Author: Steve Russell Studios

Tax Enquiry Fee Protection Service – Can you afford to be without it?

Steve Russell Studios

For Many Years, HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has put extra resources into pursuing more tax. As a result, clients face an increased risk of an enquiry into their tax affairs. In addition, HMRC now has wider powers to visit premises and inspect financial records. It is expected that HMRC will use these powers frequently, that enquiries will become more complex and that the costs of responding will increase. So it is important as it has ever been for clients to obtain protection against those costs.

We have considerable expertise in defending clients under enquiry by HMRC. If you are selected for a tax enquiry, we will aim to settle it quickly and minimise the final tax liabilities. Even so, answering all of HMRC’s questions takes time and the enquiry could drag on for months. It can cost thousands of pounds to defend you, whatever the end result.

To provide peace of mind, we offer a Tax Enquiry Fee Protection Service. The service is backed by an insurable policy under which we can claim the costs of defending clients in tax enquiries. Clients who subscribe to the service will also be able to obtain helpful advice about the complex areas of Health & Safety and Employment Law.

The links below answer questions you may have about tax enquiries, sets out details of our insurance cover and other benefits, and gives information about our insurance provider.

Further information            Frequently asked questions

Budget 2013

Steve Russell Studios

A quick summary of the main points to come of the 2013 budget:

  • Date set for increase in the personal allowance to £10,000.
  • New scheme for tax free childcare.
  • Further reduction in the main rate of corporation tax to 20% from 1st April 2015.
  • Employee-shareholder contracts will be exempt from income tax and NIC for the first £2,000 of shares received.
  • The introduction of an allowance of £2,000 per year for all businesses and charities to be offset against their employer Class 1 NIC liability from April 2014.
  • A capital gains tax re-investment relief for gains made in the tax year 2013/14 where the gain is invested in Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme shares.
  • Significant non-tax measures have been announced to tackle long term problems in the housing market and are covered in the Other Matters section of this summary.

2013 Budget Summary

Budget 2012

Steve Russell Studios

A quick summary of the main points to come out of the 2012 Budget:

  • The Income Tax basic personal allowance is to be increased to £9,205 in 2013/14, and the higher rate threshold reduced by £1,025 to £41,450. 2012/13 basic personal allowance is £8,105.
  • Age allowance to be frozen from 2013/14 and then phased out
  • Additional rate of income tax reduced to 45% from 2013/14
  • 7% Stamp Duty Land Tax to be brought in for residential properties valued at over £2million and new measures to counter ownership through companies
  • Child benefit will be phased out where income is over £50,000
  • The main rate of Corporation Tax is being cut to 24% from April 2012 and to 22% by April 2014
  • Voluntary cash basis to be based on turnover for tax on profits of small unincorporated businesses.

2011 Budget in Summary

Steve Russell Studios

The basic points to come out of the 2011 Budget were as follows:

-The individual personal allowance for 2011/12 will be £7,475 representing an increase of £1,000 each as previously announced.
-For 2012/13 this will increase by a further £630 to £8,105.
-The 40% band will start at the lower level though of £42,475 this year and 50% will be charged on income over £150,000!
-The lower rate of corporation tax is being reduced to 20% (applicable on profits below £300,000)
-Full rate of corporation tax is reduced by 2% to 26% this year, and will fall by a further 1% p.a. over the next 3 years
-Lifetime limit for Entrepreneurs’ Relief for capital gains tax on the disposal of business assets is increased from £5 million to £10 million.
-R&D tax credit for small and medium sized enterprises will be increased to 200% from April 2011 and to 225% a year later.
-The main rates of National Insurance will increase by 1% from 6/4/11 as previously announced. The primary threshold for employers NI will be £139 per week, and the secondary threshold will become £136 a week. Employees will not pay NI on earnings below £139 per week.
-From April 2011 losses on furnished holiday lettings will only be offset against income from the same business and so cease to be treated as trading losses allowable against other earned income.
Approved mileage rates which employers can pay employees is increased to 45p per mile (from 40p) for the first 10,000 miles. The excess over 10,000 p.a. will still be at 25p per mile.
-Capital Gains annual exemption increases to £10,600.
-VAT registration threshold will increase from £70,000 to £73,000 from 1/4/11.