Month: February 2018

What is the optimum pay for business owners in 2018/19?

Directors aren’t subject to Minimum Wage rules and if they are the only paid employee then they don’t need an auto enrolment pension.

So assuming they don’t get a salary from another job, it generally makes sense for Directors to be paid above the NI Lower Earnings Limit and below the Employee’s primary class 1 contributions level.

The LEL for 2018/19 is £116 per week and the Primary Threshold is £162 per week.

So that’s £6,032 to £8,424 per year.

Earning above the LEL means directors will qualify for certain state benefits.

If the company has other employees and they earn sufficient to incur national insurance then you could pay more to the director and take advantage of the Employment Allowance of £3,000 which offsets employers national insurance.

The personal allowance will be £11,850 for 2018/19, that’s how much you can earn tax free.

Higher rate tax starts when total earning hit £46,350.

The Dividend Allowance drops from £5,000 to £2,000 in 2018/19

steve@bicknells.net

 

How to succeed at Speed Networking

Speed Networking is great fun, so don’t miss the chance to do it at our next BH Banter on Monday 5th March. To be successful at Speed Networking you need to do the following Prepare You will only have a couple of minutes to explain who you are, what you do and why people want […]

via How to succeed at Speed Networking — Bournemouth Chamber of Trade & Commerce

Does adopting CSR make you more profitable?

Many businesses falsely believe that adopting Corporate Social Responsibility will make them less profitable but the evidence and expert opinion actual suggests the opposite.

The truth is that customers, suppliers and society as a whole are placing increased importance on CSR. This trend is likely to further increase as government spending is cut further and the uncertainty of BREXIT gathers pace.

The success of CSR depends on how you embrace it, here some approaches originally identified by McKinsey:

Pet Projects

These projects reflect the interests of the senior management but often don’t live up to expectations.

Philanthropy

Generally this type of CSR is donation based and tend to benefit society more than the company

Propaganda

This type of CSR is designed to enhance the company’s reputation, its often seen as type of advertising

Smart Partnering

These partnerships move beyond the three areas above and work to improve employment, quality of live and living standards. These partnerships are see as providing the highest benefits for Society and the Business.

steve@bicknells.net

Who cares about corporate social responsibility? — Bournemouth Chamber of Trade & Commerce

Bournemouth Chamber of Trade and Commerce care! For us Social Responsibility encompasses Supporting Charities Supporting Employees Supporting Local Businesses If we want a sustainable, inclusive and successful local economy all three of the corner stones above are vital. Surely no one can deny the importance of the three areas of social responsibility we have outlined. […]

via Who cares about corporate social responsibility? — Bournemouth Chamber of Trade & Commerce

The Digital Records Trap – Will HMRC catch you out?

Historically many companies have written up board minutes and in some cases declared dividends retrospectively at the end of year, but times are changing!

In the age of cloud accounting and making tax digital HMRC will know exactly when entries are posted and when documents are signed.

Unreliable records were a major factor in Dr Maqbool Baloch v HMRC, Dr Baloch a locum doctor was forced to pay £0.5 million in tax and penalties!

Dr Baloch tried to argue that he was employed via his Limited Company – KSM Medics Ltd – but the paperwork didn’t tie up – there were board minutes for meetings which HMRC could prove didn’t take place. As a result he was treated as Self Employed because he ticked a box that said he was self employed for his agency work even though Dr Baloch argued this was not a contract.

From April 2019 Making Tax Digital will apply to VAT, this will give HMRC access to real time information direct from your accounting records and time stamped.

In order to avoid problems preparing or extracting monthly accounts will mean dividends can be declared in the correct time periods.

steve@bicknells.net

 

Is TOMS an option for Serviced Accommodation VAT?

TOMS is the Tour Operators Margin Scheme (VAT Notice 709/5).

It is a special scheme for businesses that buy-in and re-sell travel, accommodation and certain other services (see paragraph 2.9) as a principal or undisclosed agent (that is, acting in your own name).

TOMS does not apply to:
# supplies you have arranged as a disclosed agent/intermediary and your commission is readily identifiable (see paragraphs 2.14 and 6.7)
# in-house or agency supplies you make which are not packaged/supplied with margin scheme supplies (see paragraphs 2.12 and 2.13)
# supplies you make to business customers for subsequent resale by them (that is, wholesale supplies), or
# supplies that are incidental to your other supplies (see paragraph 3.6)

If you are registered for VAT, you must normally account for tax on the full selling price of your supplies, but you can reclaim the VAT charged on purchases (subject to the normal rules).

Under the TOMS, you cannot reclaim any UK or EC VAT charged on the travel services and goods you buy-in and re-supply – the tax on such goods or services is accounted for in the relevant Member State by the providers of those services (hotels, airlines and so on).
However, as a tour operator based in the UK, you only account for VAT on the margin you make on your margin scheme supplies (see paragraph 2.7), that is, the difference between the amount you receive from your customer (including any amounts paid on behalf of your customer by third parties) and the amount you pay your suppliers.

A margin scheme supply is defined in law (see paragraph 1.2) as a ‘designated travel service’.
This means it is a supply of goods or services which is:
bought in from another person and re-supplied without material alteration or further processing, and
supplied by a tour operator from an establishment in the UK, for the direct benefit of a traveller – see paragraph 2.8

The following are always margin scheme supplies:
# accommodation
# passenger transport
# hire of a means of transport
# trips or excursions
# services of tour guides
# use of special lounges at airports

The reason why this would be useful for Serviced Accommodation is because often its done on Rent to Rent basis and the landlord supplies Residential Accommodation (which exempt from VAT), Serviced Accommodation is Vatable (if you cross the £85k threshold), so the VAT bill would be lower using TOMS. However, its not like a normal tour operator, normally they would buy in holiday accommodation not residential accommodation!

So before using TOMS you should get prior approval from HMRC after full disclosure of all the facts.

steve@bicknells.net