June 2009 Newsletter

FOREWORD

WELCOME TO PRIME CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS JUNE E-NEWS.

It’s been difficult to ignore all the ongoing controversy over MPs expenses brought to our attention by the media; however you may be surprised to know that in a few cases, some MPs in fact were just following guidelines set out by HMRC! Find out more by reading our ‘Can you flip your houses?’ article.

We have included an article about the imminent deadline relating to P11Ds. Be sure you’re not caught out by checking out our article ‘P11D deadline looming.’

You may recall when we sent out a special budget e-news we talked about the potential fallout from what was announced. There's a lot of talk at the moment about how to mitigate tax liabilities following the Budget proposals so please have a look at our article about that.

With the global economy as it is at the moment, fraud is on the increase – we’ve therefore included a couple of articles detailing just two of the scams.

As always, if there is anything within this e-news you would like further information on please contact us here.

Laurence Moore, Chairman, Prime Group

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Budget changes to tax rates and pension contributions relief

If you want to discuss ways of avoiding the new 50% tax rate (there is also a hidden 60% tax rate), understand whether the restrictions on pension relief will affect you or discuss the most efficient way of taking money out of your company (there are schemes that avoid tax altogether!) contact the Director that looks after your affairs or email Laurence Moore.

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Last chance to win a web shop worth £3,500!

For your last chance to be in with a chance to win a web shop worth £3,500 click here to enter.

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P11D deadline looming

The forms P11D, and where appropriate P9D, which report employees and directors benefits and expenses for the year ended 5 April 2009, are due for submission to HMRC by 6 July 2009.

This year HMRC have introduced a new quality standard for P11Ds that are submitted on paper, setting out how employers must complete the form and what information must be included. Failure to complete forms in accordance with the standard may result in the forms being rejected by HMRC and may result in a penalty. For more information on these issues please use the links below.

If you would like any help with the completion of forms P11D or the calculation of the Class 1A liability please email Ian Frost.

Internet links: HMRC P11D guidance / HMRC P11Db guidance / HMRC notice

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New Advisory Fuel Rates from 1 July 2009

HMRC has published revised Advisory Fuel Rates which take effect from 1 July 2009 (ie they apply to all journeys on or after that date).

The rates for petrol cars have not changed for engines sizes of 1400cc or less (10p per mile) or 1401–2000cc (12p per mile). For petrol cars over 2000cc the rate has gone up to 18p from 17p. The rates for diesel cars have all gone down by 1p per mile.

Since January 2008, the rates are reviewed twice a year, any changes taking effect on 1 January and 1 July. HMRC is content for the new rates to be implemented immediately where employers are able and wish to do so.

These rates only apply where employers:

• reimburse employees for business travel in their company cars, or
• require employees to repay the cost of fuel used for private travel.

If the rate paid per mile of business travel is no higher than the advisory rate for the particular engine size and fuel type of the car, HMRC will accept that there is no taxable profit and no Class 1 NICs liability. This reflects the fact that they are intended to reflect actual average fuel costs.

The rates do not apply in any other circumstances. In particular, employees driving company cars are not entitled to use them to calculate a deduction if employers reimburse them at lower rates. Such calculations should continue to be based on actual costs incurred.

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Can you ‘flip’ your houses?

So, we've heard a lot about MP's "flipping" their second homes to avoid capital gains tax, but did you know that not only is this legal, but also the planning is covered in detail in HMRC's manual?

If you have 2 properties that could or have been at some time your home, at the expense of a loss of one week’s Principal Private Residence (PPR) relief on one you can secure three years relief on the other. So there you have it. The MP's were just doing what HMRC had said. And it was all within the rules. As usual, the devil is in the detail, and this is all about submitting PPR elections, and doing it at the right time. If you are in any doubt, then contact us.

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Vehicle scrappage scheme

HMRC have published their view on the tax implications of the car and van scrappage scheme. The guidance covers the business tax and VAT implications of the scheme.

If you have any queries on the tax implications of the scheme please contact us.

Internet links: Directgov website / HMRC Brief

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Up to £1000 of Government Funding could be a phone call away

You may be entitled to up to £1000 of Government funding for your staff to undertake leadership and management development, as part of the Government's "Train to Gain" service.

This could be just what you need to help cut your firm's training costs, whilst enabling your staff to undertake essential leadership and management training. If you are interested, visit the Traintogain website.

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Fraudulent Job Offers & Visa Scams

Companies House is seeing an increase in the number of complaints and queries regarding apparent job offers in the UK. These include offers with Oil companies and the Banking, Hotel and College sectors.

Adverts, presently purporting to be from oil or petroleum companies, for a variety of well-paid jobs in the UK are being placed in reputable newspapers or websites. These adverts also usually offer facilities to obtain UK visas through their contacts.

Payment for these visas is usually requested through a money service bureau. The payment can be collected anywhere in the world.

These jobs do not exist and the only legitimate way to obtain a UK visa is through the local UK embassy or commission - full details can be found at www.ukvisas.gov.uk.

You should always treat any such job offers with extreme caution, especially if it seems too good to be true. Make your own enquiries without using the contact details given by the company as these are also false.

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URGENT FRAUD WARNING Authentication Codes for WebFiling

There have been instances recently where Companies House customers have been contacted by someone claiming to be from Companies House, asking for verification of their WebFiling Authentication Codes.

Please be aware that Companies House personnel will never contact you by telephone to try to ascertain your WebFiling Authentication Codes.

Should anyone contact you claiming to be from Companies House please try to obtain a return telephone number and contact us immediately.

Our company monitoring service which we offer when filing clients’ annual returns is very cost-effective protection from all type of corporate ID theft. For more details visit our website.

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Disclaimer
This newsletter is published for the information of clients and other recipients of our email newsletters. It provides only an overview of the regulations in force at the date of publication, and no action should be taken without consulting the detailed legislation or seeking professional advice. Therefore no responsibility for loss occasioned by any person acting or refraining from action as a result of the material contained in this newsletter can be accepted by the firm.