2011 August | McBrides

small firms could benefit from simpler reporting requirements
August 31, 2011 by Shirley1
Up to five million small businesses could benefit from simplified reporting requirements if Government plans are given the go-ahead.

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) have published a discussion paper outlining proposals to ease the corporate reporting procedures for micro-entities.

Under the plans, the smallest businesses would only be required to file a simplified Trading Statement (in place of the current Profit and Loss account), a simplified Statement of Position and a simplified Annual Return.

The paper – ‘Simpler Reporting for Smaller Businesses’ – also includes proposals to develop an integrated software package to help firms prepare financial information and plan for the future.

Ed Davey, the minister responsible for corporate governance, said: ‘Reducing unnecessary regulatory burdens on the smallest businesses can give them the freedom to innovate and grow, which ultimately benefits the entire economy and is absolutely central to the Coalition’s vision for Britain.

‘A new deregulation from EU rules targeted at micro-businesses means we now have a chance to deliver these benefits. The financial reporting regime must also serve the users of the information published by companies, whether they are customers, banks or government agencies. So we look forward to receiving responses to our proposals from a broad range of interested parties in the coming months’.

Those wishing to respond to the paper must do so by 30 October 2011.

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more shops left empty as consumer numbers fall
by Shirley1
More than 10% of shops in towns and cities across the UK were vacant at the end of May, latest figures have revealed.

According to new data from the British Retail Consortium (BRC), the national town centre vacancy rate (high streets and shopping centres) was 11.2% in May 2011.

Northern Ireland had the highest vacancy rate, where 17.1% of shops were reported empty, followed by Wales with 13.4% and northern England with 13.1%.

The study also found that the number of people visiting shops has fallen, with overall footfall between May and July down by 1% when compared with the same period last year.

Greater London (1.6%), the South West (0.4%) and Scotland (0.2%) were the only locations that saw an increase in shopper numbers.

Commenting on the study, Stephen Robertson, BRC director general, said: ‘This is the first time we’ve been able to publish footfall and vacancy figures in this level of detail and it shows stark differences in retail health between some of the UK’s nations and regions.

‘Generally, the parts of the UK where the public sector is a bigger proportion of the economy are the ones where customer spending is most likely to be hit by worries about job prospects and cuts, meaning people are shopping less and more retail businesses are failing’.

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gender pay gap ‘could take 98 years to close’
by Shirley1
The gender pay gap between men and women could take nearly 100 years to close, according to recent estimations.

New research by the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) suggests that women will have to wait 98 years until they are paid the same salary as their male equivalents.

Although salaries for female executives are increasing at a faster rate than those for men, the study found that male executives are still paid substantially more than their female counterparts.

The latest figures show that male executives earn an average of £42,441 compared with £31,895 for women.

Despite women’s salaries growing by 2.4% and men’s 2.1%, the gender pay gap increased from £10,031 to £10,546 in the 12 months to February 2011.

However, the CMI reported that for the first time the salaries of junior female managers have surpassed those for junior male managers. It said that junior female managers now earn £21,969 on average, compared with men at £21,367.

The CMI’s director of policy and research, Petra Wilton, said: ‘While CMI is delighted that junior female executives have caught up with males at the same level, this year’s salary survey demonstrates, yet again, that businesses are contributing to the persistent gender pay gap by alienating top female employees by continuing to pay men and women unequally.

‘This kind of bad management is damaging UK businesses and must be addressed.’

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cameron pledges to support business as latest enterprise zones revealed
August 24, 2011 by Shirley1
The Government has announced the locations of 11 new enterprise zones in England in a bid to boost local economies.

It is hoped the new sites, which will benefit from cheaper business rates, superfast broadband and lower levels of planning control, will create 30,000 new jobs by 2015.

Plans to create 21 new enterprise zones nationwide were first unveiled in the Chancellor’s Budget in March.

The enterprise zones previously announced were: Leeds, Sheffield, Birmingham, Bristol, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Derby, Nottingham, the Black Country, the Tees Valley, the West of England and the North East.

Now Warrington, Cornwall, Gosport, Norfolk, Hereford, Kent and Oxfordshire, Essex, Suffolk, Northampton, Leicestershire, Cambridgeshire and Humber Estuary will also become targeted zones for enrichment.

The Prime Minister David Cameron said: ‘We are determined to do everything we can to make Britain the best place in the world to start and grow a business.

‘Enterprise zones are a major step towards delivering this – cutting business taxes, easing planning restrictions and giving business the tools they need to invest and expand.

‘These new enterprise zones will be trailblazers for growth, jobs and prosperity throughout the country.’

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household finances ‘worse than in the recession’
by Shirley1
Household finances are declining at their fastest pace since the height of the recession in February 2009, new research suggests.

According to a survey by the financial information company Markit, almost 40% of those quizzed reported a fall in their finances between July and August, while just 6% said their financial situation had improved.

The drop in household savings and available cash was the fastest fall for two and a half years and has been attributed to high inflation, soaring debt levels, high unemployment and decreasing take-home pay.

The research found that all income groups, age ranges and regions monitored are suffering in the current economic climate, although those in the north of England are under more financial pressure than those in the south of the country.

Commenting Tim Moore, senior economist at Markit, said: ‘Recent events have made a week seem a long time in economics, and August’s survey is the first sign that the slew of downbeat headlines has knocked consumer sentiment.

‘With consumer spending accounting for around two-thirds of UK gross domestic product, this does not bode well for the second half of the year. It is likely that the UK economy will be increasingly dependent on external demand.’

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cheque payments need to be improved, say mps
by Shirley1
A Committee of MPs has called for improvements to be made to cheques, including reducing the ‘delays and uncertainty’ surrounding cheque payments.

In a new report, the Treasury Select Committee criticised the Payments Council’s decision to abolish cheques by 2018, adding that banks and building societies should not be responsible for deciding the future of cheques.

‘The Payments Council is an industry-dominated body with no effective public accountability,’ said committee chairman Andrew Tyrie.

‘It should not have unfettered power to take decisions on matters, such as the future of cheques, or other issues, that are of vital importance to millions of people. This is why we have recommended that the council be brought within the formal regulatory system.’

In 2009 the Payments Council set out proposals to end the use of cheques by 2018 after reporting a dramatic decline in the number of people using this payment method.

However, it was forced to revoke its plans earlier this year following fierce opposition from the public and charitable organisations.

In its recent report, the Treasury Committee said the proposed abolition of cheques highlighted the lack of transparency in retail banking.

As part of its recommendations for improvement, the Committee called on the banks to write to customers stating that cheques will be in use for the foreseeable future.

It also called for an overhaul of the board members of the Payments Council, including greater powers of veto for the independent members, and a rethink of the abolition of the cheque guarantee card.

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government closes capital allowances loophole
August 17, 2011 by Shirley1
The Government has brought forward the closure of a loophole which allowed businesses to accelerate capital allowances claims for plant and machinery and obtain advantageous early tax relief.

With the capital allowances annual investment allowance (AIA) due to fall from £100,000 to £25,000 next year, HMRC said it was aware of a scheme to ‘side step’ the anti-avoidance rules.

It claims that the scale of the tax potentially put at risk by the scheme is such that it has decided to close the loophole with immediate effect.

The closure of the loophole, which was originally proposed for April 2012, will now have effect for expenditure incurred on or after 12 August 2011.

Announcing the move, the Economic Secretary to the Treasury, Justine Greening said: ‘The Government is determined to reduce tax avoidance in order to protect the Exchequer, which provides funding for public services, and maintain fairness for the taxpayer.

‘By ending this loophole today we will preserve important revenue while maintaining a ‘fair system of capital allowances to support business investment.’

As announced in last year’s Emergency Budget, the capital allowances regime will undergo major reform from April 2012.

The AIA, which offers tax relief at 100% on qualifying expenditure in the year of purchase, will be significantly reduced to £25,000, while the rates of writing down allowance are also set to fall.

The WDA rates for new and unrelieved expenditure on plant and machinery will be reduced from 20% to 18% per annum for expenditure allocated to the main rate pool, and from 10% to 8% per annum for expenditure allocated to the special rate pool.

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chancellor confirms 50p tax rate ‘under review’
by Shirley1
The Chancellor George Osborne has confirmed that HMRC is reviewing the 50% top rate of income tax, fuelling speculation that the rate will be scrapped next year.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4′s Today programme, Osborne signalled that the 50p tax rate, which was introduced by the previous Labour government, may be a temporary measure.

‘I’ve said with the 50p rate I don’t see that as a lasting tax rate for Britain because it’s very uncompetitive internationally, and people frankly can move,’ he said. ‘What is it actually raising? It’s only been in operation for a year this tax, put in place by the last government’.

HMRC will now examine its data to assess whether or not the 50p tax rate is generating money. However, the figures will not be known until at least the end of the tax year next April.

‘Since people don’t send their self-assessment forms back until the end of the year we won’t be able to get that assessment until the end of the year or more likely the beginning of next year, but we are going to do that assessment,’ he added.

The move follows calls from business leaders to scrap the top tax rate in order to boost UK enterprise. Many politicians also believe the rate is driving business away from the UK and penalises entrepreneurs.

The 50p income tax rate was introduced in April 2010 and affects those earning over £150,000.

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hmrc proposes to move more vat filing online
by Shirley1
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has launched a consultation on the next steps for moving VAT online.

It proposes that from 1 April 2012, it will be compulsory for VAT registered businesses with a turnover below £100,000 to file VAT returns online and make electronic payment of any VAT due.

There are also plans to make online the default (though not compulsory) channel for all businesses for VAT registration, deregistration and changes to registered details.

Since 2010, larger businesses and all new VAT registrations have had to file VAT returns online and pay their VAT electronically. Others can still file paper returns and pay by cheque.

Although HMRC claims that moving to online filing has so far been ‘considerably faster’ than predicted, with ‘few practical problems’, for some older businesses and some in rural locations where broadband is limited, compulsory online filing could be a burden.

The move is part of a wider general Government drive to move transactions from paper to online. There are plans to introduce a new online VAT registration service from October 2012, with the aim of making registering quicker and easier, and there are also consultations to move direct taxes online.

The consultation on the VAT proposal closes on 31 October 2011.

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intellectual property laws to be overhauled
August 10, 2011 by Shirley1
The Government has unveiled plans to overhaul the UK’s intellectual property laws in a bid to boost economic growth.

The Business Secretary Vince Cable has confirmed that the Government had accepted the 10 recommendations made by Professor Ian Hargreaves in his report, ‘Digital Opportunity: A review of intellectual property and growth’.

It is hoped that modernising the existing copyright laws will offer more flexibility to music and film fans and benefit the UK economy by up to £7.9 billion.

The proposals include creating a digital marketplace where licences in copyright content can be readily bought and sold – a move that could add up to £2 billion a year to the UK economy by 2020.

A feasibility study will establish how such an exchange would work and a further announcement is due later in the year.

A number of copyright exceptions will also be introduced to cover limited private copying. Thousands of people copy legitimately purchased content, such as a CD to a computer or portable device such as an iPod, assuming it is legal.

Unveiling the plans, Business Secretary Vince Cable said: ‘The Government is focused on boosting growth and the Hargreaves review highlighted the potential to grow the UK economy.

‘By creating a more open intellectual property system, it will allow innovative businesses to develop new products and services, which will be able to compete fairly in the UK’s thriving markets for consumer equipment.’

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