Business News - December 2006

Chancellor Gordon Brown presented his Pre-Budget Report on Wednesday 6 December 2006.

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Supply2.gov.uk is a dynamic new government-backed service designed specifically to give companies easy access to lower-value contract opportunities (typically worth under £100,000) offered by the public sector.

This portal brings buyers and suppliers together and aims to be first portal of call for lower-value business opportunities.

Supply2.gov.uk affords you the opportunity to promote your company through an on-line supplier information profile, search for low value contracts in your chosen location and receive the corresponding daily contract alerts direct to your inbox every working day.

Supply2.gov.uk - the Supplier Route to Government portal.

The Companies Act 2006 has finally received Royal Assent. The Act aims to simplify and improve company law and will take two years to implement.

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Late payment by customers is a serious issue for any business. According to research by BACS Payment Schemes Limited (BPSL) there has been a significant rise in the number of small businesses experiencing late payment problems. In 2005, 59% of small businesses experienced problems with late payments - almost double the percentage for the previous year.

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HMRC have recently launched their advertising campaign to inform contractors in the construction industry of the new monthly returns which have to be made from April 2007.

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Those individuals who receive income from a retirement annuity contract (an old type of pension) should expect a change to the way in which these are taxed from April 2007.

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The Individual Savings Account (ISA) is a tax exempt savings account which allows individuals to invest up to £7,000 per annum. Income from these accounts is tax free.

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Romania and Bulgaria join the EC from 1 January 2007. HMRC have issued some guidance for those individuals and businesses which may be affected by the changes from a National Insurance (NI) perspective.

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A couple of months ago we reported that HMRC published guidance for businesses which buy and sell mobile phones, computer chips and certain other goods. The intention is to change the way in which VAT is dealt with on these items by making the purchaser responsible for paying the VAT using a system known as ‘reverse charge’. This means that the purchaser will be responsible for paying the VAT on the purchase of the goods and then will generally be able to claim a deduction for the input VAT suffered on the goods purchased.

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Employer-provided mobile ‘phones do not give rise to taxable employee benefits, and neither did smaller computer equipment up to 5 April 2006. The exemption for computer equipment no longer applies and there is now a problem for employees who are given a Blackberry or similar device by their employer.

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The latest monthly summary of business conditions in the United Kingdom, as reported by the Bank's Agents is now available.

Internet Link: Bank of England Agents Summary