News

Changes to Income Tax for 2019/20
The new tax year brings changes to income tax bands and allowances. The personal allowance is £11,850 for 2018/19 and increases to £12,500 for 2019/20. There is a reduction in the personal allowance for those with ‘adjusted net income’ over £100,000. The reduction is £1 for every £2 of income above £100,000. So, for 2018/19 there is no personal allowance where adjusted net income exceeds £123,700. For 2019/20 there is no personal allowance available where adjusted net income exceeds £125,000. The marriage allowance permits cer...
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Delay to rise in probate fees
The government has delayed its planned increase in probate fees indefinitely. The delay has been attributed to ‘pressure on Parliamentary time’ caused by Brexit debates and votes. The increase in fees had been set to take effect from 1 April 2019, but HMRC recently made the decision to postpone the rise. Under government plans, the proposed probate fees are as follows: Value of estate (£) Proposed Fee (£) Up to 50,000 or exempt from requiring a grant or probate 0 50,000 - 300,000 250...
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Making Tax Digital for VAT - Update
As mentioned in our previous newsletters, HMRC is phasing in its landmark Making Tax Digital (MTD) regime, which will ultimately require taxpayers to move to a fully digital tax system. Under the new rules, businesses with a taxable turnover above the VAT threshold (currently £85,000) must keep digital records for VAT purposes and provide their VAT return information to HMRC using MTD-functional compatible software. The new rules are now live, having taken effect from 1 April 2019 where a taxpayer has a ‘prescribed VAT return period’ wh...
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Rothmans and Barclays Bank Host Breakfast Seminar
Rothmans and Barclays Bank recently hosted a Breakfast Seminar in Winchester on ‘Making Tax Digital’ and ‘Cyber Security’. Jonathan Poulter spoke on behalf of Rothmans Accountants and Alex Douglas for Barclays Bank. Jonathan has been a Partner at Rothmans Winchester for the past three years and specialises in owner-managed businesses. He began the seminar by giving a background to Making Tax Digital and the driving force from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) behind its agenda. Some of the topics discu...
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What are Employee Ownership Trusts?
What are Employee Ownership Trusts? When faced with succession planning and various exit strategies, the founder of a business will have a number of options. For a business that has a strong culture, it may be that the founder is keen to ensure that this continues under new ownership. And, of course, selling it to existing staff guarantees this. Ahead of Employee Owned (EO) Day on 28 June, a national day of celebration for employee owned companies, could EO be the correct exit strategy for you? With a yearly growth rate of 10%, employe...
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Rothmans Petersfield to sponsor Retailer of the Year in the Petersfield Awards
Rothmans Petersfield is again sponsoring the category of Retailer of the Year in the town’s premier awards event, the Petersfield Awards. Each year this initiative promotes this thriving and diverse destination for businesses, visitors and retailers. The awards event is becoming more popular every year with increasing numbers of people getting behind the initiative. Indeed, more nominations for all the categories have been made than ever before, with more than 1,000 received. The nominations now go before a panel of independent judges t...
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