9 May 2017

News snippets from Begbies Traynor news alert

INVESTMENT - More work on investment relief needed
The Institute of Directors has urged the government to do more to encourage investment in early-stage companies after figures showed a slowdown in firms applying for investment through the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme. HMRC data released last week revealed the number of SEIS applications in 2016-17 was 3,150 - only 35 more than during 2015-16, while the amount raised by companies using the Enterprise Investment Scheme tax relief fell 12% in 2015-16. - The Mail on Sunday

LENDING - Banks falling behind in loan race
The Times' James Hurley talks to business owners who have struggled to obtain credit from traditional lenders. He meets Shami Kalra, the founder of watch designer Omologato, who says he accepted an offer of credit from Paypal after his bank took a week to tell him it would not provide him with a £5,000 overdraft. The financing, called Paypal Working Capital, is not technically a loan but a "cash advance", a form of unregulated factoring, says Mr Hurley, with repayments deducted automatically from revenues. Amazon and Alibaba have similar offerings. The platforms have an advantage over banks he adds, because as they have already recorded every facet of a company's trading performance, they do not need projections or accounts to make rapid credit decisions. -The Times

EMPLOYMENT - Proportion of high female earners unchanged
Analysis of HMRC data has found the proportion of UK female high earners has not changed for the past six years. The study reveals only one in four people earning between £43,000 and £150,000 in each of the last six financial years were women. The Times , The Independent, The Guardian

MANUFACTURING - Manufacturing growth at three-year high
Activity in the UK's manufacturing sector grew at its fastest pace for three years in April, according to a closely watched survey. The Markit/CIPS UK manufacturing PMI rose to 57.3 from 54.2 in March, well above economists' expectations. The survey found the main source of new work came from the domestic market, but there was a "solid increase in new export business" due to a combination of better global economic conditions and the weakening of the pound. - BBC News, The Daily Telegraph , Financial Times

OTHER - Complaints about HMRC are taking up to a year to resolve
Due to huge backlogs at the Adjudicator's Office, taxpayers who submit disputes about their tax bills are having to wait up to a year for a resolution. The Office settled just 970 in 2015-16 - half the 1,850 that were dealt with the year before, the Mail reports. The adjudicator said that while more than half of cases were dealt with in six months, and most within a year, 66 waited for more than a year. - Daily Mail

Source - https://www.begbies-traynorgroup.com/news