Latest

The Kickstart Scheme

To help the economic recovery from the Coronavirus pandemic, Chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced a new Kickstart Scheme, which launches today. The Kickstart Scheme is specifically aimed at reducing youth unemployment. The scheme is backed by a £2billion fund and will pay for six-month work placements (covering overheads and wages) for 16 to 24-year-olds at […]

Reverse VAT charge for construction postponed to 2021

Following on from our blog on the 17th September 2019, the government have announced a further five-month delay to the introduction of the domestic reverse VAT charge for construction services due to the impact of Coronavirus. HMRC confirmed that the anti-fraud measure is now being postponed until 1 March 2021 in light of the Coronavirus […]

£20 million in new grants available to small businesses to boost recovery

The government has announced a £20m package of funding to help smaller businesses recover from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. Small and medium-sized businesses can access a small business grant of between £1,000 and £5,000 to pay for the expertise, equipment and technology they need to recover and rebuild following the coronavirus pandemic. The […]

The government has announced a £1.57bn Cultural Recovery Fund to support the country’s cultural, arts and heritage organisations following the lockdown. In this article, we examine how to apply for a Cultural Recovery Fund grant from the Arts Council. The Arts Council can make grants to organisations that were financially viable before the Covid-19 crisis […]

Making Tax Digital to be extended to create a 21st-century tax system

The government has announced plans to create a fully modernised digital tax system to boost national productivity, make it easier to pay tax, and reduce errors and fraud. In this article, we look at HMRC’s plans to extend its Making Tax Digital programme.  The government says avoidable mistakes cost the Treasury around £8.5bn a year. […]

Chancellor’s Summer Statement is a “plan for jobs” focusing on consumers and property

The Chancellor’s Summer Statement on Wednesday 8 July amounted to a £30bn mini-budget aimed at preventing mass unemployment by boosting sectors most affected by the lockdown such as hospitality, tourism and property. Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak launched his Summer Statement on Wednesday with some sobering statistics about the state of the economy. He […]

SEISS scheme extended but claims for the first grant must be made on or before 13 July 2020

The government has announced that the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) is being extended and that the closing date for making a claim for the first grant under the scheme must be made on or before 13 July 2020. As we wrote about in a previous article, if you are self-employed or a member of a […]

What the government is doing to encourage the take up of electric vehicles

In the Budget 2020, the government confirmed its commitment to having a net zero emissions economy by 2050. As part of this, the Budget introduced measures to encourage the take up of electric vehicles. In this article, we examine these measures and consider recent reports that the government is considering bringing in a new scrappage […]

Coronavirus Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme available for SMEs from 26 May

Small and medium-sized businesses will be able to recover up to two weeks’ Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) payments made to their employees due to coronavirus. In this article, we look at who is eligible and how to apply. The Coronavirus Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme is being launched by the government on 26 May. Under […]

Furlough scheme extended until the end of October – can your business claim?

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced that the UK furlough scheme (the Coronavirus Retention Scheme) is to be extended until the end of October. In this article, we explain how the scheme works, who is eligible to claim and how you go about making a claim. The Coronavirus Retention Scheme allows businesses that cannot maintain their […]

Can you claim under the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS)?

If you are self-employed or a member of a trading partnership and have been adversely affected by Coronavirus (Covid-19), you may be able to claim a grant under the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS). In this article, we explain who can claim, how to claim and how much you can receive under the scheme.   Overview […]

Covid-19 update: Bounce Back Loans available for SMEs from 4 May

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced a new fast-track finance scheme for SMEs called the Bounce Back Loan scheme. The scheme launches on 4 May and applications will be made via a simple online application.  What is the Bounce Back Loan scheme? Small and medium-sized businesses will be able to borrow between £2,000 and £50,000 and […]

Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) – Are you eligible and how do you apply?

The Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) is a government scheme to provide financial support to UK SMEs that are losing revenue and suffering cash flow disruption as a result of the Covid-19 crisis. In this article, we explain how the scheme works, who is eligible for it and how to apply. The CBILS scheme […]

mgr partner Paul Simnock gives presentation to young journalists at the BBC

Paul Simnock, mgr’s media and entertainment specialist, presented a masterclass for young journalists at the BBC’s Broadcasting House in Portland Place on Saturday 8 February 2020. The event was hosted in conjunction with the John Schofield Trust, a charity made up of mentors who run mentoring schemes for journalists at the start of their career. Paul’s presentation, entitled Don’t give […]

mgr attends ETL UK Conference

Members of the mgr team were delighted to attend the ETL UK Conference in Manchester last week. The conference was hugely enjoyable and worthwhile and showed why ETL is such a successful and competent network, with member firms from various jurisdictions working together to assist clients. Apart from all firms in the UK being represented, […]

Changes to VAT in the construction industry delayed until 2020

A few months ago, we wrote about HMRC’s plans to introduce a reverse charge VAT mechanism to help tackle VAT fraud in the construction industry. The change was due to take place on 1 October 2019, but the government has now announced that it will be delayed for 12 months. The government has responded to […]

Xero MD Gary Turner gives inspirational talk at mgr’s firmwide digital future meeting

As part of the firm’s commitment to technology, mgr is partnering with Xero, Receipt Bank and Silverfin, three of the world’s leading software providers to businesses and accountants. mgr held a firmwide ‘digital future’ meeting to showcase the latest advances being made by their software partners to our staff. We were honoured that Xero managing […]

Changes to entrepreneurs’ relief for disposals after 5 April 2019

Entrepreneurs’ relief reduces the rate of Capital Gains Tax payable on the disposal of certain business assets from 20% to 10% provided a number of conditions are met. In the Finance Act 2019 Parliament made changes to entrepreneurs’ relief in relation to disposals made after 5 April 2019.  Applying to all disposals For disposals of […]

New Investors’ Relief may help you reduce your CGT bill on shares sold after 6 April this year

Investment Relief was introduced in 2016 to encourage investment and entrepreneurial activity in the UK. In this article, Jill Springbett explains a relief many people may have forgotten exists. Shares subscribed for on or after 17 March 2016 may qualify for the new Investors’ Relief from Capital Gains Tax. To qualify for the relief, the […]

Be prepared for changes to VAT in the construction industry

HMRC has long been concerned that missing trader VAT fraud in the construction industry is a significant source of lost tax revenue. In this blog, we look at the important changes to how VAT will be accounted for in the construction industry from 1 October 2019 in an attempt to recover this lost revenue. Missing […]

A Spring Statement in the eye of the Brexit storm

The Chancellor rose in a parliament preoccupied with the ongoing Brexit drama to deliver a Spring Statement on the state of the economy. Mr Hammond made clear some while ago that he wanted his Spring Statement to be a short financial briefing and he stuck to a no-frills script. There were no new tax measures […]