The government’s Bank Referral Scheme was launched in November 2016. The scheme was created by the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 and is designed to help improve SME access to finance and competition in the SME lending market. Securing credit to grow is often a barrier for small and medium sized businesses. The

Rishi Sunak has confirmed that the 2021 Finance Bill will be announced to parliament when the Chancellor presents his annual Budget speech, Wednesday 3rd March 2021. The aim is to set out Treasury plans to tackle the effects of the COVID epidemic, protecting businesses and jobs, and will include the latest forecasts from the Office

The Government has published a series of new guidance documents for employers to assist them with compliance with the statutory gender pay gap reporting requirements. The guidance documents cover the following issues that affected employers may face when compiling their reports: who needs to report their gender pay gap the gender pay gap information employers

1 January 2021 – Due date for Corporation Tax due for the year ended 31 March 2020. 19 January 2021 – PAYE and NIC deductions due for month ended 5 January 2021. (If you pay your tax electronically the due date is 22 January 2021) 19 January 2021 – Filing deadline for the CIS300 monthly

During an announcement to Parliament today, 17 December 2020, the Chancellor confirmed the following: An extension of the furlough scheme until the end of April 2021, The date for Budget 2021 has been fixed as 3 March 2021, and Businesses will have until the end of March 2021 to apply for Government backed, Bounce-Back and other

What a year… If permission is required, we think that all hard-pressed practitioners should endeavour to close down for at least a week over the Christmas/New Year holiday period. Aside from recharging batteries, practitioners can also place some distance between themselves and their problems and achieve what is only possible if you embrace this process

It has been estimated that almost £350,000 of charitable donations last year ended up in the pockets of criminals. Government recently issued advice to reduce this activity. They said: The vast majority of fundraising appeals and collections are genuine, however criminals can set up fake charities, or even impersonate well-known charitable organisations, to deceive victims.

In a much-needed boost for the high street, retailers will be able to extend their daily opening hours from Monday to Saturday in the run up to Christmas and through January, Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick announced 30 November 2020. Since Wednesday 2 December, as England returns to a system of tiered restrictions, all non-essential retail

The Chancellor, Rishi Sunak delivered the government's spending plans for the coming year to Parliament on 25 November 2020. The Spending Review usually covers 3 to 4 years but given the many unknowns as a result of the pandemic the review will only cover the period from April 2021 to April 2022. The Chancellor said

The Income Tax (Exemption of Minor Benefits) (Coronavirus) Regulations 2020 will come into force on 8 December 2020. They provide that coronavirus (COVID-19) tests of the type which detect a viral antigen and which are provided by or on behalf of an employer are not benefits in kind subject to Income Tax. The regulations apply