Jon Stow Consulting – Tax Solutions

Recently I have written posts on Furnished Holiday Lettings and on the new Capital Gains regime. Such is the enthusiasm for property investment and development even in these troubled times (and I share that interest myself) that I thought I should write a brief summary of the taxation implications of these interests and activities.

Property still offers the prospect of profits and long-term investment gains at a time when share markets are uncertain and yields on savings are generally poor. … Continue Reading

Following George Osborne’s “Emergency” Budget in June and still in the middle of a downturn, it is been hard to assess the immediate impact of the changes announced on small businesses. This practice acts for many who are wondering how they will be affected, and whilst there was a good deal of immediate reaction in the aftermath, there has been time for some more considered thought.

I am not blessed with second sight, but will dive into the debate anyway. Firstly, here are the basic measures:

• For small incorporated businesses the … Continue Reading
  

Golden handshakes are payments to an individual upon termination of employment and may also be known as lump sum payments.There are cases where such payments are not taxed at all, which are those post-death when an employee has died in service, and in some cases payments due to disability may qualify for exemption. Those are outside the norm.For the most part termination payments are taxable under special rules. The first £30,000 of a leaving payment will be exempt from tax if it is an ex-gratia payment and therefore non-contractual. One may have to make the case … Continue Reading

I cannot remember a time when the tax regime in Britain was in a position of such flux. As we know the cost of the banking crisis and the recession has cost the government, or at least UK plc dearly. There is a huge deficit to be made up, exacerbated by the futile policy of reducing VAT from 17.5% to 15% for thirteen months. There is talk that after the election whoever is in power will have to raise VAT to 20%. There is not much we can do to mitigate this in advance, and from the Government’s point of … Continue Reading

Last Spring I wrote a piece entitled “Render unto Caesar…” which pretty much sets out my view concerning tax avoidance and those who are reluctant to pay tax. For the record I reiterate that I have no objection to people taking sensible uncomplicated steps to pay less tax. That is no different from choosing to fill your car with petrol, diesel or gas at a particular establishment which charges a little less than the one down the road. Daily essentials everyone buys on price because the value is the same. Complicated and artificial tax avoidance schemes really have … Continue Reading

We professionals in the tax business are fond of offering tax health checks to prospective clients, but now we should be offering health checks to medical professionals, who are the target of HMRC’s latest campaign to collect tax from perceived miscreants. I am sure the Revenue is not suggesting that all in the health business are into dodgy dealing and falsifying their tax returns, but presumably there must be a supposition that “extras” such as giving references to patients, signing passport applications and getting payments from pharmaceutical companies slip through into doctors’ pockets unnoticed by their accountants or tax advisers. … Continue Reading

Dealing as I do with the nitty-gritty results of small business owners’ efforts, I am puzzled by some of the predictions for the economic recovery and in relation to the recent short term sales figures of certain more successful stores, notably John Lewis, Marks and Spencer, and House of Fraser.  My perception is that service businesses have had a very poor year, and it is perhaps poorer in 2009-10 than for the 2008-09 period to March last year. I believe there is a huge gap between the self-employed (and I include micro businesses operating through companies) and … Continue Reading