HMRC has issued guidance to self-employed taxpayers about how to apply for the fifth SEISS grant, the portal for which is due to open later this month, however this guidance is both confusing and in some cases simply wrong! Even as an accountant I have struggled to understand what it means, but I’ll do my best to…
Category: Business
The EU’s new VAT rules for e-commerce from 1 July 2021
The new European Union (EU) VAT system for business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce sales comes into force on 1 July 2021. This package of changes comprises: a one stop shop for accounting for VAT on B2C services; an import one stop shop (IOSS) to pay import VAT on low value imports of less than €150 from outside…
The Import One Stop Shop (IOSS) scheme isn’t that simple
The Import One Stop Shop (IOSS) aims to simplify cross-border VAT for consumers. The scheme goes live on 1 July 2021, but already some GB based taxpayers are finding some unexpected complications. The import one stop shop is an EU wide scheme the aim of which is to simplify the movement of goods not exceeding…
Are you making this mistake in your business?
Most entrepreneurial business owners want to grow their business, make more sales and generate more profit. It’s why they started the business in the first place. But in their eagerness to make more profit and earn more, too many business owners make a fundamental mistake, which I see all too often. They assume the answer…
“I can’t wait for things to get back to normal”
I’ve heard this a lot recently. They mean like things were before the pandemic. My standard response is “Why on earth would you want that?” Normality has never been anything to aspire to. I wouldn’t like being called “normal.” No one who excels is called “normal”. It’s like wanting to be mediocre or average. There…
Is there something sinister going on?
With just 24 hours to go before the Budget statement from the Chancellor the news media and politicians are eager to have their say about what we can expect. The problem – which is becoming quite annoying – is that not only are journalists are asking the wrong questions, but that politicians are answering them! No…
Who to believe?
Next Wednesday the Chancellor will deliver his first proper Budget since the start of the pandemic nearly a year ago; since then, we have had what has amounted to a number of discriminatory and uncoordinated announcements aimed to protect some jobs and some businesses. You might think that, with all that time, the Treasury would…
You can now defer your VAT payment until January 2022
All VAT registered businesses had their VAT payments deferred automatically for amounts due to be paid in the period from 20 March to 30 June 2020. No interest or penalties have been charged on that outstanding VAT debt, and businesses have been free to pay the amount due at any time. Now pay up There…
There has never been a lower barrier to entry for new businesses
Amongst all the doom and gloom of the past few years fuelled by Brexit, the COVID pandemic and challenges to democracy a fundamental paradigm shift has taken place: There has never been a better time to be a small business owner. Technology means you can create and launch new ideas, products and services quickly. There has…
This is the best time in history to take risks and innovate
There are a lot of good things to say about 2020, although I suspect that when its history is written most of them will have been forgotten. Like the meteor that wiped out dinosaurs, 2020 will be blamed for many ills, whereas in fact issues such as the decline in ‘old’ retail and advances in…
