Fifty and not out!
July 2009 - Just a few days before his 50th birthday, the directors of CW Fellowes were pleased to announce at their annual drinks reception held at the Rose Bowl the promotion of Geoff Collis to Director.
Geoff trained locally before joining one of the top 6 accountancy firms in the south, where until recently he was a director in the Business Outsourcing and Advisory team. |
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He has more than 25 years experience in advising SME businesses on domestic and international matters. He advises start-ups to multi-million pound turnover businesses including asset rich sole traders, partnerships and companies in a variety of sectors. Geoff has also undertaken non-executive finance roles for businesses in the defence, environmental, professional, property and fast moving goods industries.
Adam Wilson, Managing Director of CW Fellowes says;
"Since joining CW Fellowes in January this year, as an Associate Director, Geoff has made a huge contribution to the firm, playing a significant role in its continued growth and profile. Amongst his other responsibilities, Geoff will be the director in charge of our Outsourcing team, based in our Fareham office.
I very much look forward to continue working alongside him." |
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Advisory Fuel Rates
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To reflect the changes in fuel prices, HMRC have issued new advisory fuel rates for employees driving employer provided cars. These take effect for all journeys undertaken from 1 July 2009 so employers wishing to use the new rates should advise affected employees and update any expense forms as soon as possible.
Engine size |
Petrol |
Diesel |
LPG |
1400cc or less |
10p (10p) |
10p (11p) |
7p (7p) |
1401cc to 2000cc |
12p (12p) |
10p (11p) |
8p (9p) |
Over 2000cc |
18p (17p) |
13p (14p) |
12p (12p) |
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Employers may use the new rates prior to 1 July if their systems allow. The rates in brackets are those previously applicable.
Other points to be aware of about the advisory fuel rates:
- employers do not need a dispensation to use these rates.
- employees driving employer provided cars are not entitled to use them to claim a deduction if employers reimburse them at lower rates. Such claims should be based on actual costs incurred.
- the advisory rates are not binding where an employer can demonstrate that the cost of business travel in employer provided cars is higher than the guideline mileage rates. The higher cost would need to be agreed with HMRC under a dispensation.
If you would like to discuss your car policy, please contact us.
Internet link: HMRC advisory fuel rates |
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HMRC New Disclosure Opportunity
HMRC have announced some details of the New Disclosure Opportunity (NDO) which is due to take place this autumn. In order to encourage taxpayers to disclose an undeclared offshore account the penalty level has been set at 10%. HMRC hope that the low penalty will encourage taxpayers to come forward. HMRC are currently liaising with various banks to obtain details for offshore account holders.
“The key messages provided by HMRC are as follows: |
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- The New Disclosure Opportunity (NDO) is for people with unpaid tax connected to an offshore account and will run from the autumn 2009 until March 2010. It will give the offshore account holders one final opportunity to disclose, and put their affairs in order.
- Penalty of 10% for full disclosure if no previous opportunity. Higher for full disclosure if you had the chance under previous opportunity.
- HMRC is seeking to obtain details of offshore accounts and assets from hundreds of financial institutions. This ensures HMRC will be able to pursue those who choose not to disclose tax owed as quickly as possible.
- During the disclosure period, all account holders will know that HMRC has, or will soon have, their details. We have already successfully applied to get details from a number of banks.”
We will keep you informed of developments in this area, meanwhile if you have any concerns please do get in touch.
Internet link: CIOT article |
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HMRC PAYE Services Interruption
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HMRC are advising taxpayers and employers that, as part of its ongoing plans “to improve customer service and efficiency”, they are in the process of changing the way they process PAYE records. In order to make all PAYE records available on one computer system they are undertaking a major IT upgrade.
They are advising that there will be temporary service interruptions from 12 June 2009 and that this may take some time as it will continue until “the new service is available to all trained staff and while we bring outstanding records up to date”. Apparently some parts of the PAYE service will be temporarily unavailable, as will the National Insurance Computer System. |
HMRC have advised that although they will be able to provide general advice during this time they will not be able to answer specific queries relating to individual National Insurance records or recent PAYE changes. This may result in delays issuing refunds or new PAYE coding notices to individuals.
HMRC have advised that the Department for Work and Pensions will be similarly disrupted which may affect benefit claimants.
Internet link: HMRC computer upgrade |
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Tax Credits Renewal Deadline
Tax credits are state benefits which are generally available to lower income families. However, entitlement to the credits is significantly increased where individuals pay for childcare or suffer a drop in normal levels of income perhaps due to incurring trading losses or redundancy.
Individuals who have already claimed tax credits for 2008/09 have to finalise their provisional award, which would have originally been based on their 2007/08 income, and advise HMRC of any changes in their circumstances for 2008/09. This procedure is known as the renewals process. The deadline for the submission of tax credit renewals is 31 July 2009.
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HMRC have been busily advertising the renewals process in the national press and on their website. Claimants need to be aware that the payment of tax credits will stop at the end of July if they have not renewed their applications by that date.
If you need any help with the completion of your form or any advice on tax credits generally please do get in touch.
Internet link: HMRC tax credit renewals |
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Employees Accrue Holiday Pay While on Sick Leave
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The House of Lords has ruled in the case of Stringer v HMRC that workers who are refused holiday pay while on sick leave can make a claim to an employment tribunal for an unauthorised deduction from wages (under the Employment Rights Act 1996).
This decision follows the ruling in January, by the European Court of Justice (ECJ), that employees do accrue paid holiday for their entire sick leave, and must be allowed to take it on their return to work or be paid in lieu of their entitlement if their employment ends. The ECJ ruling did not comply with the UK’s existing Working Time Regulations, which require employees to use their four weeks statutory leave in the holiday year or lose it. The House of Lords has now ruled that the ECJ decision does indeed apply in the UK.
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This is a complex area so please do get in touch if you need any clarification.
Internet links: BERR guidance and Personnel Today article |
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Extra Paternity Leave Put on Hold
Proposals to introduce six months’ paid paternity leave for new fathers have been put on hold by the government in the light of the current economic climate.
The plans would have seen parents being able to share the 12 months maternity leave between them. Plans to extend the current statutory paid maternity pay from nine months to 12 have also been put on hold.
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A spokesperson for the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform issued the following statement:
“We have not yet announced a date for extending maternity and paternity rights. We are continuing to review the appropriateness of all new regulations due to come into force in the current economic climate. It is only right that in tough economic times we look afresh at the costs and benefits of new regulations.”
This announcement means that new father’s will not be able to take six months' paid leave to look after their baby, allowing the mother to return to work early. Many businesses will be relieved that this change is not being introduced in the current economic climate.
Internet link: Telegraph article |
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HMRC Warn of Fraudulent Email
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HMRC are warning that an email is currently being sent to some taxpayers advising them that HMRC have “approved them to receive monies”. Apparently the email states that this is as a result of an HMRC program on 15 June 2009.
HMRC are advising that this is not a genuine email and taxpayers should not act on it.
Internet link: HMRC security fraud attempts |
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Digital Britain
The government has published its report Digital Britain which sets out the government’s plans for the UK to be at the forefront of the global digital economy.
The core details, as taken from the press release, are as follows:
- Universal access to today’s broadband services by 2012
- Next Generation fund for investment in tomorrow’s broadband services
- Upgraded mobile networks
- National Plan to improve Digital Participation
- Robust legal and regulatory framework to combat Digital Piracy
- Support for public service content partnerships and revised digital remit for Channel 4
- Funding options for national, regional and local news
- Programme of Digital Switchover in Public Services
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To read details of the report use the link below.
Internet links: Digital Britain report and Press release
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Corporation Tax Return Guide
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HMRC have published revised guidance on the completion of the corporation tax return form CT600.
Please do get in touch if you would like any help in this area.
Internet link: CT600 guide |
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One in Five Businesses Admit Data Protection Breaches
A survey of over 500 SMEs carried out by the British Standards Institution (BSI) has found that nearly one in five businesses has unwittingly breached the Data Protection Act (DPA) at least once.
Almost 50% of businesses said they had breached the DPA on several occasions and an additional 18% said they were not sure whether they had or not.
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A "breach" could refer to the illegal transfer of information to a third party, failure to hold information securely or neglect of other legal obligations.
The survey provides a snapshot of how UK businesses manage the personal information they hold on staff and customers, including sensitive data such as racial or ethnic origin, trade union membership and criminal proceedings. It was carried out to mark the publication of a new British Standard on data protection which will help organizations put in place a framework for maintaining and improving compliance with data protection legislation and good practice.
The survey also found that:
- 65% of businesses provide no data protection training for their staff;
- nearly half of those surveyed admit that there is no one in their business with specific responsibility for data protection;
- 15% of businesses are not confident that their data sharing practices conform to the DPA and, worryingly, almost 5% of these frequently share data regardless;
- 18% of businesses said that data protection is less of a priority in the current economic climate.
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