News & Publications
Deadline for filing accounts drops to nine months
From April 2008, the deadline for private companies to file annual accounts and reports will reduce from ten months to nine months, reflecting the increased use of technology.
This means increased pressure to deal with year end matters promptly and to provide information for your accountants.
At Ivan Sopher & Co we already work closely with all our private limited company clients to ensure that their annual accounts are filed on time.
If your accounts are not being prepared within nine months then you are missing the opportunity to review information that is important for the successful running of your business.
For more information about how we can help you gain from having your accounts prepared promptly contact Stephen Iseman on 0208 207 0602.
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The impact on private companies of the Companies Act 2006
From January 2007, companies can chose to make use of electronic methods for decision-making. Resolutions can now be circulated by e-mail or by other electronic methods such as websites, with shareholder agreement. This will speed up the decision-making process and means most small businesses will be able to make most shareholder decisions more quickly without the need for a general meeting.
From January 2007 electronic communications including e-mails and websites need to include the company’s name, number registered office and other particulars (as business letters are required to do.)
From October 2007 private companies will no longer hold an Annual General Meeting. Shareholders can demand a meeting if at least 10% wish to.
You can download more information on the impact of the Companies Act on private businesses including “10 Things for Private Companies to know about the Companies Act 2006” by clicking here or by going to our publications section.
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HM Revenue & Customs offshore disclosure ‘amnesty’
H M Revenue & Customs have recently used its legal powers to obtain information about holders of offshore accounts from a number of banks for persons resident in the UK. They have obtained details of more than 300,000 offshore accounts and they appreciate that it would be impossible for them to investigate in a reasonable period of time whether taxpayers have properly declared any income that may have passed through these accounts. This may include bank interest, rental income and any other unrelated income.
They have therefore announced a facility which will enable a UK taxpayer who has an offshore account that is in any way connected to a loss of UK tax and/or duties to make a full disclosure of this. The benefit of the offshore disclosure facility is that there will be a fixed penalty of 10% of the tax/duties that have remained unpaid, subject to the deminimus limit where the untaxed income is less than £2,500.
If taxpayers wish to use this facility they must notify H M Revenue & Customs of their intention to make a disclosure by 22nd June 2007. They will then have until 26th November 2007 to make the disclosure and pay all taxes, duties, interest and penalties. Notification and disclosure is to be via an HM Revenue & Customs website https://disclosures.hmrc.gov.uk .
In addition to this HM Revenue & Customs have also announced that where there has been evasion of tax/duties by a taxpayer who does not have an offshore account, similar facilities will be made available but it is necessary for these taxpayers to notify their tax office rather than use the online offshore disclosure facility.
For more information or advice about this issue contact Ivan Sopher or Neela Chauhan on 0208 207 0602.
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2.6 million carers set to benefit from right to request flexible working
From 6th April 2007 2.6 million carers across the UK stand to benefit from the right to request flexible working to help them manage their work and caring responsibilities thanks to the Work and Families Act 2006.
Trade and Industry Secretary Alistair Darling said:
"Over 2.65m carers will have the right to request flexible working for the first time. It will make a real difference to those who give so much. It takes the number of people with this right to more than six million since it was first introduced in 2003 for parents of young and disabled children.
"Those rights are being worked through closely with business, who increasingly realise flexible working makes sense for them.
"Flexible working for carers is right for business, right for families and is at the centre of the modern work-life balance economy."
This is part of a package of family friendly measures introduced in the Work and Families Act 2006. These include;
* nine months Statutory Maternity Pay, Statutory Adoption Pay and Maternity Allowance from April 2007 with the ambition to increase this to a year's paid leave by the end of the Parliament. It is estimated that about 400,000 mothers per year will benefit from this;
* a new right to an additional period of paternity leave for fathers, which will be introduced alongside the extension of Statutory Maternity Pay, Adoption Pay and Maternity Allowance to 12 months. This will enable them to benefit from leave and statutory pay if the mother returns to work after six months but before the end of her maternity leave period. It is estimated that between 240,000 and 280,000 fathers will benefit from this; and
* the introduction of 'Keeping in Touch' days so that where employees and employers agree, a women on maternity leave can go into work for a few days, without losing her right to maternity leave or a week's statutory pay.
Under the new Work and Families legislation businesses will benefit from:
* measures to help them better manage the administration of Statutory Maternity Pay, Statutory Paternity Pay and Statutory Adoption Pay;
* a two month notice period for women changing their return to work dates from maternity leave. This will allow employees and employers to plan more effectively for return to work; and,
For more information please contact Julia Jones on 0208 207 0602.
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