Latest News

Advisory fuel rates for company cars

Following a change in the advisory fuel rates by HMRC, from 1 June 2014 the mileage rates applying to company cars are as follows:

Accountancy firm beat some of the UK’s largest businesses in the National ‘Top Employers’ survey

Armstrong Watson scored a hat-trick in this year’s national ‘Top Employers for School & College Leavers Survey 2014/2015’ as published in today’s Independent newspaper.

Beating off strong competition from big businesses for the second year running; both in the accountancy sector such as Deloitte and KPMG and the wider business economy such as Morrisons and Santander.

‘Y’ is shaping the future for Accountancy Firm in Yorkshire

Accountants and Business advisory firm Armstrong Watson have today announced its membership of Welcome to Yorkshire’s Y30 Club. With the firms growing demand to advise family businesses and the knowledge within the group across the hospitality and leisure industry it was an easy decision to step in as their newest member.

Changes to the taxation of partnerships and LLPs

The Chancellor announced in his Budget this year that he intended to consult on changes to mixed partnerships, and on the deemed self-employed status of LLP members, as he sought to tackle the perceived tax avoidance in this area. On 5 December, as part of his Autumn Statement, he announced that certain elements of new legislation would come into force immediately.

New legislation to make rent arrears recovery more difficult for commerical landlords

On 6 April this year, Distress for Rent was replaced with Commercial Rent Arrears Recovery, CRAR, as the correct legal process for landlords wishing to recover rent arrears by seizing goods from the tenants. The new CRAR will still allow landlords of commercial premises the right to recover rent arrears through the seizure of goods, although the two systems are very different. The type of goods that may be seized has been reduced and the right may only be exercised after a more protracted procedure.

Non-deductible fridges

The first trickle of tax return information for the 2013-14 tax year has started to arrive in our offices. My advice to clients gathering information together is they should bring in all the things they think might be relevant. We can then pick out what is not deductible for tax purposes. This year, for my clients with rental income, I will be looking out for any expenditure on fridges.

Six ways an EPoS system can make retailers more profitable

I recently wrote about why businesses should be accepting card payments from customers, in which I suggested businesses should see past the cost of card processing and consider the benefits. This month I want retailers to consider the same idea when it comes to point of sale technology.

Bridging the taxes (The EU, taxes, and a dash of Nordic crime)

Sitting in reading subtitles on a Saturday night is now a perfectly acceptable activity. I know I’m not the only one amongst friends and family who enjoyed watching the Scandinavian drama ‘The Bridge’ earlier this year. All muted shades and moody lighting offset the acerbic nature of the lead Saga and a mildly overblown plot nicely. Until the third series I’ve transitioned to the heart of Europe, following the mildly rumpled Paul Gerardi as he drives an assortment of German cars around Belgium in Salamander, politicians falling like nine-pins all about.

HMRC visits: Trouble in store?

Many businesses dread a visit from HMRC; there is always the worry that something may arise, which results in paying more tax. There is also an understandable sense of dread at the potential disruption it could cause in the run up to, during and even following the visit. However, there are a number of things you can do to make the experience far less stressful.

Preparation    

Focus on the future with Blue

The last few months have seen an encouraging uptake of our offer of a free introductory Blue session, with many clients and prospective clients taking advantage of this.

A range of businesses have appreciated the opportunity to take time out of the operational day job and spend time with our skilled Blue facilitators to really focus on strategic direction and goals for the business as well as the aspirations of the individual business owners.