Use the form below to book your place!

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The 9th EC Directive on summer time harmonised, for an indefinite period, the dates on which summer time begins and ends across member states as the last Sundays in March and October respectively. Under the Directive, summer time begins and ends at 1.00am GMT in each Member State. Amendments to the Summer Time Act to implement the Directive came into force on 11 March 2002.

Time zones are the responsibility of individual Member States and vary across the EU. The UK is not planning to move to Central European Time.

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We are very pleased to announce that our new Cotswolds branch has its official opening on Monday 26th March.

The new building features multiple offices, as well as a conference room available for hire. We are now also able to service walk-in clients needing printing, photocopying, scanning, and faxing, as well as providing our usual services such as graphic & web design, print, and accountancy.

The new office is open Monday-Friday 9am-5pm, and no appointment is necessary. Just pop in at any time for a chat, a cup of coffee, or just to have a nose around!

If you are a business in the Cotswolds, or anywhere in the UK for that matter, and need accountancy, web, or print services for your business, then get in touch with Davenports: The Business Support Specialists.

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People trading on the internet who haven’t paid all the tax they owe have been offered the opportunity to come forward and pay up under an HMRC campaign, the e-Markets Disclosure Facility.

Under the time-limited opportunity, online marketplace traders can pay the tax they owe and benefit from lower penalties that are available to those who come forward rather than wait for HMRC to catch up with them.

Marian Wilson, head of HMRC Campaigns, said:

“We want to help people trading online to understand when they need to pay tax, and how to do that. This Twitter Q&A will try to answer their questions and clear up any grey areas.

“Our campaign is part of a wider HMRC initiative to provide support and guidance to the public on tax evasion and is aimed at people using online marketplaces to buy and sell goods as a trade or business and who fail to pay the tax owed.

“Those who only sell a few items and who are not traders are unlikely to be liable to pay tax on what they sell, and will not be targeted by this campaign.

“Our aim is to make it easy for online traders to contact us and make a full disclosure of income, thereby putting their affairs in order.”

Under the opportunity, online marketplace traders can come forward at any time between 14 March and 14 June to tell HMRC they want to take part.

They then have until 14 September to give details of the tax owed and arrange for full payment, including any interest and penalty due. If they make a full disclosure of what they owe before 14 September, some will receive no penalty at all, with most receiving a penalty of no more than 10 per cent of the tax owed.

After that date, using information pulled together from many different data sources, HMRC will investigate those who have failed to respond. The department has recruited additional investigators and will pursue those who have failed to declare their earnings and pay up. Penalties of up to 100 per cent of the tax owed, or even a criminal investigation, could follow.

How do online traders take advantage of the campaign?

From 14 March, online by completing a notification form at: http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/campaigns/notify.htm

Phone HMRC on 0845 601 2944. A dedicated team is available to give information.

A YouTube video is available giving guidance to people wondering whether their buying and selling on an e-marketplace website can be seen as trading – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uptdjVD2LgI

More than £500m has been raised by HMRC from voluntary disclosures, and a further £105m from follow-up activity. Previous campaigns have targeted offshore investments, medical professionals, plumbers and VAT defaulters.

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Gary Turner, 47, of Morley, Yorkshire, was a successful businessman who owned concessions of Turner’s Butchers in local branches of Kwik Save. But when trade slowed in 1996 he used his business to siphon off taxpayers money, deceiving both his family and the tax authorities.

Turner spent his criminal cash remodelling a luxury family home as well as buying a bungalow for his son in the same street and treating his extended family to expensive villa holidays. He owned six high performance cars all with private registration plates, and splashed out on Fender electric guitars costing thousands and had a stash of luxury Rolex watches worth over £35,000.

When HMRC began to investigate Turner, he claimed his fictitious accountant had all of his paperwork. He lied to investigators about his accounts and provided fake business records to show his claims were genuine but his so-called main suppliers – the Botswana Meat Commission – had never heard of him.

Under questioning from HMRC officers Turner confessed to faking invoices and submitting false VAT repayment claims for amounts between £19,000 and £46,000. He admitted that he had consistently lied to the taxman, describing his business affairs from 1996 as ”all fake”. In reality, Turner had not made any legitimate business income since 1996.

Peter Hollier, HMRC Assistant Director for Criminal Investigation said:

“Tax fraud is a serious crime. Turner tried to play the system so he could live a life of luxury. He went to a great deal of effort to try to hide his lies but our investigators unravelled what he thought was a water-tight scam.”

Around £785,000 in assets has already been restrained by HMRC and confiscation proceedings are underway to recover Turner’s criminal profits.

HHJ Belcher said in court:

“This crime was aggravated by greed, not need, and at the expense of the government and the taxpayer. Your crime hits all members of society; you have deprived the government of money and the NHS has been deprived also – the money could have been spent by the NHS. You and your family were the sole beneficiary of this crime.”

Simon Rowlinson, Specialist Prosecutor for the CPS Central Fraud Group said:

“Turner’s sentence is not the end of this case for the Crown Prosecution Service. We are now determined to go after Turner’s illicit gains and get that money back into the public purse for the benefit of the British public. Court proceedings will continue as we identify the assets bought with criminal money to confiscate, including houses, jewellery and other luxury items beyond the means of most working people.”

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The taskforces will target specific business sectors in specific locations where there is evidence of tax evasion. The likely targets include:

• the rag trade
• the motor trade
• indoor and outdoor markets.

HMRC expects to collect over £50m as a result of 12 taskforces launched in 2011/12 and, with 13 criminal investigations under way, this figure is set to rise.

HMRC will also extend some of the taskforces from 2011 to different locations, including the scrap metal taskforce launched in Scotland in November.

The Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, David Gauke, said:

“The Government is committed to tackling tax evasion and avoidance. HMRC’s taskforces are cracking down on people who choose to break the rules and creating a level playing field for the majority who play by them.

“It is completely unacceptable, at a time when we are trying to bring down the deficit that, while most hard-working people pay the right tax, there are others who try to get out of contributing their fair share. HMRC has received lots of useful information on its evasion hotlines, which shows that the honest majority are quite rightly fed up with the dishonest minority.”

HMRC’s Director of Local Compliance, Richard Summersgill, said:

“Taskforces only target people who are at high risk of breaking the rules and don’t pay the tax they owe. We know we’re going after the right people – some taskforces have hit rates of 100 per cent so far.

“Only those who choose to break the rules, or deliberately evade the tax they should be paying, will be targeted. If you deliberately seek to evade tax, HMRC can and will track you down, and you’ll face not only a heavy fine, but possibly a criminal prosecution as well.”

Taskforces come as a result of the Government’s £917m spending review investment to tackle tax evasion, avoidance and fraud from 2011/12, which aims to raise an additional £7bn each year by 2014/15.

If you are aware of someone who is evading their taxes you can tell HMRC via the Tax Evasion Hotline on 0800 788 887, via email or by post. Full details can be found at www.hmrc.gov.uk

Contact Davenports today using the simple form below to see how we can help your business

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The Electricians Tax Safe Plan is aimed at anyone who installs, maintains and tests electrical systems, equipment and appliances – and covers any tax owed, for whatever reason.

This includes people who make mistakes in the amount of tax they pay – even though they have taken reasonable care; those who are careless; or those who deliberately don’t tell HMRC about something they should have paid tax on.

Marian Wilson, head of HMRC Campaigns, said:

”Our aim is to make it easy for electricians to contact us, make a full disclosure of income and face a reduced penalty.

”We are using a variety of intelligence sources to target electricians who have not declared their full income. This is the same method we used for the plumbers’ campaign, and that intelligence has led to 10 arrests and thousands of investigations, so we know it works.

”The information we are getting is from a wide range of sources, including online advertising, industry bodies, trade directories, professional ‘electrical safety’ certificates, trade suppliers and tax records. Using sophisticated software, this detailed information enables us to target those who should come forward and use the Electricians Tax Safe Plan.

”I urge tradespeople in this group who think they owe tax on their income to get in touch and get their tax affairs in order, simply and on the best terms.

”We do not think everyone who receives a letter owes us tax. However, if you owe tax and don’t get a letter, do not assume that HMRC will not catch up with you.”

The letter, going out to more than 50,000 electricians, explains that once the opportunity expires, HMRC will clamp down on those in the sector who have failed to declare earnings and pay the tax that they owe.

Under the Electricians Tax Safe Plan, electricians can come forward at any time between 14 February and 15 May to tell HMRC they want to take part. Once they come forward, they have until 14 August to make their disclosure and arrange for payment. If they make a full disclosure, most face a penalty rate of only 10 per cent, with a maximum of 20 per cent.

After 15 May, using information pulled together from different data sources, HMRC will investigate those who have failed to come forward. Substantial penalties or even criminal prosecution could follow.

How do electricians let HMRC know that they intend to make a tax disclosure?

• From 14 February, online by completing a form at: www.hmrc.gov.uk/campaigns/notify.htm
• Ring HMRC on 0845 601 5041

A dedicated team is available to give to information and advice.

The Electricians Tax Safe Plan is the second part of a campaign aimed at tradespeople. The first targeted plumbers and heating engineers.

Previous and current HMRC campaigns are: tutors and coaches; the VAT initiative, aimed at people and businesses operating at or above VAT threshold but who have not registered to pay; plumbers and heating engineers; medical professionals; as well as offshore campaigns aimed at those with undeclared offshore earnings.

Contact Davenports today using the simple form below, to see how we can help

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Under normal rules any vehicle that is being used to clear snow from public roads using a snow plough or similar device is entitled to use red diesel. However, only vehicles that are constructed or adapted and used solely for spreading material on roads to deal with frost, ice and snow can undertake gritting work while using red diesel.

HMRC recognises the vital role played by farmers in helping to keep rural roads clear. So during this period of extreme weather, HMRC will adopt a pragmatic approach to the rules. This means that agricultural tractors on public roads clearing snow or gritting to provide access to schools, hospitals, a remote dwelling, or communities cut off by ice and snow can continue to use red diesel.

More details can be obtained by calling the Excise and Customs Helpline on 0845 010 9000

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Regulations, as originally drafted, introduced a leaver statement for employers in RTI to use in place of the P45 when employees moved jobs. Following the consultation and a workshop with employers and representative groups, HMRC will retain the P45 for all employees.

Stephen Banyard, Acting Director General for Personal Tax, said:

“We have been working closely with employers and stakeholders about the introduction of RTI. Employers told us to keep the P45 – which is exactly what we have done.

“RTI is on track and we want to work in partnership with employers and other stakeholders to make its introduction as smooth as possible.”

If you require assistance operating your payroll, contact Davenports today using the form below

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The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has updated its guidance for the kind of risks that directors must consider when putting together their annual reports.

Companies’ exposure to country risk through the use of financial instruments; the impact of country-specific austerity measures; currency events; and providing enhanced disclosure post-balance sheet to avoid misleading investors have been highlighted by the regulator.

“Directors of companies in the UK are trying to assess the risks to their companies’ business models in difficult and rapidly changing economic conditions,” said FRC chief executive Stephen Haddrill (pictured).

“The FRC is committed to promoting market confidence in corporate reporting. It has published this guidance for Directors on the preparation of balanced and understandable disclosures that put their company’s position and prospects in context of the current market conditions.”

Story from Financial Director

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