Monthly Archives: July 2021

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Leading creatives call for tax on tech devices to help the arts

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Originally written by Anna Jordan on Small Business
Over 100 figures in the arts, including Olivia Colman and Frank Bowling, want gadget sales revenue to go towards a pot for artists and creators.
The Smart Fund tax would be between 1 per cent and 3 per cent of the total cost of a tech device. That means bits of kit that can download or store creative content, including PCs, laptops and smartphones.
This fund could generate as much as £300m a year for the creative sector. There’ll be more if smart TVs or cloud-based technology get taxed. It would raise up to £25m for visual artists alone, doubling their current resale royalties – a pot of £20m a year.
>See also: How cloud computing can help your small business thrive
It’s a collaboration between UK’s creative industry, technology sector and the government. The government’s initial reaction was ‘positive’, according to the Design and Artists Copyright Society (DACS), who are behind the campaign. Similar schemes run in 44 other countries and they generated £930m in 2018 for creators.
Gilane Tawadros, chief executive of DACS, said: “Working with the tech industry and innovators in this sector, we want to support creators and performers, to rebuild and enable the

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What is the Valuation Office Agency? A guide for small business

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Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) is an executive agency of HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). Its valuation work covers every domestic and commercial property in England and Wales. It also provides independent and impartial valuation and professional property advice across the public sector. Its valuations help to bring in more than £51bn in revenue in local taxation.
What has the Valuation Office Agency got to do with business rates?
The Valuation Office Agency is responsible for setting a Rateable Value (RV) for every domestic and commercial property across England and Wales. The Rateable Value of a non-domestic property will help determine the business rates payable by the property’s ratepayer. It is a key part of the business rates system – but as an operational agency it delivers its work within legislative and policy frameworks set by HMT and MHCLG. Its role is to provide independent, impartial valuations that support local taxation and benefits. Based on the valuations it provides, local authorities then decide on rates that businesses will be responsible for paying.
How does the Valuation Office Agency value my business*?
Business rates are worked out based on your property’s “rateable value”. This is its open market

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Business rates review 2021 – what your small business can expect

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Originally written by John Webber on Small Business
We seem to have been waiting to hear the review on business rates for some time. In March 2020, the government announced a new consultation and said that the first part of the business rates review would be published in the tail end of 2020, with the second part in early 2021. Since then the chancellor has announced no less than four delays to publishing its response and we are now waiting until autumn 2021 to learn the government’s full response to the consultation on reform.
>See also: Do I need to pay business rates working from home?
This delay is disappointing, especially since the Treasury Select Committee produced a very credible report with sensible recommendations in autumn 2019, which now seems to have been largely ignored – not to mention all the consultations and reviews we’ve had in previous years. Colliers has long been an advocate of reform and we fear such procrastination will have only meant more job losses across the economy as we wait for a proper redress of the system.
Business rates review 2021 – what to expect
There is no doubt the business rates system needs a radical overhaul. The system that

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Winning the Start-Up Series – Carrie Davies, ONE Essentials

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Originally written by Small Business Team on Small Business
In Britain, we throw away 350,000 tonnes of old clothes each year, which means nearly one third of our unwanted clothing goes to landfill, according to charity Clothes Aid.
Globally, an estimated 92m tonnes of textile waste is created each year, the equivalent of a dustcart full of clothes being buried in landfill each and every second.
By 2030, the world is expected to be throwing away 134m tonnes of textiles a year.
Indeed, the whole fashion industry accounts for 10 per cent of global emissions once you to take production, manufacturing and wholesale into account.
It’s something former Barbour and Monsoon designer Carrie Davies was determined do something about. Starting with underwear, tee-shirts and sweatshirts, her sustainable fashion brand One Essentials uses an equal split of recycled and organic new cotton to manufacture garments. Even better, she offers to take back her brand’s worn-out items and recycle into them into fresh products. It’s a virtuous circle concept that is taking root in business.
Here, Davies explains what’s wrong with fast fashion, what makes One Essentials unique and why she’s not afraid to admit her weaknesses.

Tell me about your background as a woman’s

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