One of the consequences of Brexit for businesses has been that dealing with other EU countries has suddenly become an extremely complicated matter.
Terri Bruce, a fellow UK200 member firm Dains Accountants in the West Midlands is one of the leading experts in the country on the consequences of EU VAT transactions.
If you have any dealings with Europe then you will need to read the attached below. It will not necessarily give you any answers immediately but will further your understanding of how these transactions work and the need to take further advice.
We are conducting a short survey to understand how businesses are coping in the current climate, including their outlook for the future.
We conduct this business confidence survey from time to time to understand confidence levels and the views of businesses on their outlook. The findings provide us with insights to develop appropriate support for businesses and individuals.
We share these insights with the government and other industry bodies to ensure the right conversations are taking place and measures being developed to support business in the longer-term.
We are conducting this survey in collaboration with other members firms of the UK200Group, the UK’s leading professional services group of independent quality assured chartered accountancy and law firms, of which we are a member.
This means we will capture feedback from businesses from right across the UK which we can use to help develop and shape support to help businesses like yours.
The survey will only take 1-2 minutes of your time to participate. It contains just 4 short questions.
Following the government’s change of mind on the abolition of 45% additional rate for taxpayers earning over £150,000, we have updated the Emergency Budget report for the subsequent U-turn. It would appear that it won’t be so easy for some people to fill their boots after all.
We have pleasure in attaching details and some very significant points of the Chancellor’s speech last Friday.
We are not going to present much of an editorial but the markets have reacted negatively so far.
We will be pleased to address any particular questions you may have as a result of the information provided.
Our simple comment is that it looks like taxes will be reduced for quite a few people in the 2023/24 tax year.
The political landscape means that this may well only be of short duration so it may well be an opportunity to “fill your boots” for one year. We await further developments and in assisting with optimising your tax situation.
The Martlet Partnership is pleased to announce that the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants has re-awarded us with approved employer status, which enables us to offer contracts to students who wish to train for this qualification and also those qualified members of the Association, who wish to obtain practicing certificates and audit qualifications.
HMRC decided to pause payments for Research & Development Tax Credits in April due to an increase of fraud, mostly linked to organised criminal gangs.
In April alone, HMRC had received over 8,000 claims and although started paying some claims from 10th May, HMRC are still recovering from the recent pause in payments, and expect to be processing 80% of claims within 40 days by the end of this month.
Over a thousand letters have been issued to claimants identified as high risk challenging irregular claims. HMRC request that claimants do not contact them to chase their claims, as they work through the backlog.
Therefore, if you are waiting for an R&D Tax Credit payment, it may take a little longer than it used to.
HMRC has published the latest advisory fuel rates (AFR) for company car users, effective from 1 September 2022, increasing rates between one and two pence per mile. Please note that these rates only apply for employees who have a company car but where fuel is not paid in full by the employer.
Unfortunately, no change has been made in rates to the mileage payment due to employees who use their own vehicles for work. This is a pity as the rate of 45p a mile has been unchanged for many years and of course the price of petrol has increased dramatically.
The advisory fuel rates that apply from 1 September 2022 have been increased for some classes of vehicles from the June 2022 rates with a one pence increase on petrol vehicles under 2000cc and two pence for vehicles over 2000cc.
The equivalent diesel vehicle rate goes up one penny for vehicles under 2000cc and 2p for over 2000cc, while LPG rates remain unchanged except for a one pence rise for vehicles over 2000cc.
The previous rates, effective June 2022, can be used for up to one month from the date the new rates apply.
The rates only apply in the following circumstances:
reimburse employees for business travel in their company cars; or
require employees to repay the cost of fuel used for private travel.
These rates cannot be used in any other circumstances. If the rates are used, it is not necessary to apply for a dispensation to cover the payments made.
The advisory electricity rate for fully electric cars remains at 5p per mile. Electricity is not a fuel for car fuel benefit purposes.
When employees are reimbursed for business travel in their company cars, HMRC will accept there is no taxable profit and no Class 1A national Insurance to pay.
Advisory fuel rates from 1 September 2022
Engine size
Petrol – amount per mile (previous)
LPG – amount per mile (previous)
1400cc or less
15p (14p)
9p (9p)
1401cc to 2000cc
18p (17p)
11p (11p)
Over 2000cc
27p (25p)
17p (16p)
Engine size
Diesel – amount per mile
Up to 1600cc
14p (13p)
1601cc to 2000cc
17p (16p)
Over 2000cc
22p (22p)
Hybrid cars are treated as either petrol or diesel cars for this purpose.
Following the latest increase in the Bank of England base rate to 1.75%, HMRC will raise interest rates on late tax bills by 0.5%.
This means that the late payment interest rate will increase to 4.25% from 23 August 2022. The rate last increased to 3.75% on 5 July. This is the highest rate since the height of the financial crisis in January 2009.
Late payment interest is payable on late tax bills covering income tax, National Insurance contributions, capital gain tax, stamp duty land tax, stamp duty and stamp duty reserve tax. The corporation tax pay and file rate also increases to 4.25%.
HMRC are also increasing interest paid to taxpayers on overpayments. This is the first rise since 29th September 2009 but they are only raising the rate by 0.25% to point 0.75% which contrasts with their increase in monies due to them of 0.5%.
However, interest paid on corporation tax paid before the due date rises to 1.5% which is significantly better than the rate which can be obtained from most banks!
One of the basic requirements on all employers is to ensure that the people they employ have permission to work in the UK.
From April 2022 the process that employers need to follow when conducting right to work checks changed – you can no longer accept physical cards or permits, you must undertake digital checks.
Civil penalties are imposed on organisations that have employed an individual who does not have permission to work. If found to be employing workers who do not have the right to work, employers can face a penalty of up to £20,000 per worker.
The Home Office has produced guidance – but at 72 pages long, many employers may not be familiar with the specifics.
It’s very important that employers understand how to conduct right to work checks. If a right to work check is undertaken correctly, employers are likely to have a statutory excuse against liability for a civil penalty. If not undertaken properly, a civil penalty may be imposed.
We have produced a helpful guide to help employers understand their obligations and what checks they need to undertake to ensure that someone they recruit has a right to work.
