Green Taxes and Reliefs for Businesses
The general idea behind the government offering green taxes and reliefs to businesses up and down the land is to encourage you to act in a more environmentally friendly manner; whether you’re a large organisation using a significant amount of energy annually, or you’re a SME that hardly uses any energy at all.
It should be remembered that, at a more general level, you can claim capital allowances when you purchase energy-efficient or low/zero-carbon technologies for your company, reducing your overall tax payments.
Read more
Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Bill Summary
The Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Bill has been drawn up to “reduce the barriers that can hamper the ability of small businesses to innovate, grow and compete,” with the overarching role of the bill designed to remove and reduce unnecessary regulation that gets in the way of doing business.
Leading the Bill, Matthew Hancock, Minister of State for Skills and Enterprise claimed in an online video to be “excited to be leading a bill that puts small business right at the heart of the Government agenda.”
We’ve briefly summarised measures included in the Bill below:
Read more
Research and Development Relief | R&D Relief
If you’re the owner of a small to medium-sized enterprise (SME), or indeed a much larger company, you may be able to receive Research and Development Relief to reduce your Corporation Tax (CT) when undertaking qualifying revenue expenditure in an Research and Development (R&D) project that’s related to your company or organisation’s trade, or a trade that you’re looking to expand into.
Many conditions must be met by your R&D project for you to qualify for this relief, all of which are outlined in the ‘criteria’ section below. Please note that your company must already be paying Corporation Tax for you to claim R&D Relief.
Read more
Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) Explained
If you’re a small to medium-sized (SME) business owner, at one point, if it hasn’t happened already, one of your employees is going to tell you they’re soon to be expecting the pitter-patter of tiny feet.
Once you’ve finished congratulating them there’s a good chance you’ll find yourself wondering what on Earth you’re supposed to do next. You’re not alone. If you don't know where to start when it comes to this area, here’s a brief overview of Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) from the point of view of you, the employer.
Read more
What to Consider When Hiring an Employee
Taking on an employee, whether as an individual or as the owner of an SME, can be somewhat of a daunting experience the first time you go about doing so, as there are numerous points you have to take into account to ensure you remain on HMRC’s good side.
We should note that you don’t have to be in business to be an employer. You may work a salaried position at a large corporation, but if you employ a housekeeper, nanny, or any other form of domestic staff within your home, you will be considered their employer.
Below we’ve compiled a condensed list of the core responsibilities you have when taking on a new employee, in a basic order of consideration:
Read more
A Guide for SMEs Exporting Goods Abroad
Exporting goods to customers outside of the United Kingdom is the dream of many small to medium-sized (SME) business owners, as the potential upside, including increased sales volumes and international exposure, are deemed to be well worth the extra paperwork needed to make such a dream a reality.
In this post we’ll briefly outline the three main types of UK exports, as well as provide you with the relevant links you’ll need to get started in the international exporting business.
SMEs Exporting to EU Countries
Goods sent within the EU are described as ‘dispatches’ rather than exports, as they’re deemed to be in free circulation. This is hugely beneficial from your point of view (as an SME owner) as the duty that would normally have to be paid when exporting goods from one country to another is waived.
Read more
Minimum Wage Fines Quadruple for Employers
Employers who choose not to pay their workers the National Minimum Wage (NMW) will soon see fines quadruple, with a penalty being put into place of £20,000 per-employee underpaid, plus an added financial penalty of 100% of the unpaid wages owed to workers.
Under previous rules, such employers caught breaking NMW law were required to pay the unpaid wages, plus just 50% of the total underpayment for every worker who has been underpaid. The maximum penalty was also four times smaller, sitting at just £5,000.
Read more
SEIS Investment Injects £82m Into Start-Ups
The SEIS (Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme), put forward by Chancellor George Osborne in 2011 and formally launched in April 2012, is designed to help small, early-stage or start up companies raise equity finance by encouraging individual investors with the prospect of receiving 50% of their investment back as income tax relief.
In the eighteen months since its introduction, over 1,100 companies across the UK have raised over £82 million in funding through SEIS investment, with the average amount of investment being raised currently at £72,000, according to HMRC.
Read more