There has been a sharp reaction in the British press to the so-called 'Granny Tax' changes announced in the Budget on 21 March 2012. There are also rumours that the State Pension is to be transferred to the PAYE system next year. We are grateful to local accountancy firm, Charlton Baker Ltd for their comments.

In July 2010 the chief executives of some of the largest banks and the British Bankers’ Association (BBA) set up a Business Finance Taskforce to consider what more could be done to help the UK return to sustainable growth. The initiative followed publication of the government's green paper, 'Financing a private sector recovery' in July 2010.

So what is the Business Growth Fund and how can it help you and your business?

Following the Chancellor’s budget we blogged about the proposed changes to VAT on take-away pies and pasties. 

We will be meeting with a Bank Of England representative this Thursday to discuss the economy in general and to hear how the Bank and the banking sector can help business communities in Wiltshire. This is of course a great opportunity to put points forward for debate and we would be delighted to hear from you if you have any specific points or questions in this area. For example is it now easier to obtain funding for your business ?

Our Xero Service is growing and we have more clients taking on the Xero Software Package.

This is last in our series of VAT articles following the recent budget and as the title suggests it deals with a change to VAT Rules for Hairdressers.

The answer almost certainly is George Osborne.

George Osborne continued his fiscal campaigning by attempting to juggle tax take, Government borrowing and economic growth. Only time will tell how many balls he will continue to keep in the air and for how long.

You may be aware of the tax advantaged Enterprise Investment Scheme (“EIS”) which has been around since 1998, but starting from 6 April 2012 there will in addition be a new relief available to individuals who subscribe for shares under what will be known as the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (“SEIS”). 

A record 9.45m self assessment tax returns were filed on time this year, just over 80% of these filed online.  Although the 31 January deadline was unchanged, HMRC did allow 2 extra days because of industrial action which would have helped some taxpayers meet the filing requirement this year, although perhaps unsurprisingly the busiest day for online returns was 31 January when HMRC received nearly 445,000 returns with the rush hour being between 4pm and 5pm on that day!

Businesses in rural England are to benefit from a new £60m grant scheme, environment secretary Caroline Spelman has announced.

If you or your organisation offer work experience, including 'placements' and internships, you need to consider whether the individual who will work for you is entitled to the national minimum wage ("NMW").  

It is your responsibility to determine whether or not the individual is a worker for NMW purposes and, if they are, whether an exemption applies to them.