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Home / Update and Advice/ Good tax advice is key to preparing for changes from HMRC
Good tax advice is key to preparing for changes from HMRC
In this brave new world of political alliances, those involved in dealing with tax issues will be looking carefully at the likely unravelling of the tax landscape over the next year or two. Quite simply, tax planning – that is, the art of arranging matters so as to legally minimize tax exposure going forward, is going to be essential.
Of course no one has a crystal ball, but we already know that capital gains tax is a likely target to be increased. This means that anyone thinking of selling a chargeable asset should focus on timing and planning ahead. We know that it is likely that employee National Insurance (NI) is going up next year even if employer NI stays the same, so remuneration planning should be considered. VAT is a candidate to be increased or its scope extended. Businesses with non-business customers who cannot recover VAT may therefore see charges to customers go up unless they drop prices.
On top of the uncertainty about tax rates we are now seeing the tough new tax penalties introduced from April 2009 starting to bite. Add the fact that tax payments to HMRC have to amount to cleared funds by the various due dates (it is no longer enough to send a cheque to HMRC by the due date) and the hostility of the new tax world is all too clear. Throw in the new company requirements to file accounts and tax returns in the new electronic format for years ending 31 March 2011 and it would be easy to panic.
The message for taxpayers is clear: get good advice. This might include your accountant working with a good firm of solicitors like Adams Solicitors to check the legality and quality of paperwork as flimsy evidence can be fatal to any tax argument. Your accountants should also undertake a PAYE audit as part of that process. If you’re in need of advice on any of these matters, contact Adrian Mansbridge on 01923 821416 or, for legal advice, please speak to San Chima at [email protected].
