http://www.mercia-group.co.uk/news/images/header_nov09.jpg

Monday 30 November 2009

We have a busy newswire for you this month. In addition to the usual technical round up you'll find there is a competition to win an iPod touch and iTunes vouchers - delivered in time for Christmas. If you don't win the main prize you may be one of our 10 runners up who will win a free webinar place. There is also a FREE client letter to download about online filing.

It's not just our newswire that is busy! The Pre Budget Report (PBR) date was finally announced this month and speculation is mounting in the press as to what it will include. Our tax team are preparing themselves for a late night digesting the detail to write a practical PBR summary for you to send to your clients. They will then turn their attention to the content of the Webinar we are running on 15 December and any course notes that may need updating for future tax courses. Any thoughts they had for a quiet run up to Christmas have now gone!

The audit team are also busy. Having already mapped the new ISAs to our audit manual, they are now hard at work drafting the revised documentation. After that they will start writing new courses and updating other course notes. However, some of you have already started to ask about the Clarified ISAs and our plans for updating our manuals so we have prepared a summary. See audit and accountancy issues below to download a copy.

Users of our audit methodology will be pleased to learn our audit manual user group committee is meeting in December to agree the content and format of the revised procedures. We are working hard to make sure the manual is ready in plenty of time to work within your own timescales.

Nicola Hurley
Director
nicola.hurley@mercia-group.co.uk

Win an Ipod touch and £25 itunes voucher

Why not try your hand at our competition. There are just 24 questions to answer. The answers are 1 to 24, all you need to do is put the questions in the right order. To make is easy for you we have written them in an Excel spreadsheet.

To enter, simply email the completed spreadsheet to nicola.hurley@mercia-group.co.uk by Wednesday 16 December 2009. The winner will be the first correct entry to be randomly selected. 10 runners up will receive a free place on a webinar of their choice from our 2010 programme.

The answers to the questions are based on Internet research and the editor's decision will be final. We will publish the winners and the answers in our December newswire. Good luck!

FREE client letter - Online Filing

From time to time letters are produced on items of topical interest to your clients which can be adapted easily to suit the different needs of your clients. They are produced in response to what is happening in the business world and as well as providing an excellent marketing opportunity for your practice they make ideal content for your website too. We have written two new letters covering VAT change of rate and VAT online filing which are available to purchase (see below). We have also produced a general letter regarding the significant changes to online filing for PAYE, VAT and corporation tax. It is available for you to download with our compliments here.

VAT Rate Change and VAT Online Filing - two new client letters available

Return of the standard rate of VAT to 17.5%

As you are no doubt aware the standard rate of VAT reverts to 17.5% from 15% on 1 January 2010. We have prepared a client letter setting out the key issues for businesses and individual consumers. It is a comprehensive letter covering a wide variety of considerations with appropriate examples and some planning points.

VAT Changes - Compulsory online filing and electronic payment

In 2006, a government report recommended online filing for businesses and IT literate individuals by 2012. Over recent years, HMRC have embarked on an ambitious programme of creating online filing facilities. We have prepared a client letter setting out an overview of the forthcoming changes for VAT and, where appropriate, the action your clients will need to take in order to be ready and able to comply with the new requirements for online filing and online payment of VAT liabilities.

The letters cost £40 (£35 for members*) plus VAT each or £70 (£60 for members*) plus VAT for both. To place an order either click here.

New specialist course programme

The spring 2010 programme of specialist courses has now been finalised. There are more than 20 courses in the programme, including:

A printed programme will be distributed in December and a preview copy can be downloaded here.

Audit and Accountancy Issues

'Be clear on clarified ISAs: What to do and when to do it'.

To download a summary as outlined in the introduction, click here.

Technical news round-up in brief

Anti-money laundering supervision for those with consumer credit licences - could this affect your clients?

As it has been a fairly quiet month for audit and accountancy technical news we thought that we would turn our attention to an interesting anti-money laundering development that might affect some of your clients.

Requirement to register with the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) for supervision under the Money Laundering Regulations - those with a Credit Licence through the OFT

As you may already be aware, the OFT is a supervisory authority for the purposes of the Money Laundering Regulations. It requires all of its supervised businesses to register before the 31 January 2010, a requirement you may already be aware of through certain estate agents clients that you have. The following types of business are supervised by the OFT and will need to register:

It is the second category, CCFIs, that you might find interesting as this could affect a number of businesses who might not expect to be regulated for this purpose because they offer consumer credit. This includes lending money and providing for payment for goods or services by instalments (except where the credit is repayable within 12 months by no more than four instalments). It also includes being a creditor under regulated consumer creditor agreements.

Failure to register could lead to the OFT imposing a civil penalty or taking a prosecution if business is carried on after 31 January 2010. Prosecution could result in a sentence of up to two years in prison and/or an unlimited fine.

If you would like to find out more about this, guidance is available on the OFT's website. This includes some helpful FAQs about the scope of who may be affected.

Important News for Mercia FSA SAM Subscribers - November 2009 Updates Issued

Last Friday we issued updates:

If your firm subscribes to this manual and has recently downloaded updates to other Mercia manuals, your usual contact will have received news of the update release by email. If you do need to make any changes to your technical manuals' contact details please email karina@mercia-group.co.uk with the details.

If you have yet to access your subscriptions online, you'll receive news of this development with the update, which will be with you next week.

Estate Agents SAM - update due later this week

If your firm subscribes to this manual please look out for an update (2.0, dated November 2009) that is scheduled for release later this week.

Remember that you check that you have the latest versions of our manuals here.

Tax Issues

15% VAT rate extended for New Year's Eve traders

The government has announced that pubs, clubs, restaurants and other retail businesses remaining open past midnight on New Year's Eve will be allowed to continue charging VAT at 15% on their sales until they close or until 6am on 1 January 2010, whichever is the earlier. Similar arrangements will apply to telecommunications companies in respect of calls and texts made up to 6am on 1 January. More information can be found at http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/briefs/vat/brief6809.htm and http://nds.coi.gov.uk/content/detail.aspx?NewsAreaId=2&ReleaseID=408208&SubjectId=2

Revised car averaging arrangements published

New averaging arrangements for the motor industry took effect from 6 April 2009 and have since been reviewed with the trade bodies to resolve minor anomalies. Revised guidance has been published and the changes apply to 2010/11 onwards. To find out more visit http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/cars/averaging.pdf

Company cars - advisory fuel rates

After discussions with trade bodies, the month's notice previously given will be withdrawn when the rates are next announced in late November 2009. Therefore, employers making or collecting payments at the new rate because they have not been able to change their systems in time will have to make or require a second payment in respect of the same period in order to apply the new rate from its effective date. Further details are at http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/cars/advisory_fuel_current.htm

Swine flu - self-certification and Statutory Sick Pay

Under existing rules, employees can self-certify for the first seven days of their illness and employers cannot ask for medical evidence during this period. There has been no change to this requirement.

If employees are ill for more than seven days, employers can ask for reasonable evidence that they are not able to work and employers can to decide whether they need any evidence.

During the swine flu pandemic, employers are being asked to consider other evidence - instead of a doctor's certificate - as proof of an employee's illness, to help reduce the burden on GPs.

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/employers/swine-flu.htm

Court ruling puts Royal Mail's VAT exemption under threat

A recent HMRC Revenue & Customs Business Brief following the TNT decision has confirmed that they are 'currently in discussions with Royal Mail to establish precisely which of their services will be affected [and] any changes will be implemented from a future date'.

You may recall that TNT has challenged the UK's VAT exemption for negotiated postal services, which are outside the Royal Mails role as the 'universal service provider' i.e. the UK have too widely interpreted the EC Sixth Directive.

If your clients currently use the Royal Mail for bulk mailing and negotiate their postal tariffs they could be eligible for a refund of VAT. IVC can assist with a protective VAT claim and also establish the evidence in support of a claim whilst we await further HMRC announcements.

For further information please contact a member of the VAT services team at IVC on 0870 264 0080.

More VAT news

If you would like to read more about recent tax investigation and VAT developments, please click here for this month's IVC news round-up.

Office Gossip and Idle Chat!

Baby news

Matt Green's baby has finally arrived. Everyone was convinced it would arrive early but she was almost two weeks late! Tabitha Rose arrived on 20 November and weighed in at 9lb 7oz and mother and baby are doing well.

'Wear it pink' day

We are very pleased to announce we raised £120 for the 'Wear it pink' breast cancer campaign.

Quiz

Just in case you skip the intro to look at the office gossip make sure you back track and try your hand at our competition. You never know - it could be you!

New starters

Raj Rajput joined us earlier this month as our new marketing executive to help out whilst Zoe Canham is on maternity leave.

Norman Alison and Sam Sloman join us tomorrow (1 December). Some of you may remember Norman as some years ago (more than he likes to admit to) he lectured for us on PDC tax courses. Returning with far greater experience gained in practice, we're sure you will see him soon as we have already started to fill his diary! Sam will be helping out in our design department until April next year.