Summer
2008 |
QUIZ CHAMPIONS
TO DEFEND CROWN
Last year, Myrus Smith came out on top in
a charity quiz hosted by local solicitors
Copley Clark & Bennett. This year we have
been asked to co-host the event with Copley
Clark and this is taking place at Reigate
Manor Hotel on Thursday 26th June.
Tickets for the event are £18 per
head and this includes a two-course meal.
All proceeds from the event will be going
to Sutton Centre for Independent Living
and Learning, a local charity providing
tailored support services for adults and
children with disabilities.
Teams of four and upwards are welcome,
so please get in touch to let us know if
you are able to attend or would be happy
to contribute in some other way, perhaps
by donating a raffle prize.
We will again be entering a team for the
quiz and we can assure everyone that the
questions are held securely under lock and
key at the offices of our co-hosts. Further
news in our next newsletter.
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COMPANY CARS
- A RETHINK?
Since 2002, fuel prices have almost doubled
and this trend is set to continue for the
foreseeable future.
Added to this are the increasing concerns
about the environment - highlighted
most recently with the proposed trebling of
the Congestion Charge for cars exceeding carbon
emissions of 225g/km.
If you are considering changing your company
car or, indeed, thinking of having a company
car for the first time, there are a number
of tax incentives available for 'green'
cars which make them an increasingly attractive
consideration.
By way of an example, if a company buys (say)
a Toyota Aygo for £8,800, because of
its low CO2 emissions (109g/km), the tax payable
by a basic rate taxpayer is £175 and
£350 for a higher rate taxpayer. The
company gets 100% tax relief on the cost of
the car too, so it's good news all round!
The way in which low emission cars are taxed
also means that a second company owned car
(perhaps for your son or daughter's
use) given to them as part of your remuneration
package, is an increasingly viable option
and one that is being looked at by a number
of our clients.
If you want to know more, please contact our
Tax Partner, Tim Subhan.
COMPANIES
ACT 2006
The Companies Act 2006 which is being implemented
in stages, has introduced major changes for
filing deadlines for company accounts.
For companies whose accounting periods commence
on or after 6th April 2008, the delivery time
for accounts has been reduced by one month
for both private and public limited companies.
The filing period for private companies has
now been reduced from ten months to nine months
and that for public companies has been reduced
from the current seven months to six months.
For the majority of our clients this should
not be a great problem but we foresee major
difficulties for those companies with a 31st
March year end and who on occasion have been
known to respond a little late in the day
about filing their accounts at the end of
the following January. The shortened filing
period now means that those companies have
to be filed by 31st December following that
March year end.
Unfortunately, we at Myrus Smith will not
be able to enlist the help of Santa's little
helpers after Christmas Eve and so there will
be far greater pressure to finalise accounts
before Christmas every year. Although these
changes are not expected to create problems
for us in the short term, we will be keeping
our clients up to date with timely reminders
of the need to file accounts promptly. Watch
this space!
On a related subject, Companies House has
announced that penalties for the late filing
of accounts will go up by 50% for each stage
of penalty. Not only have the penalties increased,
but the first increase in penalty will now
take effect after one month rather than three
months, and the maximum penalty of £1,500
will be reached after only six months. Apart
from this, Companies House will be doubling
the penalty for late filing where accounts
are filed late in successive years. This change
will affect all companies with accounting
periods commencing after 6th April 2008. You
have been warned!
ENTREPRENEURS'
RELIEF
6th April 2008 saw the introduction of the
new 'entrepreneurs' relief, which
is available to an individual who sells shares
or assets in a business, provided that the
individual has a minimum of 5% interest and
has held the shares or assets for a twelve
month period during which he or she was involved
with the business.
The relief replaces business taper relief
and effectively reduces rate of Capital Gains
Tax due on the first £1m of gain from
18% to 10%, thereby generating a tax saving
worth up to £80,000. The £1m limit
is a lifetime amount which, therefore, means
keeping careful records of all relevant disposals.
For individuals making gains in excess of
£1m, the relief will be of limited benefit.
However, there are restrictions and under
current legislation, many types of gain, which
would have qualified for a 10% rate under
the taper relief rules, will not qualify for
entrepreneurs' relief.
The legislation receives royal assent in July
and is subject to amendment before then. If
you would like further information regarding
this matter, please get in touch.
REMINDER...
6th July 2008 - 2007/2008
Form P11D filing deadline.
31st July 2008 - Second
payment on account for 2007/2008.
30th September 2008 -
Deadline for 2007/2008 underpayments of less
than £2,000 to be coded out in 2009/2010.
(This is extended to 30th December 2008 where
the taxpayers 2007/2008 Tax Return is filed
online.)
31st October 2008 -
Deadline for filing 2007/2008 'paper'
Tax Returns. The online filing deadline remains
31st January 2009.
WELCOME TO...
Richard Smith who has joined us as an Audit
Junior.
Richard, who joined in December 2007, graduated
as a mechanical engineer and then decided,
for reasons only known to himself, to turn
to accountancy. His interests include singing
the bass line in his local Church Choir and
also composing music! On a more active note,
he enjoys mountain walking, especially in
Snowdonia as he has a Welsh connection in
his family. He also enjoys swimming and badminton
- hopefully he'll be able to join
the company badminton team soon!
DISCLAIMER
This newsletter has been produced for the
general information of our clients, professional
contacts and friends of the firm. It is intended
to give a brief summary of issues which we
consider may be of interest and is correct
at the time of going to press. However, clients
are advised to contact us specifically for
advice before acting, or refraining from acting,
in respect of any matter, based on the information
contained herein.
Myrus Smith Chartered Accountants is registered
to carry out audit work and regulated for
a range of investment business activities
by the Institute of Chartered Accountants
in England and Wales [ICAEW].
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