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Press ReleaseFebruary 2006: April is a vital month for every company owner, advises Wingfiled SlaterThe first week of April should be ringed in red in the diary of every company owner and manager. For action taken before then could lead to companies cutting their tax liability and avoiding financial penalties, advises Wingfield Slater, one of Sheffield’s top five independent accountancy practices. Changes in corporation tax, which come into force on April 1, mean that small companies with annual profits of less than £50,000 paying dividends before the end of March could find they are paying more in corporation tax. Wingfield Slater’s latest Financial Monitor advisory newsletter explains what company owners should do with their dividends before April 5 to both reduce their corporation tax liability and also make best use of their basic rate band of income tax. The Financial Monitor is emailed to Wingfield Slater clients and is also available for anyone to download from its website, www.wingfieldslater.co.uk. It is now mandatory for all companies with 50 employees or more to file their end of year PAYE returns for the year ending April 5 online to the Inland Revenue. If they are not filed electronically by the Inland Revenue’s deadline, a penalty of up to £3,000 may be charged. April 5 also marks the end of so called open annuities which preserve the funds remaining in an annuity for the family following death. Under the existing arrangements, an open annuity allows anyone of pensionable age to buy this sort of annuity where the remaining funds pass back to the estate of the deceased without any tax charges, including inheritance tax. This circumvents the disadvantage of a normally annuity where remaining funds in the insurance company pass on to the annuity provider rather than to the family. Other advice topics in the latest Financial Monitor include the tightening of rules covering the reclaiming of VAT on fuel bought for business car journeys, new Inland Revenue guidance on customer service charge tips, and advice to employers on contracts of employment. |
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