Opening the new parliament, the Queen said the Government’s first priority was to ‘reduce the deficit and restore economic stability’.

She outlined a total of 19 pieces of legislation, ranging from enterprise and regulatory reform, to measures aimed at supporting children and families. She also confirmed the Government’s plans to implement banking reform, along with the Groceries Code Adjudicator Bill.

The measures have prompted criticism from some business leaders, with John Longworth, Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), suggesting that the Speech ‘could have been bolder’.

While it welcomed some of the Government’s proposals, such as the reform of employment tribunals, the BCC raised concerns over plans to impose new legislative requirements on businesses.

‘On balance, business will welcome some of the Government’s proposed legislative measures, but express serious reservations about others. Positive steps such as reform to employment tribunals and red tape reductions could be undermined by complex new burdens around shared parental leave, for example,’ said Longworth.

‘Ministers could have been bolder by including legislation to establish a British business bank, to further simplify dismissal rules, and to progress the construction of our high-speed rail network.’

The Children and Families Bill could see new parents given the right to ‘share’ blocks of parental leave, by allowing women to transfer some of their maternity leave entitlement to the baby’s father.

But the Forum of Private Business (FPB) echoed the BCC’s concerns over the new entitlement, warning that it will add to the ‘burden’ on employers.

The FPB’s Senior Policy Advisor, Phil McCabe, said: ‘Perhaps the most concerning aspect of today’s Queen’s Speech for many small business owners is the plan to shake-up maternity leave by letting mums or dads mix and match time off with the new arrival. Nice concept in theory, but the paperwork and organisation will frankly not be welcomed by most business owners.

‘While flexible working is good for some businesses, firms should not be compelled into providing it if it doesn’t suit,’ he added.

However, the lobby group did welcome plans to introduce an independent adjudicator to ensure supermarkets deal fairly and lawfully with suppliers, stating that the move would ‘go some way to rebalancing the relationship’.

The IR35 legislation is intended to prevent individuals from using intermediary companies to supply services rather than being directly employed by their clients, and the new tests take the form of a series of questions and scenarios, complete with a scoring system.

The tests cover such areas as: whether your business owns or rents premises which are separate from your home and the end client’s premises; whether the business engages any workers who bring in at least 25% of your annual turnover; and whether the current client has engaged you on PAYE employment terms within the 12 months ending on the last 31 March.

Other areas covered include: business plans, advertising, efficiency, professional indemnity insurance, client risk, repair at own expense, billing and substitution.

Small business representatives have criticised the tests, arguing that they do not take into account key issues that were brought to the Treasury forum, and expressing concern that the Revenue has missed the chance to bring ‘clarity, transparency and fairness’ in dealing with IR35.

HMRC has stated that the legislation is not ‘set in stone’ and could change in response to feedback.

The full legislation can be viewed here: www.hmrc.gov.uk/ir35/guidance.pdf.

Child benefit is currently paid to all families with children under 16 years of age (or in some cases up to 20 years of age), at a rate of £20.30 a week for the first child, and £13.40 a week for any subsequent children.

However, the Government has stated that those on low incomes should not be subsidising those on higher incomes, and plans to reduce the benefit for higher earners were confirmed in the 2012 Budget.

The changes mean that from January 2013 the benefit will be gradually withdrawn where one parent’s income exceeds £50,000, being eroded entirely where income reaches £60,000 or more.

At this point an individual will either need to stop claiming child benefit, or alternatively declare receipt of the benefit in a self assessment tax return, in which case HM Revenue & Customs will tax them by an equivalent amount.

The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) has warned that the measures undermine the principle of individual taxation, by making it necessary to claw back from one person a benefit that is paid to another person, and by expecting couples to disclose to each other their level of income and whether they are claiming the benefit.

Critics have also highlighted the fact that the move goes against the principle of a universal child benefit, which is paid to all families regardless of circumstance.

A further loophole was highlighted in the run-up to the Budget, with experts warning that while a single parent earning £50,000 or more would lose the benefit, a family with two parents who each earn just under £50,000 would retain it.

The ICAEW has written to MPs and the Treasury, outlining the problems that it perceives to be inherent in the plans.

Directors of the firm, which has 40-years’ experience of helping businesses in North Kent and South London, will be speaking at the Marriott Hotel, Bexleyheath,  as part of the ‘Boosting your Business in Bexley’ event, being organised by Bexley Council in conjunction with the Bexleyheath Business Partnership.

Nigel Kimber, corporate finance director at McBrides, said: “Obtaining business finance in today’s economic climate is no mean feat. Traditional sources such as the banks are increasingly unable to lend without excellent security in place and strong supporting evidence that loans will be serviceable in the future.  Business people therefore need to think outside of the box and be creative in sourcing new outlets.”

In the two seminars – at 8.50am and 2pm on Tuesday May 22 – Nigel and fellow director Mark Grady will explain how to attract new stakeholders to support your business.

They will also point out the positives, and possible pitfalls, of web–sourced financing, from organisations such as The Funding Circle.

Despite the uncertain financial times, McBrides believe business confidence in the South East remains buoyant. “In a year of fiscal austerity there has been continued stability in the South East,” said Nigel.  “It is possible for businesses to press ahead and plan for growth, even in these difficult times, but it is knowing where to look to find access to all important financing that can be most difficult.”

Boosting your Business in Bexley takes place at the Marriott Hotel, Bexleyheath, on May 22 from 8am to 4pm. For further information, visit www.bexley.gov.uk/22may Special guest speaker is Jo Fairley, co-founder of Green & Black’s.

Under the new system, employers will tell HMRC about tax, national insurance contributions and other deductions when or before they are made, rather than at the end of the tax year.

The system will be mandatory for all employers by October 2013.

However, the Low Incomes Tax Reform Group has argued that older employers, people with disabilities or businesses with limited access to the appropriate resources will face additional burdens.

The charity warns that the impact note produced by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) fails to recognise those small employers who remain ‘digitally excluded’.

The Public Accounts Committee has echoed these concerns, highlighting the fact that some small businesses without electronic payroll systems and the self-employed do not currently submit monthly data to HMRC.

HMRC launched a pilot scheme last month, to allow time for testing new systems and processes and more businesses are expected the join the scheme in the coming months.

The call follows recent research from the Engineering Employers Federation (EEF), which reveals that exports in the SME sector have increased by 36% since 2009, and are set to follow a similar pattern of growth for 2012.

However, the FPB is arguing that it is essential that bank lending keeps pace with the boom, or the UK could risk lagging behind the rest of the world.

Phil McCabe of the FPB said, ‘It is now down to the banks to do their bit and make sure that firms wanting to export have access to affordable credit to finance such operations’.

‘While it’s understandable banks would want to closely examine any business plan from a firm looking to trade in foreign markets, it must not be an obligatory ‘no’ once they hear the word ‘export’ mentioned.’

The business group is also urging the Government not to make further cuts in resources to the UK Trade and Investment body, UKTI.

Mr McCabe added, ‘Today’s report suggests UK  business is finally ‘getting it’ when it comes to the importance of exporting, and the Government now must react accordingly and make sure the support is in place to allow firms to get it right. UKTI does a great job but in order to keep up the good work it needs the right tools for the job’.

However, the taxpayers concerned were originally informed that they no longer needed to fill in a tax return.

A spokesperson for the HMRC said, ‘We can reassure these customers that we know who they are and that this letter is incorrect – they do not owe a penalty’.

The deadline for filing the self assessment tax return online was 2 February. Under HMRC’s new penalty system, individuals who have not filed their return by 1 May are subject to daily penalties.

Further penalties apply for taxpayers who have still not filed their returns after 6 and 12 months.

In the landmark ruling, the court dismissed the appeal of a solicitor whose claim to continue working beyond retirement age was rejected.

While Mr Seldon argued that the firm’s decision amounted to age discrimination, the employer put forward the case that its policy on retirement had a number of aims, which included ensuring that younger workers were given the opportunity to take up a partnership role after an appropriate period.

The firm also argued that its policy aided long-term planning, and reduced the need to force partners to leave on the grounds of poor performance.

The judgement stated that all businesses must now ‘give careful consideration to what, if any, mandatory retirement rules can be justified in their particular business’.

The ruling follows the recent news that almost 50% of working people over the age of 50 will need to remain in work for a further 11 years beyond state retirement age, in order to achieve a minimum standard of living in retirement.

According to HMRC, 3.8 million people will pay income tax at the 40% rate during 2012/13, while over 300,000 will be subject to the 50% additional rate.

The figures represent a significant increase in the number of people paying higher rate tax, a change which has largely been put down to cuts in the threshold at which individuals begin to pay tax at the higher rates.

The news follows Chancellor George Osborne’s announcement in the March Budget that the 50% additional rate of income tax will be cut to 45% from 2013/14, with the Chancellor arguing that the measure has failed to raise sufficient additional income.

Meanwhile, the total number of people paying income tax is set to fall again this year from 30.1 million to 29.7 million, with the number of individuals paying tax at the basic rate of 20% likely to drop to 24.8 million.

The opportunities for criminals to perpetrate fraud have never been so rife, MP James Brokenshire, Minister for Crime and Security at the Home Office, told business leaders from across Kent.

The one-time corporate lawyer, who has been MP for Old Bexley and Sidcup since 2010, told members of the FaB breakfast club at McBrides Chartered Accountants that he hoped to establish a new national crime agency to focus on fraud.

“We need to get good intelligence to understand where the threats are coming from to target our resources and focus appropriately,” he said. “Cyber crime is a real threat to business and to the Government.”

The Minister outlined his responsibilities for a range of Government policies, including assisting the Home Secretary in maintaining public safety and security and ensuring the UK’s national security and counter-terrorism strategy responds to the evolving terrorist threat, particularly in relation to Al-Qaeda.

However, he said the severity of cyber crime should never be under-estimated and warned: “There are sophisticated organised crime groups looking to scam customers. A fraudster does not distinguish between private and public sector businesses. By sharing our knowledge, we can build up resilience. Strengthening partnerships will enhance our capabilities.”

He warned: “A cloud-based system does not necessarily deal with security issues. How do you know where that ‘cloud’ is held? It could be in Afghanistan! Businesses lose billions of pounds each year through fraud. We cannot afford to be complacent.”

The Minister, who has also been heavily involved with security planning for the Olympics, said the Games were an ideal platform for the South East to show it was a great place in which to invest and to do business.

“The UK has one of the most competitive tax systems within the G20,” he said.

FaB – the Finance and Business breakfast club founded by McBrides – includes bankers, lawyers and financial directors from across the South East.
 
Over breakfast, McBrides Tax Partner Terry Baldwin gave members valuable business tax saving tips on pensions, capital allowances and EMI share options.
 
Nick Paterno, Managing Partner of McBrides Chartered Accountants said: “This was our fourth FaB breakfast in a year, during which time we have dealt with some of the most pertinent topics affecting our members and given them tax tips with the potential to save them tens of thousands of pounds.”

James Brokenshire MP said: “I was delighted to have the opportunity to meet with such a strong representation of financial decision-makers in  the South East, under one roof.
Strong SMEs are the building blocks of the UK economy and it is important that we as a Government work closely with them.  McBrides FaB club is a fine example of a business demonstrating to others how shared expertise can reap greater rewards for all.”