Well it's amazing what can happen in three weeks. Since my last blog, my training for the Tough Mudder in September has come to an abrupt halt following a freak accident in Budapest, and, Making Tax Digital is delayed. HMRC made the statement in an unexpected update, which included some significant changes to the original plan.
So, my “freak accident”? I have been in plaster for the last two weeks as I ruptured my achilles within four hours of arriving in Budapest for my wife's surprise 50
th birthday treat. I don’t think it’s quite what she expected, spending her birthday pushing me around the very unstable streets of Budapest in a wheelchair. We did have one comical moment though, which involved us crossing the main street whilst trying to avoid the tram lines. It ended with me being upended out of the wheelchair and a tram slamming on its brakes. It was at this point that we decided to get an early flight home and plan to return to what appeared to be a beautiful city another day. I cannot believe the damage I have done to my leg by simply falling down some steps. It looks like I will be in plaster for the next few months. Although, I hope to be back in action and training for another Tough Mudder next year (which I’m hoping will also help me lose some of the weight I'm putting on sitting around doing nothing).
Making Tax Digital is Delayed Now to Making Tax Digital which is potentially the biggest shake up to the UK's tax system for over 20 years. There was a huge amount of lobbying against the original timetable due to it being unrealistic and unmanageable. Thankfully, HMRC took on board the advice and the new timetable is a lot less onerous on businesses. Implementation of Making Tax Digital has been pushed back a year to April 2019 and will only affect those businesses who are VAT registered and over the VAT limit of £85,000 turnover per annum. This is good news as VAT returns are already filed quarterly so there shouldn't be a huge change in filing requirements. All other businesses and landlords will need to comply from April 2020, but I'm sure there will be more consultations nearer the time. So the immediate panic of moving a large number of small businesses and landlords to a cloud based system has now passed. However, I am still trying to move as many clients as possible to a cloud based bookkeeping system as the real time information a business owner can obtain is invaluable, enabling them to monitor how their business is performing and make the necessary improvements. I’m hoping my next blog will be a little more encouraging and will see me out of my cast and walking around on the road to recovery. More information will also be available regarding the detail in the new Making Tax Digital proposals so watch this space. To help businesses get to grips with Making Tax Digital, we are offering free one-to-one meetings. To schedule yours contact me at
lee.manning@raffingers.co.uk. Making Tax Digital is delayed, to read more about HMRC's next steps, visit
gov.uk.
