December is probably the second most popular trading year end for businesses; the most popular being the 31 March.

Your end of year planning should include a review of your results – prior to your year end – so that there is an opportunity to make any advantageous changes. From our perspective, there is nothing quite so depressing as being made aware of these “opportunities” after the year end date has passed and when there is no way to incorporate possible tax saving strategies.

For traders with a December year end, a good time to do this is from October 2019, when the results for the nine months to 30 September are available.

Apart from your management accounts we could also discuss the following matters and if any investment be considered before or after your year end:

• Are you contemplating the purchase of new equipment or vehicles?
• Are you considering significant repairs or improvements to plant or buildings?
• Could you write off or consider a sale of redundant stock?
• We could estimate your business taxes based on trading for the current year and plan for savings to fund the future payment.
• If you have made trading losses are there opportunities to set off these losses against past profits and recover tax to aid cash flow?

With all the uncertainties that the exit form the EU has caused in the past two years there has never been a more opportune time to invest in planning. Business fitness could be the key issue for 2020 and beyond.

Accordingly, if we have not already organised a review, and your trading year end is imminent, please call so that we can discuss your options.

If your company engages in direct marketing, you may want to consider the following case published by the Insolvency Service:

A property renovation boss who caused his company to make more than 110,000 unsolicited marketing calls has been banned for five years. From its incorporation in August 2015, the company relied heavily on direct marketing techniques – cold-calling members of the public to advertise their services – to generate business.

The company should have used the Telephone Preference Service (TPS) list before making these calls to screen out individuals who had elected not to receive them.

The renovations company did not access the list and within 3 months in 2015 made over 110,000 calls to people registered with the TPS, who should not have received them.

The Information Commissioners Office (ICO) received 133 complaints about the unsolicited calls and, following an investigation, the regulators concluded that the company was in breach of the Privacy and Electronic Communications regulations.

The maintenance company failed to provide the ICO with evidence that they had acted correctly and, in January 2017, the ICO informed them that it was going to fine the company £80,000.

Before the penalty could be levied, however, Jonathon De Sousa (the director) placed the company into Creditors Voluntary Liquidation in March 2017.

An Insolvency Service investigation into Jonathon De Sousa’s conduct following the liquidation revealed that his company had also not paid £250,000 worth of taxes.

On 30 July 2019, the Secretary of State accepted a 5-year disqualification undertaking from Jonathon De Sousa after he did not dispute that he had caused his company to fail to comply with Privacy and Electronic Communications regulations and failed to pay the appropriate levels of tax.

Effective from 20 August 2019, he is prohibited from being involved in the formation, management, or promotion of a company without permission from the court.

Anthea Simpson, Chief Investigator for the Insolvency Service, said:

It is not acceptable for companies to harass members of the public with unwanted marketing calls, and we will continue to work with the ICO to curtail the activities of unscrupulous directors.

Directors who try to evade the consequences of their actions by putting their company into liquidation should expect to be investigated, which could lead to them being disqualified from being a company director again for a number of years.

Powers to protect the public from similar companies have recently been made stronger. Directors and managers of affected companies can be personally liable for fines of up to £500,000. This is intended to stop rogue companies closing down and setting up another business immediately afterwards.

Just one month to go until the so-called “Domestic Reverse Charge” will apply to VAT registered traders who are also registered to use the Construction Industry Scheme.

There has been an awful lot of commentary in the press claiming that from 1 October, building contractors will be lumbered with paying their sub-contractors’ VAT.

Perhaps a brief summary of the reason for this change would be useful.

HMRC has noted that a growing number of sub-contractors are registering for VAT, adding 20% VAT to their invoices, collecting this VAT charge from their customers and then disappearing without passing on the VAT collected to HMRC. Needles to say, HMRC are not too pleased with this trend.

And so, from 1 October 2019, VAT registered subcontractors invoicing their work to other CIS registered firms will not charge VAT on the supply. Instead they will advise the main contractors that their supply is subject to the reverse charge process.

Prior to 1 October, contractors would simply pay the VAT inclusive amount to their VAT registered sub-contractors and then claim back the input VAT paid on their VAT return.

After 1 October, contractors will pay the net of VAT amount to their sub-contractors and then make two adjustments to their VAT return: firstly, adding the sub-contractors VAT to their output tax, and at the same time, claiming back the same amount as input VAT.

Accordingly, contractors will pay their sub-contractors VAT, but in the same breath they will claim it back – subject to the usual rules.

The mechanics of accommodating the accounting entries to cope with the new process can be programmed into your bookkeeping software. However, there could be complications if you use one of the VAT special schemes, such as the cash accounting or flat rate scheme.

We recommend that you take professional advice before 1 October, to make the changes required to your invoices and accounts software and to make sure that you do not need to change your present VAT scheme.

Please call if you would like our help to do this.