Originally written by Simon Dolan on Small Business
Earlier this month, aviation millionaire Simon Dolan, who is worth £200m according to the Sunday Times Rich List, lost his bid to bring a High Court challenge against the Government over the coronavirus response. He is appealing against the against the decision denying him permission to bring a judicial review over lockdown.
When I first initiated legal proceedings against the Government over the introduction of lockdown, the last thing I thought I would be talking about is the changes to the Insolvency Act, and yet these changes are fundamental, regressive, and without doubt will lead to far more issues – all in a vain attempt to prop up the economy for a few more weeks.
Yet, as an accountant with over 30 years’ worth of experience in the industry, I have looked on in horror over the last few months as the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act breezed through the Commons and Lords without any adequate scrutiny and became law two weeks ago.
>See also: How to deal with a furloughed employee who refuses to return to work
What the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act means
In the round, the introduction of the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act
Tag Archive for Sole trader
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IR35 freelance tax changes will go ahead in April 2021 – are you ready?
by Timothy Adler • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
The Government has voted through IR35 reform, which will bring millions of freelancers and contractors into pay-as-you-earn from April 2021.
IR35 puts the onus on employers to decide whether freelance contractors should pay national insurance will take effect from April 21 2021.
Contractors argue that although they will be taxed like regular PAYE employees, they will have none of the benefits of full-time staff, being both still on short-term contracts with no paid holiday.
>See also: Taxman will not fine you for getting things wrong with IR35 within first year
What is IR35 and how does it affect me?
Currently, contractors assess their own tax status, but impending reforms coming into force from April 6 2021 will shift this responsibility to hiring businesses.
The Government has proposed the changes to contracting tax rules in the private sector to combat what it calls “disguised employment”, where contractors do essentially the same work as employees but play less tax and reduced national insurance contributions.
Currently freelance contractors, one-man-band limited companies who work on projects for companies, pay corporation tax at 20 per cent instead of higher PAYE rates, while employers duck national insurance contributions. The Treasury sees both freelancers and employers as
Hot Business News Today
IR35 freelance tax changes will go ahead in April 2021 – are you ready?
by Timothy Adler • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
The Government has voted through IR35 reform, which will bring millions of freelancers and contractors into pay-as-you-earn from April 2021.
IR35 puts the onus on employers to decide whether freelance contractors should pay national insurance will take effect from April 21 2021.
Contractors argue that although they will be taxed like regular PAYE employees, they will have none of the benefits of full-time staff, being both still on short-term contracts with no paid holiday.
>See also: Taxman will not fine you for getting things wrong with IR35 within first year
What is IR35 and how does it affect me?
Currently, contractors assess their own tax status, but impending reforms coming into force from April 6 2021 will shift this responsibility to hiring businesses.
The Government has proposed the changes to contracting tax rules in the private sector to combat what it calls “disguised employment”, where contractors do essentially the same work as employees but play less tax and reduced national insurance contributions.
Currently freelance contractors, one-man-band limited companies who work on projects for companies, pay corporation tax at 20 per cent instead of higher PAYE rates, while employers duck national insurance contributions. The Treasury sees both freelancers and employers as
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Small businesses call for HMRC to delay IR35 tax change
by Timothy Adler • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
Small businesses have called for the Treasury to delay its controversial IR35 tax change, which is meant to clampdown on employees passing themselves off as freelancers in order to avoid tax.
The government has already restricted freelancers working full-time in the public sector as contractors, which means they pay less tax than equivalent employees. As employers are the ones who face penalties if they categorise full-time contractors wrongly, it makes hiring sole traders less appealing.
>See also: How to wind up your personal service company ahead of IR35 legislation
Now the Treasury wants to extend its IR35 legislation to the private sector in April 2020.
Mike Cherry, national chairman of the FSB, said: “The self-employed certainly don’t need an IR35 rule change that makes hiring contractors less attractive. We’ve already heard noises from big corporates to indicate that, if this change does take effect in April as planned, they’ll pull the plug on sole traders.
“Common sense dictates that a delay to the April roll-out of these rules is now needed.”
Back in September, chartered accountants also called for the IR35 tax change to be delayed. The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) said the date
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What is the definition of a sole trader
by Ben Lobel • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Ben Lobel on Small Business
If you are self-employed then this means you work for yourself, and not for an employer. A sole-trader is a self-employed person, but they are the sole owner of their business.
Within three months of becoming self-employed you need to inform HMRC so they can ensure you are paying Class 2 NICs and you fill in a self-assessment form.
Company directors are not self-employed. Many directors are employees of their company and will be paid as employees in the normal way.
Sole trader vs limited company
Although being a sole trader avoids all the hassle of registering with Companies House and presenting annual accounts, one downside is that your personal assets are not distinguishable from your business assets. In short, your creditors could come after your house and possessions if things go wrong.
Read: How to become a sole trader
And if you are earning over £100,000 as a sole trader, you would be advised to set up a limited company; sole traders lose their personal allowance over the £100,000 threshold, so that anybody earning between £100,000 and £125,000 tax will be taxed at 60pc as opposed to the corporation tax rate of 19pc (due to go down to 18pc in 2020).
Registering as a sole
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Nigel Farage would make small business his priority in government
by Timothy Adler • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
Nigel Farage, leader of the Brexit Party, fighting the European elections on May 23, says he would be make supporting Britain’s small businesses his number one priority if elected into government.
When asked about his priorities on the BBC’s The Andrew Marr Show, Farage said: “… particularly 5.4 million people out there acting as sole traders running small businesses and there’s nobody in government on their side. Let’s make their lives easier – they create more jobs, pay more taxes and it would be good for our country”
Asked if he wanted to become prime minister, Farage shrugged, “No, not particularly.”
However, the Brexit Party would become the second-biggest party in Britain if a snap general election was called tomorrow, according to a Comres survey in the Sunday Telegraph. Farage’s new party could win 20pc of the vote share and 49 seats, nudging ahead of the Conservatives on 19pc and Labour on 27pc.
And the Brexit Party is polling higher than the two major parties combined ahead of this month’s European election. Farage’s insurgent party is on course to get 34pc of the votes, according to an Opinium poll for the Observer; Labour are on 21pc and
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How to become a sole trader
by Ben Lobel • • 0 Comments
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Going freelance and what to consider for a successful transition
by Stephanie Spicer • • 0 Comments
For many people, this is the time of year to consider going freelance: a new year means a fresh start and can give rise to new ideas, new goals and new plans both at home and at work. And if you get that heart sinking feeling when you think about going back to work on
The post Going freelance and what to consider for a successful transition appeared first on Small Business.
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Pension saving options for self-employed workers and sole traders
by Stephanie Spicer • • 0 Comments
It seems that the self-employed need help to make pension saving easier and to encourage them to commit to saving. The self- employed market is growing but as people leave the workplace – where the chances are there was pension provision and will certainly be from now on, as pensions auto enrolment has been introduced
The post Pension saving options for self-employed workers and sole traders appeared first on Small Business.
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Here’s the key insurance cover that your small business needs
by Michael Somerville • • 0 Comments
The post Here’s the key insurance cover that your small business needs appeared first on Small Business.