The Daily Telegraph has an article in claiming that grandparents are on average giving £3,000 a year to their children to meet their every day living expenses.
Said "everyday" living expenses include weddings, new cars and mortgages.
Undoubtedly many people do benefit from financial help from their parents or grandparents. However, the figure quoted here as the average makes me think something else is going on.
It could well be that these are well off grandparents who are reducing their estate's liability to Inheritance Tax Everyone has an annual gift exemption worth £3,000. In other words, a gift of £3,000 per year can be made and reduce the taxable value of the estate.
Is this just a coincidence, or has the survey's author JP Morgan asked their question mainly to the more well-heeled?
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Tuesday, 23 July 2013
Monday, 22 July 2013
HMRC task force coming after South West businesses
HM Revenue & Customs has increasingly focused on investigations as a way of raising the tax take. To do this, they've launched a series of task forces, which each target a different trade sector somewhere in the country.
Now it's Devon and Cornwall's turn.
So what does this mean?
Well, they'll be looking at seasonal and cash based businesses to try and see whether they've been declaring all of their income to find out if there's income tax or VAT to pay.
They can know more about your business than you think. For example, the fish and chip shop that doesn't declare all of its sales could easily give itself away if its purchases seem high for its sales. After all, if you say you only sold ten meals, why would you buy ingredients for five hundred?
The important thing here is that they are not doing this at random. With the task force approach they are using targeted, intelligence-lead strategies that should minimise the impact on those with clear consciences. There are also lots of products out there that can cover the costs of dealing with an enquiry (we offer one).
Our tax system is so generous anyway that there is a lot that can be done to keep bills low with nothing more than a bit of forethought and planning - and a good accountant.
Now it's Devon and Cornwall's turn.
So what does this mean?
Well, they'll be looking at seasonal and cash based businesses to try and see whether they've been declaring all of their income to find out if there's income tax or VAT to pay.
They can know more about your business than you think. For example, the fish and chip shop that doesn't declare all of its sales could easily give itself away if its purchases seem high for its sales. After all, if you say you only sold ten meals, why would you buy ingredients for five hundred?
The important thing here is that they are not doing this at random. With the task force approach they are using targeted, intelligence-lead strategies that should minimise the impact on those with clear consciences. There are also lots of products out there that can cover the costs of dealing with an enquiry (we offer one).
Our tax system is so generous anyway that there is a lot that can be done to keep bills low with nothing more than a bit of forethought and planning - and a good accountant.
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