The Martlet Partnership LLP

30/08/2024

The Martlet Partnership is delighted to announce that our George Moyle has now completed all his examinations for AAT Level 3. We are also pleased to announce that Paisley Thomson passed her Strategic Business and Management paper part of her final exams with the excellent mark of 64%.

We are also proud to announce that we are taking on two new members of staff under the Apprenticeship Scheme with effect from Monday.

We wish a warm welcome to Amel Verdon and Benjamin Leech.

23/08/2024

At the Martlet Partnership we are always looking to ensure that our clients pay as little tax and National Insurance as possible.

The rate of corporation tax went up 30% overnight from 1 April 2023, from 19% across the board to 25% and for many clients, who fall in the marginal tax bands, 26.5%.

It is only now that we are preparing accounts which are affected by this increase in the rates of taxation and many clients are expressing their consternation that their corporation tax liability is far greater than the previous year.

In many cases, there is not a huge amount that can be done other than to ensure that any possible tax planning measures are taken before the end of an accounting year and these are largely restricted to pension contributions and purchasing electric vehicles, both of which depend on the company having surplus cash and a desire to invest in these vehicles.

Also, we have a new Government and a budget at the end of October, which may change the landscape again.

We will be at the forefront of giving advice, should corporation tax and directors’ income be affected.

To this end, we now have a tax optimisation calculator through which we can run draft figures to assist you in remuneration and dividend planning.

By and large, paying dividends, despite the increases in corporation tax, and dividend tax rates, is generally still the most tax efficient way of drawing money out of the company.

For those of you who are lucky to be higher earners, it is important to look at the director’s remuneration element if your income is between £134K and £411K.

Remuneration should be restricted to £9,100 at this level of income whereas for all levels of income below this level, the optimum figure remains £12,570.

If by any chance your company has been super successful and you wish to take the money from the company, for incomes over £411K, it is actually salary, with all the trappings of tax deduction at source and National Insurance, which will give you the best result.

If you have any queries about the above, please do not hesitate to contact me or any of the tax team here to discuss further.

17/05/2024

Dear All,

We often find that clients have an unrealistic expectation of efficiency from H M Revenue & Customs.

Debra Dougal, a leading UK VAT expert and partner in Haslers Accountants, a fellow UK200 member, has made the following contribution.

MPs are aware of it but the question is what are they going to do about it?

Anyway, here is the report.

📉 PAC report finds HMRC performance the worst ever

A report by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has found that HMRC’s services continue to deteriorate and are now at an “all time low”.
In summary, Anne Olney MP who sits on the committee said of the report:
• PAC expressed disappointment over the five-year decline of service levels
• Taxpayers are “exasperated”
• In 2022/2023 the number of callers waiting ten minutes or more for HMRC to answer has increased from 46.3% in 21/22 to 62.7%
• HMRC stated that it “did not have the resources to meet rising demand for its phone and post services at expected standards”
• HMRC agrees that it will not now require digital interaction until a service is of a suitable standard
• Criminal prosecutions fell from 691 in 2019/20 to 240 in 2022/23 which “sends the wrong message” ( although this could partly be due to backlogs in the criminal justice system)
• The report results were “quite predictable” and were a “letdown for taxpayers”
• It is “distressing” to find people who “want to get it right, and who have no intention whatsoever of defrauding the Exchequer, but just find it really, really difficult to access the right support”.
• In failing to access the right support, taxpayers are liable. It is not on HMRC – even if the services are difficult to access, it is still the responsibility of the taxpayer to pay the right amount of tax
• There is “probably” a need for more investment and recruitment
• A smarter allocation of the resources HMRC has could see a better return for taxpayers
• Finally: “It really is important that HMRC get this right.”
In terms of VAT, we can confirm from personal experience that HMRC’s performance is at an unacceptably inferior level; from telephone responses, to written replies and a generally poor “attitude”. This is supported anecdotally by clients’ and colleagues’ experiences.

We would also remind everybody about a current scam.

If you are expecting a VAT refund from HMRC – we would urge you to check your Government Gateway.

In several recent cases, scammers have contacted HMRC in the guise of a taxpayer, to change that taxpayer’s bank account details. As a result, third parties have been paid VAT refunds that were due to the taxpayer.

HMRC have improved their checks as a result of these incidents.

As a precaution, we recommend regularly checking your bank details in your Government Gateway account if you have submitted a VAT refund claim.

For support in dealing with HMRC, or for guidance to improve cybersecurity practices within your organisation, our tax and IT consultants would be pleased to help.

17/05/2024

http://www.martletpartnership.com/2024/05/17/hmrc-and-vat/

Dear All, We often find that clients have an unrealistic expectation of efficiency from H M Revenue & Customs. Debra Dougal, a leading UK VAT expert and partner in Haslers Accountants, a fellow UK200 member, has made the following contribution. MPs are aware of it but the question is what are they g...

19/04/2024

We have become aware that some VAT Registered Entities have been victims of fraud whereby fraudsters would contact HMRC pretending to be authorised persons to change the bank details on the accounts.

HMRC would then process those changes and write to the VAT Registered Entities confirming this, but without specifying which details were changed, meaning the Registered Entities would not necessarily think anything was amiss.

If you are expecting a VAT repayment from HMRC, we recommend that you check your VAT account to make sure the bank details are correct. If you find your details have been changed without your authorisation, please contact HMRC straight away.

27/03/2024

http://www.martletpartnership.com/2024/03/27/year-end-tips/

We wish everyone a Happy Easter, which falls this year on many companies’ accounting year-end of 31st March. We would just like to remind all our company owners that there is a way of extracting money from your company tax free in your hands but tax deductible for your company. You are entitled as...

08/03/2024

http://www.martletpartnership.com/2024/03/08/budget-summary-3/

We have pleasure in presenting our summary of Wednesday’s Spring Budget Statement. Sadly, there is little or nothing in it for small to medium sized business owners although there is a small reduction in Class 4 National Insurance for people who are self-employed or members of partnerships. If you...

06/03/2024

http://www.martletpartnership.com/2024/03/06/budget-news/

We don’t intend to go into too much detail about the impacts of today’s Budget right now. We are sure that everybody will be aware of the main headlines from media news broadcasts. We will send a full analysis of the budget changes and how they might impact you on Friday but our editorial commen...

06/03/2024

http://www.martletpartnership.com/2024/03/06/companies-house-changes-and-fee-increases/

Companies House has announced a series of changes to regulations and also increases to all their fees. The fee increases will apply from 1 May 2024; amongst others, these are: Annual Confirmation Statement, increase from £13 to £34 Fee for changing the name of a company, from £8 to £20 Fee for a...

01/03/2024

http://www.martletpartnership.com/2024/03/01/strategies-for-business-growth-a-financial-perspective/

Growing a business is no small feat. It requires dedication, innovation, and strategic financial planning. As business owners, start-ups, directors, and entrepreneurs seek to scale their operations, several pivotal financial areas must be addressed to ensure sustainable growth. As an accountancy fir...