Latest News

Will Inheritance Tax be simplified?

The Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) recently published its second report on making Inheritance Tax (IHT) simpler to understand and have proposed a range of recommendations. _­

Problems with VAT Direct Debit Payments

With the holiday season in full flow, it’s very easy to understand how the attention of businesses in the Hospitality sector is rightly focused towards guests, from quick turnarounds on accommodation changeover days to making sure quality and supply of food and beverages meet the ever increasing standards of the UK holiday maker.

Construction Retention's – it’s time for change

The construction retention is open to abuse, and contractors are potentially missing out on millions of pounds of unpaid invoices. Bill Bordill, a director at Escalate partner firm Decipher, explains why.

Have you reviewed your costings process recently?

Accurately knowing your costings is an essential part of running a successful business, particularly if you’re looking to make significant changes and grow. However, sometimes the need to make changes in your business also requires the need to change the way those costings are worked out too.

We recently assisted a long standing Manufacturing client with exactly this issue. The method they were using for costing their production of parts for the engineering industry was old fashioned and no longer fit for purpose.

Escalate is providing access to justice for thousands of SMEs.

Escalate innovate and award winning dispute resoltuon service is providing access to justice for thousands of small and medium sized (SMEs) businesses.

What a relief for entrepreneurs…

As a tax professional advising entrepreneurial businesses, one of the main subjects which repeatedly makes my phone ring, or sets off my email ping, is that of Entrepreneur’s Relief (ER).  

Casual Dining – Will the Sector Learn the Lessons from 2018?

Do not be in any doubt, 2018 was a difficult year for the hospitality sector, with around an 18% increase in the number of food and drink companies entering into an insolvency process. The trend does not appear to have gone away just yet, with the major casualty of the year so far being, arguably, Jamie’s Italian, which entered Administration in May, after failing to adhere to the terms of its Company Voluntary Arrangement rescue proposals.

Payroll Team Awarded Coveted Gold Standard for Third Time

Armstrong Watson's payroll service line has been accredited with the Chartered Institute of Payroll Professional’s Payroll (CIPP) Assurance Scheme for the third time.

We’re all going on a Summer Holiday

With the school summer holidays for many children only a few days away you may think that many families will already have their trips booked and planned. However, with the uncertainty of Brexit, combined with the increasing stress on household incomes due to ever increasing prices, many families are having to tighten their belts and are considering a holiday in the UK. These families are also leaving the booking of holidays to a much later stage to ensure the family finances can stretch to the cost of such a trip.

Increasing HMRC Tax Investigations and spiralling costs

In recent years HMRC has become much more aggressive towards the collection of tax, using their connect system that holds information from many government departments as well as external bodies and offshore institutions, and this has led to a greater focus on tax enquiries to collect any tax HMRC perceive as unpaid.  As a result, we have seen an increase in the number of individuals and businesses being faced with enquiries into their tax affairs and these HMRC enquiries can amount to significant costs to defend the case and seek a fair and pragmatic outcome.