Income Tax

Chancellor announces sweeping tax cuts in first mini-budget

Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng has today (23 September) announced a ream of tax cuts alongside a £60bn energy support package as part of the new government’s first mini-budget. Setting out his aims for economic growth, Kwarteng said that he wants the economy to increase by 2.5% annually in the medium-term, through…

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Spring Statement: Chancellor raises NI threshold to £12,570

The chancellor has outlined a series of measures to help combat the rising cost of living in his latest spring statement, including increasing the national insurance threshold by £3,000. Speaking in parliament today (23 March), Rishi Sunak began his speech by warning it is yet unclear what the impact of…

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Maven Leisure secures £4.3m funding for acquisition spree

Maven Leisure is set to raise £4.3m through private equity investment firm Growthdeck in a bid to open a host of new London bars upon the lifting of lockdown. The new venture, which is led by the founders of ETM Group, is looking to use the funds to launch seven…

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Hospitality figures pen letter calling for EIS amendment

Hospitality figures backed by the UK hospitality trade bodies have written an open letter to Rishi Sunak calling for an amendment to the current EIS and SEIS to “boost private investment in the sector and provide an alternative to government loans”. The proposals from Alan Lorrimer, founder of The Piano…

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Oil prices plunge, Virgin Australia could crash land, Nasa robots controlled from the kitchen table

Oil producers in the United States will pay you to take their barrels as global demand has plummeted amid government lockdowns. It’s hard to overstate the significance of the story, but probably the best way is to say that this has never happened before. Essentially the largest producers have ended…

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What we know about furlough leave and the CJRS

HMRC published details of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) on 26.3.20 which are available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-for-wage-costs-through-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme Key points include: Employees that employers can claim CJRS for For the purposes of CJRS, the definition of employee would include workers and agency workers provided they are subject to PAYE i.e. this…

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HMRC yields £16 from small businesses for every £1 spent on staff

HMRC’s investigations into individuals and small businesses produced a yield of approximately £16 for every £1 spent on staff last year, according to research by international law firm Pinsent Masons. The firm said the “huge” return on investment in staff outweighs returns seen by other private sector businesses. Whilst HMRC’s…

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The election is over – time for the Tories to deliver for small businesses

It now looks as though political stasis and all the damage that does to business will be lifted in 2020. Boris Johnson’s victory in the election is the Tories’ strongest since the Thatcher era, and gives him great scope to implement bold policies. At this juncture it’s worth taking a look…

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Restaurant fraudster caught by his own secret books

The owner of a Derbyshire restaurant has been jailed for three years for a £480,000 tax fraud that was discovered when investigators uncovered a hidden sales book dating back five years. Nazrul Islam, 52, from Birmingham, hid sales in a bid to evade nearly £480,000 of tax payments at his…

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Brothers jailed 14 years for £3m pub and restaurant tax scam

Three brothers, who stole £3m in a tax scam involving pubs and restaurants, have been jailed and banned from being directors for 28 years. Bournemouth brothers Shahab Hashtroudi, 64, Shahin Hashtroudi, 58 and Hedayat Hashtroudi, 68, ran pubs and restaurants in Hampshire, Dorset and Surrey, using the money to prop…

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