Finance Bill receives Royal Assent

The Finance (No.3) Bill 2017-19 received Royal Assent (later than originally planned) on 12 February 2019 following agreement by both Houses on the text of the Bill. The Bill is now an Act of Parliament known as Finance Act 2019. The Act contains the legislation for many of the tax measures announced by the government at Autumn Budget 2017 some of which had been the subject of further consultation. The Bill also includes other measures that were first announced in the Autumn Budget 2018.

Some of the measures included within the Bill are:

  • The Income Tax rates, thresholds, and allowances for 2019-20. This includes meeting the government’s commitment to increase the basic personal allowance to £12,500 and the higher rate threshold to £50,000.
  • The setting of the Corporation Tax rate for 2020-21 at 17%. The rate for 2019-20 remains at 19%.
  • The temporary increase in the Annual Investment Allowance (AIA) from £200,000 to £1m for two years from 1 January 2019.
  • The introduction of a new 30 day reporting and payment deadline for CGT on UK residential property gains from 6 April 2020.
  • A number of changes to entrepreneurs’ relief.
  • A reduction in the tax writing down allowance from 8% to 6% from April 2019.
  • The current VAT registration limit (£85,000) and deregistration limit (£83,000) will continue to apply for a further two years; until 31 March 2022.

The Finance Bill 2017-18 officially known as Finance (No.2) Bill 2017-19, received Royal Assent on 15 March 2018 following agreement by both Houses. The Bill is now an Act of Parliament to be called the Finance Act 2018. The Act contains the legislation for many of the tax measures that were announced by the Government at Autumn Budget 2017.

Finance Act 2018, introduces a number of diverse measures including the introduction of a new permanent Stamp Duty Land Tax relief for first-time buyers, the freezing of the capital gains indexation allowance for companies from the end of 2017, increases in Vehicle Excise Duty and Company Car Tax rates for diesel cars, and higher limits for some Enterprise Investment Scheme and Venture Capital Trust investments.

The Finance Act also puts in place several new measures to tackle tax avoidance, evasion, and non-compliance in areas including offshore trusts, disguised remuneration and VAT evasion by online sellers.

The Finance Bill 2017 officially known as Finance (No. 2) Bill received Royal Assent on 27 April 2017 following agreement by both Houses on the text of the Bill. The Bill is now an Act of Parliament (law) known as Finance Act 2017.

The Finance Bill was one of 22 Bills fast-tracked through Parliament to receive Royal Assent before the 2016-17 Parliamentary session was brought to a close with a ‘prorogation’ announcement on Thursday 27 April 2017.

The Finance Act 2017 contains just 148 pages compared to the 762 pages when it was first published. The measures in the Act include changes to the main Income Tax rates for 2017-18, new overseas pensions and offshore transfers measures, the introduction of the soft drinks industry levy and some VAT and IPT measures.

Parliament was dissolved on Wednesday 3 May for the 2017 General Election on 8 June.

The Finance Bill 2014 was presented to Parliament on 25 March 2014. The Bill contains the legislation for many of the tax measures that have been announced by the Government.

The Finance Bill 2014 was formally known as Finance Bill 2014-15. The Bill received Royal Assent on 17 July 2014 following agreement by both Houses on the text of the Bill. The Bill is now an Act of Parliament(law) known as Finance Act 2014.

The Finance Act includes new powers that will allow HMRC to collect accelerated payments from users of tax avoidance schemes. The Finance Act will also give HMRC’s debt collection team authority to recover financial assets from the bank accounts of debtors who owe over £1,000 of tax or tax credit debts under certain circumstances. A minimum of £5,000 must be left in the debtors accounts.

Back


Case Studies

The Tax Man

Minimise the stress of an investigation and make use of our extensive experience in securing best outcome for our clients

Business Valuation in Distress

Take advantage of our impartial and rigorous due diligence procedures

FD in The Cupboard

Our innovative ideas are here to improve your business performance and secure appropriate and cost effective funding

Contact us

For a FREE initial consultation
For a Fixed Fee Quotation

BY POST OR IN PERSON

Chandos House, School Lane Buckingham,
Buckinghamshire MK18 1HD

BY TELEPHONE

01280 823904

BY FAX

01280 822090

BY EMAIL

info@tearlecarver.co.uk

The Tax Man

The Tax Man

A new client was introduced to us via a recommendation with whom we arranged to meet on a regular basis in order to determine a number of changes that we felt were needed to their business structure. The client was at the time operating as a husband and wife partnership. The business was flourishing and had a number of large contracts with big organisations.

At the start of the process they were still heavily immersed in their day to day operations so we can get a full flavour for their ambitions, aspirations and growth plans. We quickly recognised there were sufficient tax savings which can be achieved by changing the structure from a partnership to a corporate entity. We carried out a business valuation and disposed of the goodwill from the old to the new business. Unfortunately, as often is the case with efficient tax planning, HMRC got involved and disputed our valuation.

An HMRC investigation can be a very stressful time for any client, even for those best prepared. However, our client had minimal input in the HMRC communication as we dealt with this professionally behind the scene. As an added benefit, our client could rest on the security that all work was covered by insurance and therefore all costs and time in dealing with this enquiry were covered by the fee protection policy we had put in place.

The initial approach taken by HMRC was very aggressive and they tried to present an argument that there was no goodwill in the business. We challenged HMRC’s view that the goodwill was worthless. After lengthy correspondence and numerous telephone calls, HMRC agreed 100% with our original valuation, which preserved our original tax saving plan for the client. Tax savings on this case where in the region of £75K at the outset, with ongoing savings of £6,000 per annum. We are pleased to add another happy client to our portfolio.

Business Valuation in Distress

Business Valuation in Distress

Selling a business is never an easy process, but when disputes arise, the need for a reliable third party due diligence process is even greater.

Tearle & Carver have extensive understanding of the requirements for remaining objective when managing a potentially difficult company buyout. In one such case, we were approached by the courts to act as independent accountant for an acrimonious business sale in which one partner was exiting the business and selling shares to the other. Given the circumstances, both sides had totally polar views of what their business was worth.

After arranging an initial meeting with the company, we were thorough in ensuring we completed due diligence, validating the figures in the accounting records, carrying out adjustments where appropriate, and drafting a set of reliable management figures within the framework required by the court.

A draft version of the report detailing our findings and conclusions was submitted to both parties, giving them the opportunity to voice any queries or concerns and ensure all relevant factors had been taken into account.

Through this process, we were able to submit a final report to the courts that was both binding and acceptable to both parties, effectively resolving what could otherwise have been a time consuming and costly process for all sides.

FD in The Cupboard

FD in The Cupboard

For smaller companies, it is often not possible or cost effective to pay for a full-time Financial Director.
Many of our clients therefore make use of Tearle & Carver’s extensive expertise to provide the services of an FD as and when required.

In this case, we were approached by the management team of an organisation looking to acquire the existing business via an MBO (Management buy out). Their business plan had proved ineffective for securing funding, and what they needed was financial expertise from someone with a developed understanding of the company’s internal workings.

Tearle & Carver helped deliver the solution our clients were looking through utilising our bank contacts in order to make the MBO viable, while also building a robust business plan and preparing our client for the rigorous vetting process. To help with cash flow issues, we introduced factoring which led to improved cash flow management.

We advised on the appropriate business valuation and structure, and continued to prepare monthly accounts to track profgress once the management were fully in command of all the information they needed to move their business forward.

In order to best assist these clients through the crucial first year of ownership, we attended board meetings on a regular basis, a service that we continue to provide to date.

With our continually developing understanding of their business, this client is able to remain confident that Tearle & Carver can provide any financial support they may need, now and in the future.