Vale & West Chartered Accountants Blog

Monthly Archives: May 2015

EU-Swiss accord to end banking secrecy

Vale & West
May 29,2015
Economy

The European Union and Switzerland have signed a major accord to end banking secrecy for EU residents and prevent them from stashing undeclared income in Swiss banks.

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Law firms risk disciplinary hearings if they don’t close down properly

Vale & West
May 29,2015
Jason Pyke

Law firms should ensure they have an exit strategy to close down their businesses in line with proper procedures, the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has said after a series of related disciplinary hearings.

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Mortgage approvals reach highest level since June 2014

Vale & West
May 29,2015
Jason Pyke

According to figures released by the British Bankers’ Association (BBA), 42,116 mortgages were approved for home purchases in April, up from the 39,203 approved in March, which is the highest number recorded since June last year.

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Payroll information from HMRC

Vale & West
May 28,2015
Carole Holt

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is putting on a series of live webinars next month to help employers on various topics, such as how to avoid penalties, how to keep business records, how to account for expenses and using the department’s online system called Basic PAYE tools.

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Government states that personal tax allowance will track the minimum wage

Vale & West
May 28,2015
Tax

New legislation, which was announced as part of the Queen’s Speech, means that any future rise in the personal income tax allowance will be linked to rises in the national minimum wage.

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The UK’s major accountancy firms are ahead of their international peers

Vale & West
May 28,2015
Lee Gardner

The UK’s major accountancy firms are ahead of their peers elsewhere in the world when it comes to firm governance, the Financial Reporting Council has said.

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HMRC to challenge VAT ruling

Vale & West
May 27,2015
Lee Gardner

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is seeking to overturn a ruling by the Court of Appeal that upheld the claim of retailer Littlewoods, which is demanding a £1bn pay out for compound interest it says it is owed on tax refunds dating back 30 years.

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Smaller businesses now affected by auto-enrolment

Vale & West
May 27,2015
SMEs

A new tranche of businesses have been fined for failing to meet their auto-enrolment pension obligations

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Government called to raise awareness of equity release for retirement income

Vale & West
May 26,2015
Economy

According to a recent poll conducted at the Great Retirement Money Debate (held by the Equity Release Council), many respondents believed that the Government had not effectively promoted the benefits of equity release as a source of retirement income.

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Definition of small firm widened by the SRA

Vale & West
May 22,2015
Jason Pyke

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has widened its definition of a ‘small firm’ by doubling the annual turnover limit from £200,000 to £400,000.

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