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MHA Carpenter Box - September Tax & Business Updates

 

Winter Economy Plan: key points

On Thursday 24 September, the Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak announced new financial measures to support jobs and the economy throughout the next six months.
The announcement came just two days after the government re-imposed a series of tighter restrictions to curb the spread of COVID-19 in the UK.
The key points include:

  • A new Jobs Support Scheme to replace the CJR Scheme
  • VAT cut for hospitality sector to continue until 31 March
  • Flexibility and extension to loans
  • Self employed grant to be extended on same basis as the Job Support Scheme
  • Deferral of VAT bills
  • Time to Pay extension for self-assessment taxpayers
  • Find out more about the key measures

MHA Construction Sector Report

The latest MHA Construction Sector Report shows a stark divide in today's Construction sector, between those who were able to capitalise on the opportunities presented by COVID-19, and those who struggled to finance their way through lock down.

To compile the report, our national Construction team benchmarked construction businesses across the UK to paint a national picture of the sector entering lockdown in March. The Report also reveals the results of the survey taken this summer to gauge the response of businesses currently responding to COVID-19. Finally, the Report highlights any regional projects or significant issues that may shape local responses.
By providing this snapshot into the sector's conditions, we aim to showcase ways in which the Government can provide the financial and other support the sector needs to not just survive but thrive in 2020 and beyond.

Read the Report

Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme claim deadline

The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) will end on 31 October 2020 and it is widely anticipated that the deadline for submitting claims to HMRC will be 30 November 2020. This cut-off date applies to claims under CJRS V2, the "flexible furlough" phase of CJRS which came into effect on 1 July 2020. 
Employers who have outstanding claims for July onwards should therefore be prepared to ensure that these are filed on or before 30 November 2020 in order to receive any government grant assistance. Please note that CJRS V2 is only available for employers that formerly made claims under CJRS V1 (to June 2020), for employees that have previously been furloughed.
If we are not already preparing claims on your behalf and you require assistance with this, please get in touch with your usual MHA Carpenter Box contact or email our dedicated CJRS team at cjrs@carpenterbox.com at your earliest convenience

Find out more

 

Virtual Macmillan Coffee Morning a big success!

Last Thursday, staff took part in a variety of virtual games and competitions to help raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support.

It is an annual tradition for MHA Carpenter Box to run a Macmillan Coffee Morning and this year was no different - except that it all took place virtually!

In spite of current restrictions this year, through a combination of online and cash donations, we managed to raise £328 for Macmillan Cancer Support - beating last year's total!

Thank you to all our amazing staff who participated in the competitions, baked and of course, donated.

 

Read more about our fundraising efforts

 

 

7 internal control opportunities in the New Normal

It's important to take the time to consider what benefits and efficiencies we have gained through working in a largely remote environment and how we can build these into a 'New Normal' going forwards.

This is to maximise not only the effectiveness of working practices but also to provide for the welfare of staff and the way that they choose to live their lives going forward. We have provided some thoughts on some of the considerations that should be given when adapting your control arrangements in the new world, including:

  1. Bring everyone (virtually) together
  2. Understand the risks
  3. Complexity is not your friend
  4. The threat of fraud will always be there
  5. Test, test, test
  6. Support through governance structures
  7. Seek assurance
  8. Read more about internal control

Pension age going up

The government has recently confirmed that it will increase the age at which an individual can take their private pension savings at the same rate as the increase in the State Pension age. In order that people have time to plan properly, the government proposes to wait until 2028 (when the State Pension age will rise to 67) to fully implement this change.

This means that from 2028, people will not be able to draw their private pension benefits without a tax penalty until age 57 (it is currently age 55), whether or not this is the point at which they stop work.
From then on, the minimum pension age in the tax rules will rise in line with the State Pension age so that it is always ten years previous to the prevailing state pension age.

Find out more about the update

The Kickstart Scheme: how does it work?

Funding for employers and new jobs for young people

The Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) has launched the £2 billion Kickstart Scheme, designed to create fully subsidised new job placements lasting 6 months for young people across the country who are currently on Universal Credit and at risk of long-term unemployment.

The placements are open to those aged 16-24. They will be available across a range of different sectors in England, Scotland and Wales. The first placements are likely to be available from November.

Employers will receive funding for 100% of the relevant National Minimum Wage for 25 hours a week, plus associated employer National Insurance contributions and employer minimum auto-enrolment pension contributions.

There will also be extra funding to support young people to build their experience and help them move into sustained employment after they have completed their Kickstart funded job.

Find out how to apply

 

Changes to digital advertising VAT rates for charities

Following a campaign by the Charity Tax Group, HMRC have agreed to change their policy on VAT rates applicable to digital advertising.

Previously, HMRC stated that certain supplies of digital advertising did not fall into the zero rating relief available for charities because the supplies were targeted advertising. They have now reconsidered certain types of digital advertising and decided that they are in fact zero-rated. Charities should note, however, that some types of digital advertising remain standard rated.

The following types of digital advertising have now been re-classed as zero rated for charities:

  • Retargeting individuals revisiting a website
  • Behavioural targeting
  • Demographic targeting
  • Audience targeting
  • Location targeting
  • Lookalike targeting
  • Find out what action you can take

WineGB Awards 2020 - trophy winners revealed!

A virtual ceremony took place on Wednesday 8th September to announce and celebrate the trophy winners of the WineGB Awards 2020.

The event was live streamed and hosted by Peter Richards MW. It included interviews with judges and WineGB co-Chairs Susie Barrie MW and Oz Clarke MBE along with Rebecca Palmer, wine buyer of Corney & Barrow. The video of the event also shares interviews and behind the scenes footage with the trophy and awards winners.

The Awards have been sponsored by Rankin and Waitrose & Partners, together with the various Industry Partners and trophy sponsors of WineGB.

We are very proud to have been involved with the event, sponsoring the Jack Ward Trophy for Best Still Bacchus, which was won by Chapel Down Wines.

Find out the winners

 

We welcome our new trainees to MHA Carpenter Box!

Last year we had a record number of new trainees joining our Worthing and Gatwick teams, making headlines with our largest ever intake.

We are pleased that this year, despite a global pandemic, we have once again taken on an impressive thirteen new trainees!

In Worthing, and working as part of our Business Services team is Chloe Dacombe, Noor Ali, Thomas Redpath, Oakley Evans, Jack Hallums, Dean Backstrom and George Renshaw-Fox. Joining our Audit team, we have Sharna Challenger and Jamie Corps, while Abi Blade and Imogon Peters have been welcomed in to the Tax Services Team.

In Gatwick, Ben Summers has joined Business Services with Harry Smith joining the Audit team.

Read about our new trainees

Sustainable Investing Webinar video

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted financial markets, along with global supply and demand. Through this we have continued to see an increase in popularity of sustainable investing, now often referred to as Environmental Social Governance based investing, or ESG for short.

However, there are still many preconceptions and uncertainty around sustainable investing and what it means for an investor.

Our webinar aimed to demystify sustainable investing and the potential impact it can have on risk and return. Our guest speaker was Paul Keogh from Royal London, who spoke about what ESG investing is, why it is becoming more popular, how it impacts the world we live in and in turn how this can create quality investment returns.

We also provided a case study of how MHA Carpenter Box Financial Advisers helped a client to achieve their retirement goals through a more sustainable investment portfolio.

Watch the video

 

MHA Carpenter Box Financial Advisers news update

Read the September newsletter!

Well, there was plenty of news in August 2020. With coronavirus and its effects, the continuing squabbles over Brexit, the US Presidential election and the resignation of the Japanese Prime Minister, the headline writers had more than enough to keep them busy. Objectively, much of the news was gloomy - redundancies continued to pile up, jobs growth in the US stalled and Japan recorded its biggest economic slump on record.

Despite this, stock markets around the world marched steadily upwards. As the FT headline on 1st September put it, Global stocks soar during hottest August for decades in markets.
This month's newsletter covers:

  • Recent financial movements within the UK, including industry updates and the state of the economy
  • Brexit and European news
  • A global overview: the US, Far East and Emerging Markets
  • Read this month's newsletter

Our new and improved Portal platform is coming soon

We are pleased to announce that our new and improved Portal for clients is currently being trialled, and will be rolled out over the upcoming months.
The current Portal platform allows clients to send and receive documents and sensitive information safely and securely, as well as approve documents electronically.
The new Portal will include all the same features as the old one, as well as:

  • Updated look and feel - we've given the design a fresh coat of paint and tweaked the layout to give it a more modern feel
  • Mobile friendly - you can now look at and review documents straight from your phone
  • More information - there's much more information available about the documents on the Portal and the accounts you have with us 
  • Greater account controls - you can manage who can access your accounts and what they can see can now be changed directly through the Portal
  • Increased security - we've updated the technology behind the Portal to keep your data as secure as possible
  • Clearer notifications - the email notifications from the Portal are much more informative so you know what to expect before logging in

The Portal will be rolled out over the next few months as users are required to approve their latest documents. Please do get in touch if you're interested in trialling the new Portal, or have any suggestions for additional features you might find useful.

Events:

Resources:

For a full listing of our resources and information sheets, visit our resources page on the MHA Carpenter Box website.

30 Sep 2020

  • Company accounts filing deadline
  • Corporation tax return

01 Oct 2020

  • Corporation tax payment

07 Oct 2020

  • VAT return

19 Oct 2020

  • Monthly postal PAYE/class 1 NICs/student loan payment
  • Postal PAYE settlements
  • Quarterly postal PAYE/class 1 NICs payment

22 October 2020

  • Quarterly electronic PAYE/NIC payment
  • Monthly electronic PAYE/class 1 NICs/student loan payment
  • Electronic PAYE settlements

31 Oct 2020

  • Paper deadline for self-assessment
  • Company accounts filing deadline

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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