News

January 22, 2016

Also in the news this week - 22 January 2016

Parliament to debate digital tax accounts

The introduction of digital tax accounts for SMEs and the self-employed will now be debated in Parliament after a petition calling on Government to scrap the plans received more than 100,000 signatures. Quarterly tax returns are being proposed as part of HMRC's new digital strategy. The debate will take place on 25 January.

One third of business owners use alcohol to deal with stress

Over a third of small business owners (35%) use alcohol to relieve stress, according to new research from Crunch Accounting. The survey also found that more men (39%) than women (29%) turn to drink to help them relax. Other stress relievers for busy freelancers and business owners include exercising (42%), cooking (24%), sex (15%) and meditation (12%). Common causes of stress are: the unpredictable ebb and flow of work (23%), late payments from clients (13%) and tax and red tape (9%).

SMEs beat bigger rivals in Christmas sales uplift

While the British Retail Consortium (BRC) has declared Christmas 2015 a "disappointment" for UK retailers, a new survey of 500 SME retailers has found that they actually made 24% more sales in 2015/2016 than the previous year. However, the research by Vend also found that post-Christmas sales have been disappointing for SMEs with sales from Boxing Day and into the first two weeks of January 41% lower than pre-Christmas sales (in 2014, this was 34%).

MI5 named most inclusive employer by Stonewall

Campaign group Stonewall has named MI5 as Britain's most inclusive employer when it comes to the nurturing and development of its lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employees. The equality index also recognises firms such as Clifford Chance and PwC as well as organisations such as the Welsh Government. Andrew Parker, director general of MI5, said: "Diversity is vital for MI5, not just because it's right that we represent the communities that we serve, but also because we rely on the skills of the most talented people, whoever they are and wherever they may be."

"I had a cold" and other lame excuses for missing the tax deadline

HMRC has revealed the ten worst excuses for missing the 31 January self-assessment deadline for 2013-14. They include everything from dogs and even a rat that ate tax returns to a husband that argued with his wife and "went to Italy for five years". All the excuses were used in appeals against HMRC penalties. Not surprisingly, none were successful.

Human error is "biggest digital threat" for businesses

Accidental data leaks via outgoing emails pose a higher security risk to businesses than inbound malicious attacks, according to new research by EACS and Mimecast. A survey of SMEs has found that 28% of respondents cited human error, such as sending confidential data, as being the biggest threat to corporate email security. One in five businesses surveyed were also worried about the increased use of portable devices given the increase in bring-your-own-device (BYOD) usage.