Despite the government’s £6bn worth of cuts, there is some good news for small businesses.

Following the first Queen’s Speech of the new coalition government, which was used to announce plans to save jobs and support the economy, the halt to an increase in National Insurance contributions (NIC) could help safeguard 57,000 jobs in the UK, according to the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB).

John Walker, national chairman of the FSB, said: “Small firms are already flexible employers, employing more women and more part-time workers than big businesses and plans to remove barriers to flexible working must acknowledge this.”

According to … Continue Reading

Despite the fragile economy, it seems that the entrepreneurial spirit has far from died.

According to recent research, published on 10 May, by workforce consultancy, Kelly Services, more than one in five people described themselves as self-employed, with 20 per cent saying they want to start their own business venture. Of the 6,000 people polled, the 18 – 29 year old group were the most enthusiastic.

John Callagher, general manager at Kelly Services said: “Many of those who lost their jobs as a result of the global economic crisis are seizing the opportunity to reinvent themselves as independent contractors, freelancers and consultants, … Continue Reading

It’s not been an easy couple of years for many businesses and this is being reflected in the mental health of employees.

According the mental health charity, Mind, some 10 per cent of employees have sought support from their doctors and 7 per cent have started taking anti-depressants for stress and other mental health problems brought on by the recession. This is backed up by the latest government statistics, which have found that antidepressant prescriptions have risen by a record 3.2 million last year, to 39.1 million.

Of the 2,050 people surveyed, half of workers have lost sleep due to work, with … Continue Reading

Some VAT registered businesses make sales that are exempt from VAT as well as sales that are subject to VAT at the standard, lower or zero rate. For example, estate agents receive commission on selling houses (VAT at standard rate), and commission on selling financial products (exempt from VAT). Such businesses are referred to as partially exempt as they can only reclaim the VAT on that part of their purchases (input VAT) which relates to the VAT-bearing sales.

Working out how much VAT such a partially exempt business can reclaim can be complex, particularly if the VAT-exempt sales are a small … Continue Reading

Normally, a loss arising from letting of commercial or residential property, can only be carried forward to set against profits from that same property business, (see above for different treatment for losses from furnished holiday lettings). However, where part of the loss has been generated by the deduction of capital allowances, that part of the loss is available to set against the owner’s other income in the same tax year.

A capital allowance generated loss is very unlikely to arise in connection with letting residential property as capital allowances cannot be claimed for equipment used in residential properties, but such allowances … Continue Reading

From this current tax year the Taxman can impose penalties if you are late in paying over the payroll and CIS deductions you make in the tax year. ‘Late’ in this context means the payment reaches the Tax Office after the 19th of each month, (or 22nd when paying electronically).

Until now the Taxman did not impose penalties or interest on small employers if all the payroll deductions for the year reached him by 19th April (or 22nd) after the end of the tax year. Large employers (those with more than 250 employees) have been subject to surcharges for late … Continue Reading

For the last 12 months we have been warning you that the favourable tax concessions for furnished holiday lettings (FHL), would end on 6 April 2010.

The legislation to change these tax rules was included in the 2010 Finance Bill. However, as part of the horse-trading at the end of Parliament before the General Election, the repeal of the FHL rules was dropped from the Finance Bill before it became the 2010 Finance Act on 8 April 2010.

The FHL rules remain in place for the time being. If Labour regain power on 6 May 2010, the FHL rules could be … Continue Reading

The votes are in, but the waiting’s not over. With a hung parliament the un-settling result of today’s election result, what does this mean for small businesses?

Although it’s still too early to predict the final verdict as behind closed doors the three political powers slog it out to hopefully come to the best solution for Britain, speculation that this conclusion is bad for business has been floating around for some time.

Here are some comments from UK entrepreneurs:

Simon Lawrence, CEO at business insight specialist, Information Arts:

“In my view a hung parliament will be disastrous for the country and the economy. … Continue Reading

Manufacturers that rely on exports should be encouraged as growth in this sector improves.

According to a survey by the CBI employer’s group, the weakness of the pound is finally feeding through to Britain’s export market, resulting in increased orders from overseas.

Among the 402 manufacturers surveyed for the CBI’s quarterly SME trends survey, 36 per cent reported a rise in the volume of total orders in the three months to April, and 26 per cent reported a fall. The resulting balance of +10 per cent marked the first growth since January 2008.

Improvements in the export market is also good … Continue Reading