Archive for July, 2015

New additions at Slaters Chartered Accountants

Monday, July 6th, 2015

Slaters Chartered Accountants Exterior Signage
Slaters chartered accountants have appointed new recruit Steve Mastin who joins the practice as a tax assistant. Steve’s appointment follows recent new starter Dave Johnson, who joined the practice as senior accountant, increasing the workforce to a team of 16. Based on London Road in Chesterton, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Slaters is currently planning to expand its existing premises to accommodate the growing team.

Steve’s background is in the legal profession, prior to joining Slaters he worked for six years at Manchester law firm Pannone, where he was responsible for managing the personal tax affairs and investment portfolios of more than 300 high-net-worth individuals.

Practice owner Steve Slater said: “Steve’s addition to Slaters’ tax department greatly increases our capacity to offer additional tax services, both personal and business, but it also means that we can provide our existing clients with more of a personal service.”

Senior accountant Dave is responsible for client management, including accounts preparation, company formations and accounts finalisation meetings. He joins Slaters from Stoke-on-Trent solicitors J S Williamson & Co, where he spent eight years as an account senior.

Steve Slater added: “We’ve already started to build a portfolio of clients for Dave to manage. As a qualified certified accountant and a senior member of the team, he brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to his new role, which will be of great benefit to his clients, making their accounts more efficient and ultimately saving them money.

Slaters Chartered Accountants Team Picture“It’s great to see the business grow and everyone at Slaters is looking forward to the new skills that both Steve and Dave can bring.

“I’m personally pleased with how the company is progressing and I’m excited to see our plans for expansion be put into practice later this year. The extended office space will allow us to take on further members of staff; in particular we are hoping to add to our payroll department and also the accounts team.”

 

Slaters Chartered Accountant specialise in supporting all aspects of owner-managed businesses from sole traders to groups of limited companies. Its range of services includes accounts, management accounts, bookkeeping, payroll, VAT and taxation. The team are dedicated to delivering excellent services through a friendly but professional approach.

HMRC softening penalties for employers

Wednesday, July 1st, 2015

Following on from our posting last week. HMRC has underlined its commitment to relaxing the issue of penalty notices, this time for employers having problems meeting the online filing of payroll information. Rather than issue late filing penalties automatically when a deadline is missed, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will take a more proportionate approach and concentrate on the more serious defaults on a risk-assessed basis.

Late reporting penalties already apply to employers with 50 or more employees, so this ‘risk-based’ approach will apply to submissions that were late from:

  • 6 March 2015 for employers with fewer than 50 employees, and
  • 6 January 2015 for employers with 50 or more employees.

HMRC will continue to issue risk-based penalties for the tax year 2015-16.

HMRC does not want to charge penalties, but wants employers to report on time. It wants to help employers who are trying to do the right thing, rather than penalise them.

This move to issuing risk-based late filing penalties also continues HMRC’s strategy of adapting its approach, where necessary, before moving to the next phase of implementation.

This approach will enable HMRC to concentrate more resources on the more serious failures to comply, and to focus on educating employers about their filing obligations through targeted communications, webinars and Employer Bulletin articles.

It applies in addition to HMRC’s recent announcement that it will not be penalising minor delays of up to three days. HMRC will monitor both, and review by April 2016.

Even if employers do not get a penalty, they are required by law to file on time and if they do not may be charged a penalty on a future occasion. The deadlines for sending PAYE information stay the same, including the requirement to send PAYE information on or before the time that employees are actually paid or due to be paid.

Employers can appeal electronically using the Penalties and Appeals System (PAS) on HMRC Online. Employers who receive a late filing penalty notice for tax year 2014 to 2015 quarter 4 but who filed within three days of the reporting deadline may appeal and should use reason code A as set out in the online guidance on this issue.