Business owners

From 6 April 2020, the way in which carbon dioxide emissions for cars are measured is changing. It’s worth making sure you’re up to speed on what this means in relation to the tax implications.

With the lead up to Christmas upon us some directors and employees may be fortunate enough to be on the receiving end of a financial bonus. If you are in this position it’s worth reviewing things in advance to see if there is a risk of you suffering effective tax rates of up to 60%, and if the answer is yes, whether this can be avoided.

What can employers do to help prevent the 25 million working days lost annually due to work-related ill health matters, including the two leading causes of workplace absence, back injuries and stress, depression or anxiety?

Fraudsters are often using phishing activity that involves pretending to be from HMRC to trick people into parting with money.

Did you know that there are tax reliefs that can be accessed by companies working within the UK’s creative and cultural sector?

Over the last decade, corporation tax rates for most companies, irrespective of size, have fluctuated between 19% and 21%. The main rate of corporation tax is expected to be cut to 17% from April 2020 which makes business incorporation an attractive proposition. 

It’s worth considering, given current tax rates, whether to pay a dividend rather than a salary to Directors. It will often be a more cost-effective way of withdrawing profits from a company.

Read how making use of statutory exemptions for certain benefits-in-kind offers an opportunity to extract funds from a family company without triggering a tax charge.

Timing the date of a dividend payment from a company can determine both the amount and the due date of the tax payable. This may be a particularly useful strategy in a close or family-owned company.

A member’s voluntary liquidation (MVL) can be an attractive option when the taxpayer’s personal circumstances are such that it is beneficial for the remaining funds to be taxed as capital (and liable to capital gains tax), rather than as a dividend. However this depends upon the level of funds to be extracted the costs of the liquidation may be more than covered by the tax savings that can be achieved.