Well, the Summer Budget 2015 was a bit of a shocker in some respects and not good news for those of us who run owner-managed businesses or those with rental properties. There seems to have been little publicity over a few major areas so I’d like to give you my take on the changes and … Continue reading The Summer Budget 2015 →

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The Word of The Day? – Frustration In true leopard form the noise that most frequently erupted from me today was GRRRRRR! My normal happy self has been smothered in a pit of frustration and here’s why: This morning a client sent me a letter they had received from HMRC. The letter was a payment … Continue reading Dealing With HMRC →

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HMRC To Collect Tax Now and Argue It Later HMRC are making it very clear that tax avoidance will not be tolerated. They now have the power to demand payment of any tax that has been avoided through a scheme or arrangement. They will be targeting any arrangement which they believe has been entered into … Continue reading Advance Payment Notices Are To Begin →

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High Income Child Benefit Charge Letters HMRC Getting It Wrong Again? Prepare yourselves for this, it may come as a bit of a shock… A few of my clients have forwarded me letters from HMRC which say: YOU NEED TO ACT NOW! We have checked your tax return for 2012 to 2013 against Child Benefit … Continue reading High Income Child Benefit Charge →

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Don’t Be A Victim Of Bogus/Phishing HMRC Emails It seems that although phishing emails have been around for many years, the number of people who are falling for these scams is increasing each year. The reason for this is that the fraudsters are becoming more ingenious in their methods of obtaining your personal details. The … Continue reading Beware of Bogus / Phishing HMRC Emails →

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Planning On Employing A Student This Summer? The summer holidays are looming and now is the time when a lot of business owners start asking family and friends if their student offspring fancy a couple of months’ work during the holidays. However, a lot of people believe that because most students won’t be earning enough … Continue reading Employing Students →

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The Art Of Networking Since starting Striped Leopard I have been to a great many networking events. Breakfasts, lunches, dinners, afternoon tea, networking with golf, speed networking, women’s only networking. Quite often I can have 5 events a week and I have been known to attend breakfast, lunch and dinner on the same day. I … Continue reading What Not To Do When Networking →

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P11D’s Can Be A Pain So it’s that time of year again and the P11D filing deadline is drawing near. A lot of company owners I speak to are worryingly unaware that a P11D and P11D(b) may need to be submitted. This is because there is a common belief that a P11D is only needed … Continue reading 2014 P11D Information →

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Keeping Proper Records Since 2011 HMRC have been on a mission to ensure that ‘proper books and records’ are kept by businesses. The days of throwing your receipts into a carrier bag are (or should be) over. As a VAT registered business you have a responsibility to keep copies of your sales and purchase invoices … Continue reading Bookkeeping For VAT: The Do’s & Dont’s →

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Introducing Stricter Agency Rules Agency rules have become tougher and are having a huge impact on some businesses already. Basically, the rules mean that any payments by an agency to a worker is classed as employment income. So unless you can prove that you are self-employed, you will be liable to PAYE tax & NI. … Continue reading Agency Rules: Sneaky IR35? →

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