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Energy & Renewables - how we can help you keep the lights on

As a firm with a keen interest in Energy & Renewables, it’s easy to see why we are hearing more and more about “keeping the lights on”. Regardless of what stance you take in the energy debate, few would argue that energy security isn’t one of the most critical things on the country’s agenda right now.

The UK’s energy that comes from low carbon sources is still low at 12%. Other countries leading the way stand at over 40%. Decarbonisation is a huge challenge and it will take a significant effort in the coming years to hit government and EU targets.

The season of change

It is at this time of year that we see the most distinct change in our natural surroundings, with autumn bringing a dramatic array of colours from greens to reds, yellows and browns in our trees. This of course marks the move from the summer months to the winter months and like nature, those of us running businesses must prepare for the tough months ahead.

Buy before Christmas to get more tax relief!

Well, strictly, if your business has a year end which straddles 31 December 2015, then it needs to buy any assets that qualify for the annual investment allowance (AIA) before 31 December 2015 in order to maximise its AIA claim.

The AIA is currently £500,000. This decreases to £200,000 from 1 January 2016.  However, the rules work in a bizarre way for businesses that have accounting periods which straddle 31 December 2015. For a business with a 31 January 2016 year end the maximum AIA is 11/12 of £500,000 + 1/12 of £200,000 = £475,000. So far, so good.  However, the maximum spend in January 2016 that would qualify is only 1/12 of £200,000 = £16,667!

New partner for Penrith brings fresh ideas to help local businesses grow

Armstrong Watson is delighted to announce that Glenn Clifford-Perkins has been made a partner of the firm. 

In joining the partnership, Glenn will be able to ensure his fresh, innovative approach to supporting clients is accessible to a wider client base. 

Are you prepared for £40,000 tax bill when you sell your rental property?

A number of clients this week have queried the tax position on the sale of their rental properties. Typically these properties have been rented out for some time and are valued much higher than their original cost. Owners may appreciate that there will be tax to pay but don’t fully appreciate the amount that this can be!

R&D Tax Relief Claims rise again

HMRC has today published its most recent R&D tax relief statistics and they continue to show a positive upward trend.

The stats are up to the 2013-14 tax year and include RDEC for the first time (the replacement to the Large company scheme).

Since the introduction of the relief in 2000, almost 120,000 companies have made claims and £11.4bn in tax relief has been claimed. 33,800 companies have claimed the SME relief and 7,800 have claimed under the Large scheme.

Double shortlist success in The British Accountancy Awards

Armstrong Watson are delighted to announce they have been shortlisted in not one but two categories in The British Accountancy Awards. The firm has been shortlisted in the ‘Top 50 Wealth Management Team of The Year’ and ‘Top 50 Tax Team of The Year’ categories.

The national awards, now in their 5th year, will take place on Tuesday 24th November at the Brewery in London.

The 2014 awards attracted more than 600 guests from practices all over the country including the small local firms to the larger regional, national and global players.

Technical, Manager or Entrepreneur – what role do you fulfil in your business?

Following on from my article last month recommending the business book the E-Myth Revisited, I thought I’d share in a little more detail about the introduction to the book.

What is The E-Myth? - That all business owners are Entrepreneurs. Michael Gerber disputes this and believes that all business owners have an entrepreneurial moment and in that moment they decide to set up in business.

Gerber believes that in any successful business you need three types of people:

Grant funding for business

The number and type of funding schemes available across the country are vast and ever changing. Many businesses can easily miss out on some extremely useful opportunities to help support the growth of their business, for many different reasons. Common reasons will include; not knowing what is out there, uncertainty about what is suitable for their business or even fear of the application process.

Thinking about taking your pension benefits? Beware of the potential tax traps

Due to the potential complexities involved, it makes sense to be able to deal with a firm that offers both financial planning and tax advice under one roof and Armstrong Watson can help.

As our previous articles have highlighted, those aged 55 and over now have significantly greater flexibility when accessing their pension funds and according to recent press reports, have withdrawn in excess of £1bn from their pension savings since the freedoms were introduced in April.