Tax Savings
Entrepreneurs’ Relief
Entrepreneurs’ Relief is available to individuals and some trustees in respect of capital gains made on the disposal of all or part of a business, business assets if the business has stopped trading and in certain cases shares owned in respect of a business. This relief is aimed at the individual and therefore whilst most…
Read MoreBusiness Premises Renovation Allowance – the basics
Business Premises Renovation Allowance (BPRA) was introduced by the Finance Act 2005 as an incentive to bring derelict or unused properties back into life. The BPRA was designed to run for a period of 5 years from 11 April 2007 and therefore only has a few short months left to run. As with many incentive…
Read MorePost Cessation Trade Relief – a consultation
On 12 January the Government via HMRC announced that it was to take immediate steps to counter tax avoidance resulting from post cessation trade relief. This relief arises when costs or bad debts are incurred which directly relate to a trade, profession or vocation which has ceased. Such costs or bad debts may be allowed…
Read MoreA fresh look at property
Mention devolution and thoughts inevitably turn to Scotland and the question of a possible referendum. Against this background and almost slipping under the radar, Wales is quietly increasing its own devolved powers. For example, from 31 December 2011, Wales took full responsibility for its own building regulations. One of the first steps announced by the…
Read MoreTaxing the perks
According to the Mail on Sunday, HMRC’s high net worth unit has a new target in their sights, the perks enjoyed by some footballers and their families. Whilst the provision of benefits to employees is a practice which has been around since time immemorial, the regulations on taxable and non-taxable benefits can be complex and…
Read MoreEU Threatens Swiss deal
At the end of August we reported on the historic Swiss-UK tax deal which was designed to put an end to tax evasion via Swiss investments whilst maintaining the cherished secrecy of such accounts. This deal was structured to include a one-off payment from Swiss banks to the UK followed by a regular collection of…
Read MoreHMRC targets those with homes overseas
The days when overseas property and investments were largely invisible to the UK tax authorities are well behind us. International treaties together with the availability of computerised records mean that HMRC are able to access vast amounts of information about our affairs across the globe. One of HMRC’s latest targets relates to overseas homes. Initially…
Read MoreFunding for films
The Prime Minister, David Cameron, has announced the extension of the film tax relief scheme until December 2015. The scheme, which in the past has helped to find projects such as the Harry Potter films and the currently in production James Bond film, provides tax reliefs of up to 25% of production costs. To be…
Read MoreVAT and Compound Interest
Those dealing with straightforward VAT input and output calculations may not be aware of the complexities of VAT when it comes to international transactions or the extent to which the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has an influence on more complex VAT questions. In fact there are numerous occasions on which the UK tax tribunals…
Read MoreEU proposal for financial transaction tax
On 28 September 2011 the EU commission formally proposed to institute a common financial transaction tax (FTT). The tax is not expected to become effective until 1 January 2014, subject to the Council of Europe accepting the proposal. Whilst day to day activities such as mortgages and insurance contracts would remain outside the scope of…
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