Latest Business News
21st October 2019.
James Salmon, Operations Director.
TAX
Quirk leaves some taxpayers with 62% rate
The Sunday Telegraph’s Harry Brennan considers the impact of a quirk which is leaving some people with an effective tax rate of more than 60%. He reports that a gradual removal of the £12,500 tax-free personal allowance by £1 for every £2 earned over £100,000 a year is leading to people turning down pay rises or quitting the workforce. With National Insurance contributions factored in, the rate can be as high as 62%, with the issue currently affecting around 360,000 taxpayers. Stuart Adam of the Institute for Fiscal Studies describes the spike in the marginal rate of income tax as “silly” and “bizarre”, adding: “Higher rates of tax put people off work. Relative to flattening the spike we are worse off – it is having a disproportionately negative effect on the economy.” The think-tank has called on the Prime Minister to abolish the tapering of the personal allowance.
The Sunday Telegraph, Business and Money, Page: 11
HMRC targets online sellers over unpaid VAT
HMRC is chasing Amazon, eBay and overseas sellers who use online marketplaces for £585m in unpaid VAT. While some demands have been sent to the large internet firms, in some cases officials have sent VAT bills directly to foreign sellers who market goods to UK buyers. Firms with a turnover of more than £85,000 a year have to register with HMRC and pay VAT of 20% on goods sold online, with rules introduced in 2016 giving the taxman the power to bill online marketplaces if sellers evade tax. The Revenue has contacted sellers over £315m in tax owed, with Amazon and eBay contacted over a further £270m. George Turner, at TaxWatch UK, has called for tougher rules, warning that VAT fraud is “devastating to legitimate British businesses”.
The Mail on Sunday, Page: 110
Considering the cost of a carbon tax
Jeremy Warner in the Sunday Telegraph muses on how the Chancellor might introduce a carbon tax without “destroying his party’s electoral prospects”. He highlights International Monetary Fund analysis suggesting that carbon tax of $75 a ton globally is needed within the next 10 years to contain the rise in temperatures to the two degrees scientists judge manageable. With the UK already having reduced its use of coal for electricity generation to virtually zero, Mr Warner notes, the effect would not be as severe as it would be for some other nations, noting that a $75 carbon tax would raise the UK’s overall tax burden by around 0.7% of GDP.
The Sunday Telegraph, Business and Money, Page: 2
CORPORATE
Tax haven concern over firms with state contracts
A report from think-tank Demos shows that almost three-quarters of companies who have been given government contracts in excess of £100m have operations based in tax havens. The analysis shows that 25 of the Government’s 34 strategic suppliers do so, with 19 having jurisdictions included on the EU’s “blacklist” or “greylist” of countries that are considered to be non-compliant with international standards for “good tax behaviour”. The report, Value Added, says the 25 firms account for about a fifth of total central government procurement spend. Demos has called for the National Audit Office to conduct an annual report on procurement transparency. Commenting on the findings, former Public Accounts Committee chair Margaret Hodge said it is “perverse that the Government continues to pay significant sums of taxpayer money to big corporations that practise tax avoidance on an alarming scale”.
The Observer, Page: 18
Business leaders seek Brexit guarantee
Business leaders have called for clarity over Brexit after the latest stalled attempt to secure backing for a deal. Adam Marshall, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce, said the “onus is on the Government to answer the many questions businesses are posing on the Prime Minister’s deal and its potential impact on trade, investment, communities and jobs,” adding a call for an “iron-clad guarantee” that the Government will not seek to take the UK out of the EU without a deal on October 31. Marc Bunch of EY commented: “There’s an audible sigh across many quarters of business. The majority may want to remain in the EU, but they have deadline fatigue … Prolonged uncertainty is damaging bottom lines and investment decisions – businesses need a clear outcome either way.”
The Sunday Times
Tax questions as Amazon gets ahead in the cloud
Harry de Quetteville in the Sunday Telegraph looks at Amazon’s “grip” on UK data, noting that the internet firm holds more than a third of the UK market in storing and processing Government-held information, including tax records. Mr de Quetteville highlights that there have been questions about Amazon’s tax status, although the firm insists it “pays all applicable taxes, due on its profits”. He notes that HMRC switched to using the cloud-storage provider Amazon Web Services in 2015, citing cloud analyst Bill Mew who comments: “You have to question the societal value of HMRC favouring a company with questionable tax arrangements.”
The Sunday Telegraph, Business and Money, Page: 10
Ebury set for first takeover
Banking start-up Ebury, which GP Bullhound named as one of the companies in the UK and Ireland likely to become a billion-dollar firm in the next two years, is set to unveil its first-ever takeover, with a deal for payments outfit Frontierpay expected to be announced this week.
The Sunday Telegraph, Business and Money, Page: 3
REGULATION
FCA urged to reform fund management
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is facing calls to reform the fund management industry in the wake of issues that have hit Neil Woodford’s investment funds. Ian Sayers, head of the Association of Investment Companies investor group, has urged the regulator to draw up stricter rules on open ended funds. He argues that tighter regulation is needed “as soon as possible”, calling for reform by the end of the year. Mr Sayers also accused the FCA of moving “too slowly” to protect investors, pointing to the plight of Woodford investors and saying: “All the warning signs were there.” “The regulatory response so far has just been more suspensions but that is just a fire extinguisher. The fire is breaking out because of dodgy electrics and the FCA isn’t sorting out the dodgy electrics,” he added.
The Sunday Telegraph
SMEs
Exports boost SME growth
Analysis by UK Export Finance suggests that small firms which export grow twice as fast as domestic-focused businesses. The report found that while SMEs who do not export tend to grow 8.4% a year, those who do export grow 15.2%. It was also found that around half of the firms who sold overseas saw profits boosted by up to 20%, with 10% seeing profits boosted by more than 20% thanks to exports.
Sunday Express, Page: 44
ECONOMY
Profit warnings at decade high
Research from EY shows that London-listed companies have issued their highest number of profit warnings since the financial crisis, with firms offering 235 such warnings in the first three quarters of the year. This marks the largest year-to-date figure since 2008. The analysis also shows that there were 77 profit warnings issued in Q3 2019, up from 69 in Q2. In the past 12 months, almost 18% of listed UK companies have made profit warnings, while 29 have issued three or more profit warnings in the period. Of these, nearly a quarter are no longer listed because of an administration, liquidation or sale. The report identifies Brexit uncertainty as a prominent concern for firms which have informed investors that profits would fall short of expectations. Alan Hudson, EY’s head of restructuring for the UK and Ireland, notes the impact political uncertainty and global trade issues can have, adding: “Profit warnings aren’t an absolute measure of performance, but they do track a company’s ability to meet their forecasts, which is clearly more difficult in an uncertain environment.”
The Sunday Times, Business and Money, Page: 2 Sunday Express, Page: 43 The Mail on Sunday
OTHER
Author writes off citizenship over tax
Author James Fox, who was born in Washington DC but lives in London, has given up US citizenship to avoid being taxed in the States as well as the UK. “They were going to take all my money and property and livelihood away because of tax, so I’ve given up my American passport,” he has revealed.
The Mail on Sunday, Page: 38
Do you sell on credit?
With pressures on the cash flow it is essential that you stay on top of the credit limits you grant customers and watch carefully for any late payments.
Those customers will look for the easiest option to boost their cash-flow. Don’t let it be you.
You can’t just assume your customers can and will pay you eventually, no matter how big their name is.
It is essential to have credit management systems in place to monitor and check your customers credit worthiness.
It is also best practice to use a trusted third party like CPA to make sure you are paid on time by customers, no matter how good a name they have.
About CPA
The Credit Protection Association can help!
Formed in 1914, CPA has been providing credit management services to SMEs for over 100 years.
At the Credit Protection Association, we provide first class credit information that can help you avoid being over extended to customers who are at risk. Our monitoring service can flag up warning signs long before the end, giving you the chance to adjust and reduce your exposure. We provide recommended credit limits and credit scores on a traffic light system and can help you set appropriate credit policies for your customers.
We regularly publish lists of the latest insolvencies but by then it is too late. Our credit reports however predict approximately 96% of company insolvencies long before they arrive.
Companies in trouble usually have very bad cash flow and they try to deal with it by delaying payment to their suppliers, increasing your exposure to them.
If you supply on credit, help us help you identify the risks.
Why use a third party collector?
As a third party collector, we can also get your payments prioritised over those who are not as hot on collections. When you customer receives a letter from the Credit Protection Association regarding their outstanding account, they are going to want to get that resolved as a priority. Our overdue account recovery service can get your unpaid invoices to the top of their “to do” list and get your invoice paid.
Over the years we have collected billions in overdue invoices for our customers.
Our debt recovery and credit management services give our members the financial freedom needed to grow and prosper, while our new Late Payment Compensation department could unlock hidden potential and offer the compensation needed to springboard your business to success.
The Credit Protection Association – Prompting Punctual Payments – Ethical, Effective, Efficient, Economical collections
Ready to speak to an advisor?
For help or advice on credit management, entirely without obligation.
Call us today
0330 053 9263
CPA is passionate about late payment
The Credit Protection Association has been protecting smaller firms against poor payment practices for over 100 years.
We are extremely passionate about breaking the late payment culture that holds back the UK economy and threatens many SMEs with cash flow difficulties being the single biggest killer of Britain’s small businesses.
If you were regularly paid late we can help. Those former customers used you to boost their own cashflow, regularly paying you late.
As a result you had extra costs, you had the distraction of having to chase payment, you had opportunity costs because your capital was tied up in their late invoices.
Under little used legislation, you are entitled to compensation for those late payments.
Now you can boost your own cash-flow.
CPA can help unearth the those hidden treasures.
We have the technology to reveal the compensation you are due and we have the extensive experience and expertise to then turn those claims into cash.
Yes, CPA can help you boost your business cash-flow.
Don’t let your bankers control you, contact CPA today.
The Credit Protection Association – Prompting Punctual Payments – Ethical, Effective, Efficient, Economical collections
Do you realise you could be sitting on a fortune?
Late payments often result in a cash flow crunch and leave SMEs in need of a cash injection.
If you sold B2B on credit then there may be a hidden source of capital you can call on.
If you fancy an bit of extra cash in your business, rather than jumping through hoops with your bank, you could look to uncover the resources from an unexpected source within your own business.
Not many are aware but there could be a hidden fortune within your business, sitting there, just waiting to be uncovered and released.
We can help you uncover the pile of gold, you didn’t even know you were sitting on.
If you trade with other businesses and were often paid late then you could be entitled to significant compensation.
Under little known and under-utilised legislation your business could be due huge amounts in compensation that you didn’t even know about.
Let’s be clear – this is not a way to weaken any customer relationships you value. It is one that identifies who’s been paying late and then recover the potentially significant sums in compensation using Late Payment Legislation from businesses where the relationship has already ended.
You can pick and choose who you want us to follow up – but once we’ve agreed which companies you’d like to pursue compensation from it’s a fast process and there’s no financial outlay to you whatsoever. My team at CPA put its expertise to work to recover the compensation due and fight late payment culture.
That compensation could provide the cash boost your business needed.
But don’t delay, that compensation evaporates if not claimed within six years of the late payment.
How can CPA help?
CPA has developed a unique technology to dig into your accounting records and discover the cash injection you are due by means of compensation. The software does all the hard work. Our software interacts over the cloud with over 300 different software packages, working directly with your accounts package, just so long as it’s stored on a computer.
We recognise that most companies do not have the resources to spend time on the identification and calculation of Late Payment Compensation. Our service can produce an Analyses within just a few days with (usually) less than 30 mins of co-operation from our clients. We work directly with over 300 accounting packages but can also work with bespoke accounts packages. Indeed, speed is essential as the oldest invoices may fall foul of the 6-year time limit.
Once the Sales Ledger Analyses is made available to clients, all that is required is that management decide which commercially sensitive ex-customers to remove from the list and return it to us.
CPA then uses its years of collection experience to explain and recover the Late Payment Compensation Claims. Clients do not handle any part of the recovery process as our team will take all communications from the companies against who the claims has been made. Often, it’s simply a case of explaining the legislation, sometimes we have to go all the way and enforce the legislation through the courts.
The result is that we are realising clients’ claims worth tens and sometimes hundreds of thousands of pounds which, of course, is pure net profit. You may also be among the recipients of “hundreds of thousands of pounds” should you elect to take advantage of our services.
We do the work, you receive the cash.
If you have supplied goods and services to businesses on credit and were regularly paid late then you could be due significant sums in late payment compensation.
We are talking to companies and unearthing claims in the hundreds of thousands from former business customers who paid them late. Large business customers who abused their power to inflict unfair and sometimes illegal payment practices.
We are helping business owners who are looking to boost the returns from their business before they retire. We are helping businesses who have lost major clients after years of loyal service to get properly compensated for systematic late payment. We are helping companies that were looking to close down, who looked insolvent and finding that cash injection they need to avoid insolvency.
Those former clients who regularly paid you late can finally be made to pay.
Ready to speak to an advisor?
For help or advice on credit management, entirely without obligation.
Call us today
0330 053 9263
The Credit Protection Association is a credit management company established in 1914. If you supply goods or services on credit then we can help you!
The Credit Protection Association – Prompting Punctual Payments – Ethical, Effective, Efficient, Economical collections
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The Credit Protection Association – Prompting Punctual Payments – Ethical, Effective, Efficient, Economical collections