it is a good place to start.
The thing we have to hope for now, as pointed out in an article in this week’s Telegraph is that the key staff of these multi nationals will see moving to London and building a life in the UK as a good lifestyle choice for them. It is all very well a multi national choosing the places in the world that most benefit them but often these types of companies depend on the top notch calibre of its staff to stay on top. If said staff are reluctant to live in the UK then the company may decide it is not the place for them.
People totally ignore this when they go on and on about the non dom issue. We need to tread a fine line here. Non domicile seems to have become a dirty word but in actual fact we need these people. And yet we are driving them away. April’s headline rate of 50 pc is the 5th highest of all thirty of the OECD countries. Effectively what this means is that a company may decide that Paris or Geneva are a better alternative to London and then they do not bring their company and all its associated benefits to the UK.
Just as we are changing the taxation for companies to make this a great destination for them we are making it harder for them to staff their business. That is something we need to be very careful of as we try to put our economy back on top.
If you have any questions involving non dom status or company taxation we would be happy to talk them through with you.
Fraud Attacks UK Tax Payers
Posted: 17/03/2010 Filed under: UK Company Set Up, UK Taxation | Tags: corporate tax, corporation tax, non dom tax, Tax, tax refunds, Taxation, uk companies, UK tax Leave a comment »As if we do not already fear taxation enough there was a recent report I read that outlined a phishing scheme that is designed to literally rob you of your money. It claims to be from HMRC which I think is very clever as who among us would not rush to open an email from that particular office?
Even more cunningly the email goes on to tell you that the taxation office have made a miscalculation(not unheard of these days what with all the new equipment going in up there) and want to refund some of your taxation. It is apparently a particularly well done email. I do not claim to know an awful lot about these technical things but what it does, according to the report, is use an image called ‘in-line-images’ which automatically copies images from sites like Paypal and RBS Wordplay to give the email a real air of legitimacy.
All you need to do to claim back your tax is to fill in the accompanying sheet with all your financial details and HMRC will get right onto getting you your refund. And of course this is where it all goes horribly wrong. You never see any money and in fact are quite like to see the back of some as it disappears out of your account into the accounts of these fraudsters.
The bottom line of course is that you should never give your full account or in this case credit card details including the security code to anyone, even if they do scare the life out of you by claiming to be from HMRC.
If you are struggling with your legitimate UK taxation in anyway then get in touch for a chat. We are the experts in this filed and would love to help you out.
High Street Sales Soar
Posted: 09/03/2010 Filed under: Non Dom | Tags: british economy, business, business concerns, economy, Moving to London, moving to the UK, moving to UK, Non Dom, non dom tax Leave a comment »It is good to see, after all the doom and gloom we have been experiencing, to see that sales in the high street are beginning to look up. It has been a hard time globally as we are all aware and the fact that sales are up in Britain’s mots popular stores is a welcome piece of news. Financially things the growth of sales in the high street has to be a good indicator of an increasingly healthy economy.
The Telegraph calls the the figures from January ‘ the strongest year-on-year increase in sales since May 2007′ and Richard Lowe, from Barclays bank, said: “February has defied expectations with a return to positive growth in the retail sector. Businesses will be enthused by this news after the New Year began with a reining in of consumer spending which commentators had seen as a possible sign of a double-dip recession on the horizon.”
I am not totally convinced the spectre of the double dip has been erased but that is a whole other blog, the very next one in fact. The point is that the recession in Britain has not lived up to the dire warnings that preceded it and the doomsday theories we were subjected to during it. Funny how things so rarely do.
If you are thinking that the green shoot of the economy in Britain are attractive and are considering a move then please contact us here at St Matthew’s eAccounting we would love to talk things through with you.
HMRC Say Just Paying Taxes Is Not Enough
Posted: 24/02/2010 Filed under: UK Taxation | Tags: corporate tax, corporation tax, non dom tax, Tax, tax refunds, Taxation, uk companies, UK tax Leave a comment »In a very interesting move the HMRC has releases a statement that seems to be saying to small business that even if they file their tax return and they file it on time they could still be fined up to £3000. How on earth does that work?
According to an article in the Telegraph, HMRC is insisting that all businesses with between five and 50 employees submit Employer Annual Returns electronically by May 19. they warn that those submitting in the old fashioned way by paper risk being penalised. And the only way out of this? If you are a company whose religious beliefs exclude the use of electronic devices.
It appears that those businesses with fewer than five employers will be given another year to fall in line.
I have to say i am rarely happy with this kind of apparent heavy handedness. Maybe it is a disinclination to be told what to do but i like the right to choice in most things and this is just another one being taken away.
On the bright side i guess it is a good move environmentally as the paper saved must be huge and anything that causes a rise in efficiency over at the HMRC after its problems of the last few months is to be applauded.
Either way there is probably little point in complaining as I cannot see them changing their minds. If you are concerned about how this will effect your business tax returns or have any questions about taxation at all then please ring us for a chat at St Matthew’s eAccounting. We deal with company ta
Celebrities Caught Out In Tax Avoidance
Posted: 20/02/2010 Filed under: UK Taxation, Uncategorized | Tags: non dom tax, Tax, tax refunds, Taxation, UK tax Leave a comment »In a way this story appealed to me because it was about someone else besides the bankers being meted out a bit of a financial bashing. Do not get me wrong seeing some of the country’s more smug bankers get their bonuses cut has been quite satisfying but there is only one thing more smug that a rich banker and that is a rich celebrity. And this week they got a bit of the self satisfaction knocked out of them as well as being forced to give the country more in taxation, so the rest of us win twice really.
A story in the London Evening Standard alerted me to the situation. Apparently some celebs Anne Robinson, Jeremy Paxton and Wayne Rooney to name a few were caught out dealing with a company that was more about tax avoidance than it was about giving back to the community, as it claimed. It seems the tax man is not too happy about the whole situation and looks set to clobber them for up to 2 billion in back taxes. Not just the celebrities clearly but all those involved.
For all the talk of bankers and getting the money owed to country by non doms there is something more pleasurable about these people being made to pay their fair share. I think for me the pleasure comes from the fact that with the exception of Wayne Rooney, non doms and arguably bankers are more use than these celebrities.
None of us mind paying tax just that we want to pay what is fair and we want everyone else to too. If you are having problems keeping your tax to a fair level get in contact with us here at St Matthew’s eAccounting and we will take you through you options. Not tax avoidance but fair tax management is what we are all about.
