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A FREE Breakfast Briefing in association with Horsham Unlimited.

One of the better issues to have arisen out of the budget I believe. For companies who carry out their own qualifying "research and development" work, the amount of tax credit relief you can receive from the government going forward will be increased.

We recently expanded our partnership team with the addition of Janet Fautley and Simon Webber. I’m delighted that they accepted our invitation to join the partnership this July.

A special launch event is taking place on Thursday 8th September to mark the Horsham Unlimited Dressed for Success programme in 2011. We are delighted to sponsor the Christmas windows campaign which is aimed at encouraging the town’s retailers to take part in the project and provide customers with an exceptional shopping experience during the festive period. As members of Horsham Unlimited - the Town Centre business partnership, we look forward to attending the launch party and meeting retailers who will be involved with this fantastic campaign. We are proud to be working in partnership with the local business community.

Hundreds of mumpreneurs from across Sussex are set to attend the BusinessMums Summit 2011. For the second year running Spofforths is sponsoring the event which will take place at the Thistle Hotel in Brighton on Monday 10th October. Some well-known speakers including ITV presenter Kate Garraway and Laura Tenison of JoJoMamanBebe will make appearances.

More than 300 cars were on display in London over the weekend to mark the inaugural Regent Street Motor Show. Spofforths' client Don Wales, Grandson of Sir Malcolm Campbell, attended the popular event with the Bluebird Electric vehicle.

I have just read that HM Revenue & Customs have just launched a crackdown on scrap metal merchants, construction traders, fast food outlets and landlords to try and recover any undeclared tax. The main focus for the South East seems to be Assessment, PAYE and VAT in our Fast food outlets where businesses are deliberately falsifying their records.

Whilst the Chancellor's Autumn Statement was not intended to be a pre-budget report a few tax points were mentioned. One clear message was that the main rate for Corporation Tax will be reduced to 25% from April 2012 as previously announced. We are expecting the main rate of Corporation Tax to fall further - to 24% from April 2013 and to 23% from April 2014. These reductions are part of the package to achieve the Chancellor's stated objective of making the UK the most competitive tax system in the G20.

During our Olympic Evening, at the Minerva Theatre in Chichester on Monday 19th December, we held a special collection for Winston’s Wish and raised £730. It is the leading childhood bereavement charity and the largest provider of services to bereaved families in the UK. Our star guest Gemma Spofforth, a former 100m backstroke world champion and current world record holder, was particularly keen to help raise funds for the appeal as her mother Lesley sadly passed away in 2007. Winston’s Wish provided great support to Gemma and her family at this difficult time. The money collected will go towards helping families and young people, both nationally and in West Sussex.

I am delighted to announce that Spofforths recently entered the Gatwick Diamond Business Awards and our Horsham office is now set to receive a visit from the judges. In the run-up to Christmas Spofforths were nominated for the Corporate Responsibility Award and Business of the Year Award. Today three judges will meet with Spofforths' partners Sarah Ediss and Richard Spofforth, along with our Director of Private Client Services Philip Lansberry.

If Spofforths are successful we will be invited to attend an Awards Dinner on the 22nd March 2012, at the Copthorne Effingham Park Hotel. This Black Tie event will see the very best of the Gatwick Diamond Business Community come together at the Awards ceremony presented by Rory Bremner. Wish us luck!

Winston’s Wish, the leading childhood bereavement charity, invited me to visit the organisations new Horsham office and learn about the fantastic services on offer. I recently met Events Fundraiser Debbie Brown and Family Services Team Leader Cate Masheder who explained that the charity helps 30,000 bereaved children and young people each year.

We attended the launch of Horsham Time Well Spent 2012 at the Capitol Theatre on Thursday 19th January. Horsham District Council announced an exciting programme of events that it will run in partnership with Horsham Unlimited, local businesses and community organisations.

I attended the fantastic ‘2011 Horsham Unlimited Dressed for Success Business Awards’ at the Capitol Theatre on 19 January. Twelve awards were handed out during the evening to the business people who received the most public votes for their Christmas shop windows. Spofforths sponsored the Christmas Window campaign which was organised by Horsham Unlimited – Horsham’s town centre business partnership. It focused on promoting the town and running window dressing training sessions for retailers over the festive period.

14 Days of Love is the latest campaign from the Best of Worthing website, aimed at helping local businesses to receive the recognition they deserve.

We recently attended the sixth Sussex Food and Drink Awards ceremony and joined in the celebrations as leading local producers were presented with trophies. The special event was held at the American Express Community Stadium in Falmer – the home of Brighton and Hove Albion FC.

We have just received confirmation that Spofforths is a finalist in the Gatwick Diamond Business Awards 2012. Following successful nominations and visits from the judges we have been shortlisted in the Business of the Year and Corporate Responsibility categories.

Businesses are now being offered incentives to hire young unemployed people as part of the Youth Contract initiative. Employers who take part in the scheme will received subsidies towards those individuals wages of up to £2,275 for every person aged between 18 and 24, hired through the programme. With the youth unemployment figures rising this is a good initiative being launched.

Spofforths' Worthing office is delighted to be a sponsor of the well-known Networking4 on 19 March 2012. Organised by the bestofworthing, this event will take place at Worthing Rugby Football Club in Angmering. It provides the perfect opportunity for local business people to get together in a relaxed environment.

Gemma is currently competing in the British Gas Swimming Championships, between 3-10 March, and the races are seen as the selection trials for the 2012 Games. Since starring in our Olympic Evening last December she has been training hard for this event which is being held at the Olympic Park in the London Aquatics Centre. Gemma is racing with other top British swimmers as she seeks to secure a place on the GB Team. On the second morning of the trials she eased through the 100m backstroke heats which is a great achievement.

I have just read that the Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) has completed its review of tax advantaged employee share schemes. The OTS has spent its time considering the special tax reliefs available for government approved share schemes such as Save As You Earn (SAYE) and the Enterprise Management Incentive (EMI) scheme. As a result of their review they have recommended introducing a self-certification process, merging the EMI with another scheme called Company Share Option Plans (CSOP) and harmonising definitions, time limits and modifying certain conditions.

After weeks of media speculation all eyes will be on Chancellor George Osborne as he delivers his 2012 Budget on Wednesday. Following the announcements Spofforths Partner Bryan Elkins will be speaking out about how they will affect individuals and businesses. As Head of Spofforths Tax Consultancy Team he will feature on local radio stations and provide the press with Budget reaction. You can also keep up-to-date with the announcements by visiting our website as we will be providing a news feed throughout the day.

One very encouraging piece of news announced by George Osbourne was the reduction in the company’s main tax rate from 1 April this year. Rather than the proposed 26% the rate of tax payable will be reduced to 24%. The Chancellor confirmed that a further 1% reduction will be applied over the next two years meaning that by 1 April 2014, the main rate of Corporation Tax will be only 22%.

Marlborough College, a leading Wiltshire school, recently held their annual careers forum for the lower sixth form (year 12). I was amongst other presenters from 17 differing career opportunities ranging from the Professions to Financial Services and Marketing services companies. I talked to about 50 boys and girls in three interactive sessions helping to give them an insight into the Accountancy professions with all its diverse skills and opportunities. The questions they asked and the feed back survey suggested that it had been well received. My particular session maybe stood out as I was able to give each attendee a "goody bag " courtesy of the ICAEW containing fact sheets detailing the training methods and academic requirements needed to enter a training contract not to mention also containing biros and sweeties !

It was fantastic to see more than 80 local business people at the
Networking4, organised by the Best of Worthing, on Monday 19 March. We were
really proud to sponsor this event which was held at Worthing Rugby Club. A
business card draw was held on the night and Green Fish Recruitment won a
prize that we provided.

Congratulations to our Worthing office for getting active on 23 March to help raise funds for Sport Relief 2012. Staff organised an action packed mufti day which involved a cake sale, breakfast sarnie run and egg and spoon race. Their efforts were rewarded as they raised a fantastic £147.56! The money will be spent by Comic Relief to help people living incredibly tough lives, both at home in the UK and across the world's poorest countries.

I have just read about a recent case won against HMRC. It involved an IT contractor and his IR35 status, something that has again been brought into the press due to the announcements in the budget. The case was brought in front of the first-tier tribunal where it was agreed that the initial phase of his contract with Allianz Cornhill Management Services was as a contractor and therefore IR35 did not apply. It was only when it was clear that Allianz wanted his services permanently did IR35 begin to apply.

It is a common misconception that where VAT is incurred by a business in another EU country that this VAT can simply be reclaimed on the company's quarterly UK VAT return. This is not the case. Instead, there is a special procedure in place whereby businesses can reclaim the VAT through HM Revenue & Customs. This process is relatively easy but must be handled outside of their normal VAT returns.

Following the budget announcement on a cash basis accounting method for smaller businesses I have today seen a copy of the consultation document in relation to this. The proposals are that businesses with turnover of less than £77,000 will be eligible to account for their income based on the money received, not invoiced. Once they start using this method of accounting they will be able to continue until their total receipts exceed £150,000 in a tax year. Partnerships will be allowed to use this basis also and where an individual has multiple businesses, the cash basis would only apply if all of their businesses were eligible.

Comments on the proposed simplified expenses has also been included in this consultation. Standard mileage rates for business use of cars or motorcycles, flat rate expenses for use of home as office and also a flat rate adjustment for personal use of a business premises have all been included.

This week David Cameron announced that a new fund will be set up to finance charities and social enterprises. Big Society Capital, estimated to be £600m, is a mixture of money from dormant bank accounts and the main High Street lenders. To receive funding social enterprises must prove they can repay an investment through the income they generate.

We really enjoyed the launch event for the Brighton & Hove Food and Drink Festival which was held at the Hotel Du Vin, in Brighton, on 30 March 2012. Caroline Lucas, who is MP for Brighton Pavilion, opened the festival and talked about the positive impact it will have on the city as it attracts thousands of visitors. The event runs for 10 days and includes The Big Sussex Market and Live Food Show in Brighton on Good Friday and Easter Saturday. It’s held along New Road, Jubilee Street and in the Royal Pavilion Gardens. We hope that you are able to enjoy the festival and sample some of the great local food and drink that is on offer.

As Gemma prepares for the 2012 Games she is busy training and maintaining a healthy diet. Nutrition is of huge importance to every Olympic swimmer as they burn off a great deal of energy in the pool. Gemma needs to be in the best possible shape to medal in the 100m backstroke heats and is eating the right balance of food to build-up her strength.

It’s always rewarding to see a client make a huge success of their businesses and even hit the headlines. Most recently Ben Fordham, who runs four Mexican Restaurants called Benito’s Hat, caught the attention of the national press after the launch of their fourth restaurant in the new King’s Cross station development. Our client opened his first restaurant in 2008 and alongside partners he has launched another three in London. Ben took a simple concept, the burrito, and made it mouth-watering! We are delighted to see that Ben is receiving the praise he deserves (and even soon to be taking part in the ITV show Britain’s got Talent!).

HM Revenue & Customs have recently launched a Business Tax dashboard on their website which allows business owners to access HMRCs information more easily. The Business Tax dashboard brings together information from different tax portals. This will include Corporation Tax or Self-Assessment, VAT (if registered) and PAYE (if an employer). The information will include the amount of tax owed as well as the status of any payments or penalties. It will also allow you to amend contact details, including an email address and will be updated each weekend to reflect payments and returns that have reached HMRC within the last 5 working days.

More than 200 guests were entertained by the popular after-dinner speaker Gyles Brandreth, on 4 May 2012, at a prestigious event organised by the Institute of Chartered Accountants In England and Wales. In my role as Deputy President of the ICAEW I also made a presentation at the Mount Murray Hotel on the Isle of Man.

On 31 May 2012 Spofforths is co-hosting a free fire safety seminar ‘The Responsible Person’ with Uny Systems, at the firm’s Horsham office on North Street. Alongside event partners Safety Management UK and Honeywell, the accountants and professional advisers invite you to join them for a light buffet breakfast from 8am to 10.30am. Throughout the morning speakers will discuss the measures you can take to make business and commercial properties safer. They will also review current fire safety legislation.