The Information Commissioner’s Office has a simple guide that explains what you need to do in the 72 hours following a data breach.

The seven step approach advocated is set out below:

It’s understandable if you’re concerned about what happens next. But we’re here to help you understand what happened and to prevent it happening again.

By law, you've got to report a personal data breach to the ICO without undue delay (if it meets the threshold for reporting) and within 72 hours.

Pull the facts together as quickly as possible.

Your priority is to establish what has happened to the personal data affected. If you can recover the data, do so immediately. Also, you should do whatever you can to protect those who will be most impacted.

You should now assess what you feel the risk of harm is to those affected, whether that’s your customers, members or service users.

If possible, you should give specific and clear advice to people on the steps they can take to protect themselves, and what you’re willing to do to help them. If you don’t think there’s a high risk to the people involved, you don’t have to let them know about the incident.

If the breach is reportable, you can report it online.

The ICO have a help line you could call, 0303 123 1113, or view online advice at https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/advice-for-small-organisations/72-hours-how-to-respond-to-a-personal-data-breach/.

The Chancellor has promised to take immediate action to fix the foundations of the economy, rebuild Britain and make every part of the country​ better off.

In her first speech as Chancellor, Rachel Reeves pledged to leaders of some of the UK’s pioneering industries to build growth on strong and secure foundations built on stability, investment and reform, and forged through a new partnership with the private sector.

Addressing the difficult economic inheritance this government faces, she committed to taking immediate action to drive sustained economic growth, the only route to improving the prosperity of our country and the living standards of working people.

Setting out her first steps to deliver on the government’s commitments in its manifesto that every action it takes will be based on sound money and economy stability, the Chancellor promised a new economic model that will grow the economy and keep taxes, inflation and mortgages as low as possible.

The Chancellor said had the UK economy grown at the average rate of OECD economies over the fourteen years from 2010, it would be £143.3 billion larger – worth £5,053 for every household in the country. This could have brought in an additional £58 billion in tax revenues in the last year alone to sustain our public services.

Taking decisive action, the government is today announcing a series of measures to lay the foundations for a dynamic, modern and growing economy, including taking urgent steps to build 1.5 million homes over the next five years and the immediate removal of the de facto ban on onshore wind in England, as part of its clean energy mission.

You can view the detail of the Chancellor’s statement at https://www.gov.uk/government/news/chancellor-unveils-a-new-era-for-economic-growth.

The new government will be judged by the actions flowing from these statements of intent, watch this space as we witness the progress of the “new brooms”.

In the UK most basic food stuffs are zero rated. However, the definition of 'basic' is not straightforward and many of the foods are zero rated as a result of historical legislation dating back to the introduction of VAT in 1973.

Famously, cakes are zero rated but not all biscuits are zero rated. However, biscuits wholly or partially covered in chocolate are standard rated. This topic was the subject of a landmark case concerning Jaffa Cakes way back in 1991. The VAT Tribunal had to decide whether a Jaffa Cake was a cake or a biscuit (in case you were wondering, the court ruled it was a cake and hence zero rated)!

Since then, there have been many cases looking at the VAT liability of various foodstuffs. The most recent case concerned the VAT liability of a specific brand called Mega Marshmallows. The confectionery firm in question had won a First-Tier Tribunal (FTT) decision.

The conclusion reached by the FTT was that Mega Marshmallows are not confectionery and that the supply was therefore zero-rated. This was based on findings that Mega Marshmallows are sold and purchased as a product specifically for roasting and are therefore ingredients used in cooking (on a barbecue), rather than sweets. The FTT considered the marketing, the packaging, the size of the product, the positioning in supermarkets and the seasonal fluctuation in sales when reaching its findings.

HMRC appealed their demand for over £472,000 of VAT to the Upper Tribunal. The Upper Tribunal found there was no error of law in the FTT’s decision. The appeal was therefore dismissed. Another interesting case and success for the taxpayer on the VAT liability of a ‘sweet’ product.

The taxable turnover threshold that determines whether businesses should be registered for VAT is currently £90,000. Businesses with turnover below this level can also apply for a voluntary VAT registration.

Businesses charge VAT on their sales. This is known as output VAT and the sales are referred to as outputs. Similarly, VAT will be payable on most goods and services purchased by the business. This is known as input VAT.

The output VAT is being collected from the customer by the business on behalf of HMRC and must be regularly paid over to them. However, the input VAT suffered on most (but not all) goods and services purchased for the business can be deducted from the amount of output tax owed to HMRC.

If your input tax is greater than your output tax, HMRC will owe you a refund. 

As a VAT-registered business you must:

• include VAT in the price of all goods and services at the correct rate;
• keep records of how much VAT you pay for things you buy for your business;
• account for VAT on any goods you import into the UK;
• report the amount of VAT you charged your customers and the amount of VAT you paid to other businesses by sending a VAT return to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) – usually every 3 months; and
• pay any VAT you owe to HMRC.

HMRC must be informed when a non-trading or dormant company restarts trading and becomes active for Corporation Tax purposes. Companies can use HMRC Online Services to supply the relevant information. 

When a company has previously traded and then stops it would normally be considered as dormant. A company can stay dormant indefinitely, however, there are costs associated with doing this and certain filings must still be made to Companies House. The costs of restarting a dormant company are typically less than forming a new company. 

The following steps are required:

1. Tell HMRC that your business has restarted trading by registering for Corporation Tax again.
2. Send accounts to Companies House within 9 months of your company’s year-end.
3. Pay any Corporation Tax due within 9 months and 1 day of your company’s year-end.
4. Send a Company Tax Return – including full statutory accounts – to HMRC within 12 months of your company’s year-end.

Whilst reporting dates for annual returns and accounts should remain the same. The Corporation Tax accounting period is different and is set by reference to when the company restarts business activities.

It is important that anyone responsible for the accounts and tax filing regime for private limited companies is aware of their obligations.

After the end of its financial year, a private limited company must prepare full annual accounts and a company tax return. The deadline for filing the first set of accounts with Companies House is 21 months after the date the company was registered with Companies House. Annual accounts must be submitted 9 months after the company’s financial year ends.

There is a fixed date for the payment of Corporation Tax which is 9 months and 1 day after the end of the relevant accounting period. Note that a company is usually required to pay the tax due in advance of the filing deadline for a company tax return.

In most cases a company’s tax return must be submitted within 12 months from the end of their accounting period. Online Corporation Tax filing is compulsory for company tax returns. Company tax returns have to be filed using the iXBRL data standard using either HMRC’s own software or third-party commercial software.

The accounting period for Corporation Tax is normally the same twelve months as the company financial year covered by the annual accounts. Note that there are penalties for late filing with Companies House and HMRC.

As a general rule, an individual who inherits property, money or shares is not liable to pay tax on the inheritance. This is because any Inheritance Tax (IHT) due should be paid out of the deceased’s estate before any cash or assets are distributed to the heirs. However, the recipient is liable to income tax on any profit earned after the inheritance, such as dividends from shares and to capital gains tax on the increase in value on assets after the date of inheritance.

The main exception is if you received a gift during a person's lifetime. These lifetime transfers are known as Potentially Exempt Transfers (PETs). These gifts or transfers achieve their potential of becoming exempt from IHT if the taxpayer survives for more than seven years after making the gift. If the taxpayer dies within 3 years of making the gift, then the IHT position is as if the gift was made on death.

A tapered relief is available if death occurs between three and seven years after the gift is made. There are insurance products such as a seven-year term assurance policy that can be used to reduce the amount of IHT due should the taxpayer pass away within seven years of making a gift.

The situation is more complicated if the person giving the gift does not fully give up control over the assets concerned. A common example is a person giving their house away but continuing to live in it rent-free. Such gifts are known as 'gifts with a reservation of benefit'. These gifts can remain subject to IHT even if the taxpayer dies more than 7 years later. There can also be a liability to IHT if an inheritance you receive is placed into a trust and the trust cannot or does not pay any tax due.

As had been widely predicted, the results at the polls have seen the Labour Party back in power after 14 years in opposition. Labour have swept into power with their second-largest majority whilst the Conservative Party have had their worst ever result in terms of the number of seats won.

We should expect Labour to fulfil their election pledges and make their reported tax changes that were included in their manifesto.

These changes, which Labour say will make the tax system fairer include the following:

• Ending tax breaks for private schools, which exempt them from VAT and business rates.
• Closing the loopholes which allow some ‘non-dom’ mega rich people who live in the UK to avoid paying tax.
• Introducing a proper windfall tax on the huge profits of the energy giants.

But the new government has pledged not to increase National Insurance, VAT or Income Tax.

The new Chancellor, Rachel Reeves was formally appointed on 5 July 2024. In her first speech as Chancellor on 8 July 2024, she confirmed that a Budget will be held later this year alongside a forecast from the Office for Budget Responsibility. The government must provide the Office of Budget Responsibility (OBR) with 10 weeks’ notice meaning that the Budget will not take place before mid-September. 

Exit can be seen as quitting, especially if the exit discussed is your business interests.

But actually, business exit planning is an essential part of general business planning. In some respects, it is the most important aspect of business development planning as it shines a light on the timing and value you can expect when you retire.

Without a formal exit strategy, you may rush into a sale or dissolution of your business that undervalues its worth when you decide to hang up your business boots.

Hopefully, when you do retire, it will be from choice. But don’t forget there are numerous factors, ill-health and economic uncertainties for example, that may force you hand, and as we all know, being required to quit is likely to result in your business being disposed of at an undervalue.

Much better to start the planning process now while you still have choices. For example:

• Do you have family members you can groom for takeover?
• Do you have a management team who might be interested in a buyout?
• If you sell to interested third parties, at what value do you set your price tag?

And should you be linking up with an agency to handle the sale for you?

And finally, what are the tax consequences. How much of your likely sales proceeds will you be able to keep?

If you have not yet considered these issues please call so we can consider your options.

Our new government, and in particular, Rachel Reeves, the new Chancellor, will be responsible for raising the funds that our new government requires to finance its activities.

The government has already declared that it will not increase Income Tax, National Insurance or VAT and government borrowing has to remain within tight limits. In which case, the only source of new money has to come from revenues raised from economic growth – more activity, more tax revenues.

Rachel Reeves is no stranger to government financing as she was an economist at the Bank of England. It will be interesting to see how the Treasury manages government finances if growth is slow in the coming months. For example, will the new Chancellor find it necessary to raise other taxes to meet funding requirements.

Income Tax, National Insurance and VAT are our major taxes but there is speculation that Inheritance Tax, taxation of dividend income and perhaps Capital Gains Tax may come under the Chancellor’s microscope.

The Autumn review is the next “normal” time for the Chancellor to review the state of the UK’s finances but as our new government flexes its muscles, don’t be surprised if the Chancellor announces some changes in the coming weeks.

If you have been in the same job for two years or more and are made redundant you will usually be entitled to redundancy money. The legal minimum that you are entitled to receive is known as ‘statutory redundancy pay’. There are exceptions where you are not entitled to statutory redundancy pay, for example, if your employer offers to keep you on or offers you suitable alternative work which you refuse without good reason.

The amount of statutory redundancy pay you are entitled to is dependent on your age and your length of service.

The payment is calculated based on the following calculations:

• Under 22 – half a week’s pay for each full year of service.
• Aged 22 to 40 – one week’s pay for each full year of service.
• Over 41 – one and half week’s pay for each full year of service.

Weekly pay is capped at £700, and the maximum length of service is capped at 20 years. In addition, the maximum statutory redundancy pay you can receive is capped at £21,000 in 2024-25. There are slightly higher maximums in Northern Ireland.

An employer can decide to make a higher payment, or you may be entitled to one as a result of your employment contract.

There is an overall £30,000 limit for redundancy pay which is tax free, regardless of whether this is your statutory redundancy pay or a higher pay-out from your employer.

Full expensing allows for a 100% first-year capital allowance for qualifying plant and machinery assets and came into effect last April. To qualify for full expensing, expenditure must be incurred on the provision of “main rate” plant or machinery.

Full expensing is only available to companies subject to Corporation Tax. 

Plant and machinery that may qualify for full expensing includes (but is not limited to):

• machines such as computers, printers, lathes and planers;
• office equipment such as desks and chairs;
• vehicles such as vans, lorries and tractors (but not cars);
• warehousing equipment such as forklift trucks, pallet trucks, shelving and stackers;
• tools such as ladders and drills;
• construction equipment such as excavators, compactors, and bulldozers; and
• some fixtures such as kitchen and bathroom fittings and fire alarm systems in non-residential property.

Under full expensing, for every pound a company invests, their taxes are cut by up to 25p. For “special rate” expenditure, which does not qualify for full expensing, a 50% first-year allowance (FYA) can be claimed instead.

Businesses can also continue to use the Annual Investment Allowance (AIA) to claim a 100% tax deduction on qualifying expenditure on plant and machinery of up to £1m per year. This includes unincorporated businesses and most partnerships.