By Mark Jones, director of Carmarthen-based Clay Shaw Butler chartered accountants and business consultants. The Money Matters column appears in the Pembrokeshire Herald, the Carmarthenshire Herald and the Llanelli Herald newspapers.By Mark Jones, director of Carmarthen-based Clay Shaw Butler chartered accountants and business consultants.
With just over 50 days until the self assessment tax return deadline of 31 January 2019, the taxman at HMRC is urging taxpayers to complete their tax returns early, in order to avoid the last minute rush.
The deadline for submitting 2017/18 self assessment tax returns online is 31 January 2019.
An automatic penalty of £100 applies if the return is late.
HMRC advise that last year, more than 11 million taxpayers completed a 2016/17 Self Assessment tax return, with 10.7 million completing on time.
There were 4,852,744 taxpayers who filed in January 2018 (44.8% of the total), and 758,707 on 31 January, the deadline day.
HMRC is advising taxpayers not to leave the completion of their 2017/18 Self Assessment tax until the last minute.
Angela MacDonald, HMRC’s Director General for Customer Services, said:
“The deadline for completing Self Assessment tax returns may be more than 50 days away, yet many of us wait until January to start the process.
“Time flies once the festive period is underway, yet the ‘niggle’ to file your tax return remains.’
“We want to help people get their tax returns right – starting the process early and giving yourself time to gather all the information you need will help avoid the last minute, stressful rush to complete it on time. Let’s beat that niggle.”
You can contact the team at Clay Shaw Butler for help with your self assessment tax return.
In other news on the Brexit front, HMRC has issued a Partnership Pack to help businesses carry out contingency planning and to help their customers, members and clients to:
- think about how they will need to adapt their business to comply with new systems, processes and controls
- assess the impact of the increased demand for customs declarations on their business
- consider whether they need to recruit and train additional staff
- stay up-to-date with these changes
The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) reports that ‘patience is now threadbare’ among UK businesses in regard to the government’s progress in its Brexit negotiations with the EU.
A survey, carried out by the CBI, revealed that 80% of firms believe that Brexit uncertainty is having a ‘negative impact’ on their investment decisions.
The majority of businesses polled stated that they may have to implement ‘damaging’ contingency plans if no further progress is made.
Carolyn Fairbairn, Director General of the CBI, said:
“As long as ‘no deal’ remains a possibility, the effect is corrosive for the UK economy, jobs and communities.”
You can access the Brexit Partnership Pack on the following government website link – https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/partnership-pack-preparing-for-a-no-deal-eu-exit
You can find out more about money matters on the Clay Shaw Butler website (under our news for business section) – http://www.clayshawbutler.com/news/latest-news-for-business
We have a strong and experienced team with great local knowledge all geared-up to helping you get the very best from your finances – whether that is as an individual or as a business.
We stay ahead of the game by putting great store by continual professional development for our staff.
With Investors In People status at Clay Shaw Butler, we care passionately about making sure our staff have all the tools they need to serve you, our customers.
Weblink – http://www.clayshawbutler.com
The team at Clay Shaw Butler can be contacted on 01267 228500.
The team at Clay Shaw Butler are on Twitter. Look for @clayshawbutler.
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