What are people saying about us?
Our Practice Manager has been busy framing testimonials this month, and we have displayed a few of our favourites. Pop in for a coffee and see if you feature!
George’s Balancing Act
Introduction Another political budget, with one eye on the EU referendum, and another on the looming battle to replace David Cameron as Tory party leader. George Osborne has to avoid alienating the general public, AND keep as many Tory MPs on his side, so they vote for him when David Cameron’s long announced retirement as PM takes effect. So what has George pulled out of his magician’s hat? Overview The budget has been delivered against a backdrop of slowing growth, and concerns about the global economy. There has been a significant amount of prior publicity, so we knew some of what was coming. It’s been described as a “budget for the next generation”, which basically means the Chancellor is appealing to the under 40s. The following report highlights some changes that you need to factor in to your forward planning. Changes affecting individuals Stamp Duty Land Tax We were promised…
The election’s over, what’s next?
So now we know the outcome of the most unpredictable election in a generation. The question for good businesses is not “How did that happen?”, but “What happens next?” The Tories look like they will be just one seat short of an overall majority. They are likely to form a government without partners, as the opposition is too divided to vote them out, so another 5 years as PM for David Cameron is on the cards. The main opposition is likely to come from within the party. By this, I mean from his euro-sceptic element. It is possible that EU membership becomes the main battle ground for the next five years. This uncertainty will be damaging to business, and my hope is we get to the promised in/out referendum as soon as possible. What does that mean for business? In many ways it is good news for business. The economic…
Budget 2014
With many forecasters predicting a quiet budget, you would think there’s not much to report. Think again. There is a vast amount of change incorporated. This blog sets out the main changes, and some of the points for action that SMEs may want to consider…. General taxation 1.1 Tax thresholds The tax free threshold rises to £10,000, with a further increase to £10,500 in April 2015. The NIC threshold for both employee and employer contributions increases to £153 per week (£663 per month or £7,956 per annum) Action: If you have adopted the traditional low salary/ dividend reward structure you’ll need to adjust the amounts to keep to the most efficient split. 1.2 Savings rate From 2015, the Chancellor has abolished the 10% rate for the first £2,880 of savings income, has made it tax free. He has also extended the band to £5,000. From April 2015, company owners may…
George’s Marvellous (?) Medicine
Introduction George Osborne has just delivered his last Budget speech before the election. As it stands, the election is too close to call, so who knows if he’ll get another opportunity. This was a highly political budget, but included a huge number of changes. I’ll attempt to summarise those changes, and list some action points. Overview The budget has been delivered against a background of higher growth, and lower inflation. This has given the Chancellor a large degree of room for manoeuvre. He has used this to announce a wide range of changes, while continuing to reduce the expected deficit. He now expects to return to a surplus in 2018/19, meaning the national debt will eventually start to fall then. These figures have been based on reasonable growth forecasts of an average of 2.4% per annum over the next Parliament. Changes affecting individuals Income tax The increase in the personal…
Taking advantage
Introduction A lot has been written about the fall in oil prices, the low inflation expected in the UK, and the deflation now being recorded in the Eurozone. Deflation is considered to be a dangerous thing. The argument goes something like this. Prices fall, and consumers decide to wait before buying anything, in the hope that prices fall further. While this may sound like good news, it puts retailers and manufacturers under pressure. Their profits are lower, and in turn, they look to cut back on investment, and costs. Costs include wages, which mean employees have less to spend, which means they hold off on major purchases, thus reinforcing the cycle. Japan, in particular has experienced a couple of decades of very slow economic growth, caused in part by this kind of deflation. As a consequence, it has lost its global reputation for innovation, and in turn market share for…
Work ON, not IN!
[Originally a guest post on www.owenjonesdesign.com] Introduction It is a real problem when you are doing something you love isn’t it? You set up your business because you are good at something, or you are passionate about it, or both, but you never seem to make progress. You are busy doing what you love, but somehow it’s not as rewarding as you’d thought it would be. Very often, that is because you are working IN, and not ON your business. What’s the difference? If you are going to reap the rewards of your hard work, then you’ll need to balance these two aspects. Before you can do that, you need to understand what they are. Working in the business This is basically doing the stuff for clients/customers that the business was set up to do. For Owen, this is producing high quality design ideas, and implementing them as part of…
Avoiding that “Monday feeling”
Mondays happen on a regular basis. For most people, Monday is the day we get back after a couple of days off. Problem is, other people have also had time off, and some of them will have remembered something over the weekend they want you to do. And their first opportunity to ask you is… …Monday morning. Here a few tips to help you set up your week for success. Expect and plan for the unexpected. You WILL get interrupted. So leave some time for those interruptions. I can remember an instance where we had a potential client walk in off the street with his accounts under his arm. We had capacity for someone to see him, so my boss at the time took the meeting, and we ended up with a client who is still with the firm, over 25 years later! If you can get in early, use…
A new source of funding?
Introduction The new pension rules give a great opportunity for some tax free cash. The additional flexibility that kicks in next year is to be welcomed, but there are opportunities NOW. The preconditions You do have to be over 60 years of age in order to benefit, but I am told by one financial adviser that you may be able to get access to your funds earlier in “special circumstances”. One surprising aspect of this is that you do not need a large pension pot in order to benefit. In fact, if you have less than £10,000 in a pension fund, you can take all of it now, under the “triviality” rules. These have been with us for many years, but the limit was only increased from £2,000 this month. This applies even if your total pension savings exceed the £30,000 limit. If your total pension’s savings are less than…