With only a short time to go until the General Election in the UK, the last budget of this current government was important for countless reasons. Within this crucial budget were various announcements directly affecting small businesses. The Chancellor presented his “economic plan working for you” and reiterated his desire to assist UK business – including small business. Here’s how the Budget could affect you if you run your own small or medium sized business in the UK.
1. Abolishment of Annual Tax Returns
Are you self-employed or freelance and spending too much time working out your tax return? There were hints before, but the budget announcement confirmed that the annual tax return would not continue past 2020. The information needed by HMRC will be automatically uploaded as a digital file into digital tax accounts. Small businesses could find themselves paying one single business tax without having to work out any number of tax issues in order to file.
2. Boost to Businesses in the North
If you own a small business and you are located in the north of the country, the budget could be good news for you. The Chancellor introduced key measures to support northern businesses including investment in tech parks and enterprise zones, plus more power devolved to Greater Manchester from London.
3. Possible Changes to Entrepreneurs’ Relief
There may well be alterations to the Entrepreneurs’ Relief scheme so that the issue of tax avoidance is limited – the changes will mean that only those dealing with genuine shares in a business will be eligible. Quite how that differs from now will remain to be seen, according to central London accountants.
4. Support for the Creative Industries
According to central London accountants like http://www.gsmaccountants.co.uk, the Budget heralds various ways in which the London creative and media sector will be developed under the current government. There are various tax relief schemes under development, as well as match funding for arts endeavours.
5. Cuts to Corporation Tax
The government looks set to reduce corporation tax for businesses making more than £300,000 in profits, although there will be no change in the rate of tax for companies making less than this amount. If you want further information, consult central London accountants for details.
6. Quicker Broadband for Business
Recognising that an efficient internet service is essential for the majority of businesses in order to remain competitive, the Budget lays out a scheme of investment in mobile networks and the rollout of ultra-fast broadband to bring the speed offered up to 100 megabits per second.
7. Freeze on Fuel Duty
Welcome news for haulage and logistics firms, the fuel duty freeze could affect many small businesses running fleets of cars or vans to deliver goods or provide services. It will also help larger businesses and consumers.
8. National Minimum Wage to be Increased
To find out more about how the proposed minimum wage increase affects you as a small business, consult your accountants or legal advisers to make sure you are on-board with all the current legislation.
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