Entrepreneur’s Relief issues solved?

Feb15

“Take advantage of Entrepreneur’s Relief” is a phrase that accountants use frequently with clients when dealing with Capital Gains tax, but is it as clear cut and straightforward a relief as we believe it to be?

The implementation of Entrepreneur’s Relief (ER) has raised many issues amongst advisers over the past four years with some feeling that there have been a number of problems surrounding the practicalities of the relief since it was first introduced in 2008.

Following a number of technical queries being raised surrounding ER, a new practical guidance document has been issued by the ICAEW Tax Faculty to tackle issues surrounding Entrepreneur’s Relief. The document shows examples of stumbling blocks encountered and discusses solutions.

The document can be viewed here.

Have you noticed any practical issues with the relief?

Have your say here.

Posted in Entrepreneur's Relief, Tax | Leave a comment

Exporting for growth

Jan19

Driving company growth in a recession can be a challenging prospect and stagnating growth in the UK and Europe has lead to a multitude of restructuring and recovery efforts, along with many mergers and acquisitions.  Companies often look to free up assets in a recession, and businesses with purchasing power can exploit the opportunity to grab a larger share of the market.

Exporting is high on the agenda, especially to those countries that have not experienced a recession such as China, the world’s fastest growing economy, and the other BRICS countries; Brazil, Russia, India and South Africa.   High-tech, green energy and creative industries are in high demand as are the UK’s management and engineering skills.

What does this mean for UK businesses?  How can UK companies make this work for them?

Wilkins Kennedy is the accountancy, tax and finance partner of the LinkToChina (www.linktochina.org) initiative, a joint project of the British Chambers of Commerce and the Chinese Chamber network, CCPIT.  The project offers a unique business matchmaking service and complements the work of UKTI and professional advisors very well.

LinkToChina organises events throughout the year, which offers UK businesses and investors the opportunity to meet with company owners and investors from China markets.

In 2010, there were over 2.5 million companies registered at Companies House.
Perhaps some of these businesses need to look beyond traditional markets to discover a business opportunity in the world’s growing markets?

What do you think? Please leave us your feedback here, or let us know if your business would like to get involved!

Posted in LinkToChina, Restructuring & Recovery | Leave a comment

Corporate Tax Avoidance and the Ethics debate:

Dec09

The last twelve months has seen a certain amount of public unrest in the UK following a period of deep recession and economic turmoil.

Following the global recession, the coalition government has highlighted a number of national debt issues the UK is facing, including an £80 billion pension deficit.

Grassroots anti-austerity action network UK Uncut has brought the tax avoidance issue to the forefront of the news agenda, listing a number of targets on its website, including: major retailers, banks and the government – all of which they feel could be contributing more to the economy by means of their tax bill.

Public protests and sit-ins have taken place around the country, encouraging boycotts of certain corporations for taking advantages of loopholes in the system to avoid paying tax.

What do you think? Should the loopholes be exploited? Is it up to the organisation to voluntarily choose to pay tax, as it is ethically correct? Or if the loopholes are there to benefit the company or shareholders, and the action is lawful, should it be taken?

Have your say here:

Posted in Corporate Tax | Leave a comment

A slice of audit pie, anyone?

Nov25

Huge changes could be on the horizon for the UK’s largest accountancy firms as Michel Barnier, the European Union Internal Audit Commissioner, looks to shake up the European Audit Market with some radical reforms.

Historically, the Big Four accountancy firms PWC, Deloitte, KPMG and Ernst & Young have dominated the audit marketplace, but following the financial crisis, the auditing market has taken much more of a high profile position in the accounting industry. A new proposal from the European Commission seeks to increase competition by restricting certain service operations and by introducing compulsory rotation of auditors and joint auditing.

Critics of the new proposal argue that restricting firms from carrying out lucrative non-audit services with low-margin audit work will have a huge impact on service quality and long standing client relationships. Furthermore, smaller firms may not wish to take the risks and be held accountable due to the strict regulation that comes with the territory.  Joint auditing could involve a cost increase and is not without its complications including data sharing and firm compatibility.

Could the new restrictions even cause the break up of these dominant firms, and /or break off smaller accountancy firms to form as frustrated partners shun restriction and take their clients elsewhere?

Supporters of the new proposal say it will be a healthy change, open up the market and increase opportunities for mid size and smaller firms like Wilkins Kennedy, who offer a range of audit services.

The new plans are due for publication on November 30th – what’s your view?

Posted in Audit & Assurance | 3 Comments