Thomascox.co.uk

NEWS UPDATE
Did you know…… about National Non-Domestic Rates ‘Small Business Relief’

From 1 April 2005 a relief scheme was made available for business property with a rateable value less
than £10,000. Eligible properties are entitled to 50% relief if the rateable value is below £5,000, which
decreases on a sliding scale of 1% for every £100 below the £10,000 rateable value. Thus a property with
a rateable value of £7,500 would obtain a 25% relief. A claim can be made either 6 months prior to the
start of the rates year or within 6 months of that year starting, and a separate claim is required for each
year. Claim forms and details can be obtained from your local authority.
20 of the most common mistakes made by Managers… think about it and tick them off as you see
fit!

15. Creating a ‘them and us’ culture Accounts, Tax filing and Enquiries dates

HMRC are currently considering “improving” (!!) the filing processes for both limited company accounts
and corporation tax returns by aligning both returns to a date 7 months after the accounting date as
opposed to the current dates of 10 months for Companies House accounts and 12 months for the CT600
return. They are also proposing that “one filing” will cover both Companies House and Inland Revenue
purposes. Somehow we don’t think this idea will work. However to encourage companies to file early,
HMRC are proposing that the “enquiry” timeclock should start the day the return is actually received rather
than the date it was due to be filed.
Offshore Bank Accounts

HMRC are now able to require Financial Institutions to provide details of all credit cards used by a UK
resident with any association with any offshore bank account. This extends to a UK resident holding a non
UK credit card associated or linked to an offshore bank account. If you feel you are potentially at risk here,
please contact us as soon as possible.
And finally…. ‘How to achieve inner peace’

A doctor recently gave this advice to one of his patients:
‘The way to achieve inner peace is to finish all those things you’ve started’
The patient went home that night and looked around to see what he had started but hadn’t finished. So
before he left for work next morning he finished off a bottle of Merlot, a bottle of white Zinfandel, a bottle of
Bailey’s, a bottle of Port, the remainder of the Prozac container, the rest of the cheesecake, some peanuts
and a box of chocolates.
When he got to work he phoned his doctor to thank him, and exclaimed
‘What good advice. You have no idea how good I feel’!!



Peter
4 Home Farm, Luton Hoo Estate, Beds LU1 3TD. Phone 01582 482224. 17 February 2006

Source: http://www.thomascox.co.uk/NewFiles/Newsupdate%2017.2.06.pdf