“Starting Out Contracting” – downloadable guide for new Contractors
There's nothing we like more than seeing more people start contracting, and to that end we've produced a downloadable guide.
Spurned freelancer dishes out cyber justice
One unpaid invoice too far has pushed a freelancer over the edge! Web Designer Frank Jonen dished out some cyber justice by hijacking a client’s website in a dispute over pay.
HMRC changing phone numbers this summer
Fresh from a peeved Public Accounts Committee grilling, HMRC are set to make changes to their much-maligned telephone lines, replacing all 0845 numbers with the 03 prefix by this summer.
Can Britain handle “two budgets”?
Yet more flak for our beleaguered Chancellor George Osborne, this time around colleagues in the Treasury Committee are voicing concerns over his budget policy and urging him to re-establish a single annual budget in March.
HMRC sending out ‘amnesty’ letters
In the continuing drive from HMRC to tackle tax evasion, the taxman has announced a 'tax amnesty' aimed at people who have been trying to bend the system. Letters are being sent out to inform everyone, be you a lone contractor or a huge company employing thousands.
Umbrellas face call for investigation from MP
The ongoing political hot potato of umbrella company tax avoidance still shows little sign of cooling, with Labour MP John Cryer having secured a Westminster Hall debate on the regulation of payroll companies.
Contractors use Christmas lull to complete Self Assessments
Christmas Day registered a 40% surge in Self Assessment filings, according to HMRC, with 1,548 people completing their tax returns online on December 25th. For burgeoning numbers of freelancers and contractors then, form filling appears to be taking precedence over spending time with friends and family at Christmas, either reflecting a workforce of scrooges or...
Older contractors bolstering national self-employed numbers
Times of economic strife are usually said to spur on the young to make their own way in the world. Some of the best ideas come from destitute young'uns trying to survive off of rainwater and pocket lint. This is why it has come as a bit of a surprise that a recent Financial Times...
“Biggest change to payroll since 1944″, RTI, coming this April
Contractors operating their own limited company have some big changes in store this April, when Real Time Information (RTI for short) comes into force.
Trust in banks falls to new low as contractors turn to accountants for advice
Banks haven’t exactly had the best press over the last few years, what with fraud, banker bonuses and a general cockiness that has managed to rile up the public to no end. Let’s be honest, bankers weren't exactly our favourite people to begin with, but their excesses and shortcomings have exacerbated people’s inclination to throw...
HMRC applies for permission to break the speed limit
Are you part of an organised crime syndicate with a burgeoning unpaid tax bill? Then be afraid, be very afraid. Spurred on by George Osborne’s sudden enthusiasm for cracking down on tax cheats, HMRC is seeking legislation that’ll allow their enforcers to break the legal speed limit in pursuit of tax dodgers.
Cash-strapped SMEs could harm contractor finances
Size doesn't matter when it comes to cash-flow concerns, so says a recent study. Examining the accounts of 25,000 businesses trading within the £5-25 million revenue bracket, the accounting folk at Baker Tilly suggest that just under a quarter carry insufficient funds to pay their short-term debts.
HMRC introduces Self Assessment webinars to help out first-timers
In an effort to make tax less taxing for the burgeoning contractor and freelancer masses, HMRC has decided to introduce free live webinars to help sole traders complete their Self Assessments.
