Accounting Firm in South Manchester and Manchester City Centre
Working in the “gig” economy
The House of Commons Work and Pensions Committee has recently published a report calling on the Government to close the loopholes that allow “bogus” self-employment practices, which burden the welfare state but reduce the tax contributions needed to sustain it.
This follows the “Matthew Taylor” inquiry which took evidence during February and March 2017 from witnesses including representatives of companies such as Uber, Amazon, Hermes and Deliveroo. Most of the people working for such organisations were not on the payroll and have limited workers rights and are paid for each delivery or “gig”. The Committee recommended a default assumption of “worker” status, rather than “self-employed”, and said that the incoming Government should set out a roadmap for equalising the NICs paid by employees and the self-employed.
Mr Taylor was also asked to produce a report on the status of such workers and suggested that a new category of “dependent contractor” should be established, but the report did not conclude on how such a worker should be taxed.
Second finance bill this autumn
It has also been announced that the second Finance Bill will legislate for all policies that were included in the pre-election Finance Bill but had to be dropped in order to rush through the Finance Act 2017 before the snap general election in June.
The Government has re-confirmed that all policies originally announced to start from April 2017 will be effective from that date.
This means that the planned changes to corporation tax such as the new losses rules, will take effect from 1 April 2017 after all, as will the changes to deemed domicile which will take effect from 6 April 2017.
Making tax digital for business delayed
The Government has responded to pressure from accountants and other interested parties and announced the delay of Making Tax Digital for Business to 2020 at the earliest.
Quarterly VAT reporting using the new system will be mandatory from 2019.
In a further U-turn, three million small businesses and buy to let landlords below the VAT threshold will now not be required to keep digital accounting records but will be able to move to the new system for keeping tax records at a pace that is right for them. For such businesses, Making Tax Digital will be voluntary.
Mel Stride, the new Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General, announced that the roll out for Making Tax Digital has been amended to ensure businesses have plenty of time to adapt to the changes. Under the revised timetable:
- only businesses with a turnover above the VAT threshold (currently £85,000) will have to keep digital records, and initially only for VAT purposes from 2019
- businesses will not be asked to keep digital records, or to update HMRC quarterly, for other taxes until at least 2020
As VAT already requires quarterly returns, no business will need to provide information to HMRC more regularly during this initial phase than they do now.
All businesses and landlords will have at least two years to adapt to the changes before being asked to keep digital records for other taxes. This deferral will give much more time for businesses, supported by their advisers, to identify for themselves, at their own pace, the benefits of digital record keeping. It will also ensure that many more software products can be developed and tested before the system is mandatory.
FLEXIBLE WORKING IS HERE TO STAY
The businesses that will thrive today and tomorrow are those that can be truly flexible. Businesses that are embracing flexible working can use it to help cut costs, attract talent and radically improve productivity.
Technology has changed the way we communicate and it is currently changing the way we work. Gone are the days when office workers spent every working moment in a cubicle or at a desk. The rise of digital communication tools, collaboration apps and productivity suites, coupled with the benefits of the ‘always on’ nature of the web, have set the modern business free. Flexible working is the natural evolution of work in the brave new digital world. Today, businesses large and small can operate anytime, anywhere.
What do we really mean by flexible working?
Essentially, it means freeing up your employees to work in the way that suits them best. That can mean mobile working via a smartphone or laptop, working from different locations thanks to remote access to the business network, holding meetings through video conferencing, home-working and flexi-time, which allows staff to tweak their working hours. Underpinning it all is the technology that helps your team to work in a way that suits them best, from any location.
Benefits for business
By putting the technology and processes in place to facilitate flexible working, rigid and old-fashioned infrastructure can be overhauled, allowing businesses to install more efficient systems. Flexible working can also be invaluable in both staff recruitment and retention, especially for those with family commitments. Beyond parents, flexible working can help keep work/life balance in check for all employees, as they have the right systems and technologies in place to better manage their workload.
Indoor Skydiving!!
Team member Michael went Indoor Skydiving this weekend at Airkix, Trafford Centre!!!
is it a bird… is it a plane…. oh no its MIKEY!
Look who’s keeping fit on holiday!!
Paul hits gym while on holiday!! as he tweets ‘Keeping fit on hols at The Rock NCyprus. You can take me out of ResultsInc but you can’t take ResultsInc out of me!’ on our twitter page https://twitter.com/ac_accounts/status/514375752469712896/photo/1
Keep it up paul!!
Two new apprentices join the team!
‘Happy employee, happy company’
We are delighted to announce we have two new members of the A&C team! Laura and Bradley will be starting as of next week and we are very excited!
Do you sell digital services?
VAT on Digital Services
When you sell digital services across international borders from 1st January 2015, you will have to collect information about your customers to determine if they are businesses or not, and where they are based. From 2015 where your international sale is to a non-business customer, you will have to charge that customer VAT of the country where he or she is located (if that’s in the EU). You will have to register for VAT in your customer’s country. This is because the VAT threshold for traders selling into other EU countries is zero.
If you sell through a large online store, that store sorts out the VAT so you don’t have to worry about it. However, if you sell your digital product directly to non-business customers who are located in other EU countries from 1st January 2015, you must deal with the VAT consequences.
If you need any help and advice regarding making a disclosure please contact us at Paul@ac-accounts.co.uk or call 0161 962 1855