Accounting Roundup : Business news, updates and advice – December 2018

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10 December 2018

Welcome to December’s Accounting Roundup where we explore the latest real world and local news, tax updates, financial and business advice and accounting matters.

General

The economy in Leeds has grown faster than London’s in the three years since the Northern Powerhouse initiative was launched, according to new research.

The UK Powerhouse report, which is produced with the Centre for Economics and Business Research, provides a quarterly estimate of Gross Value Added and job creation within 45 UK cities 12 months ahead of the Government’s official figures.

Haines Watts is proud to be supporting Advent of Change - a revolutionary charity advent calendar, inviting people to give, rather than receive as they count down to Christmas.

We are one of a small number of corporate sponsors and will be supporting Advent of Change by promoting the calendar across the UK to our clients and employees.

Each door reveals a different donation to one of 24 commendable charities, spread across a wide variety of causes, including children, animals, the third world, healthcare, refugees and the environment. A huge majority of the sale price (85%) will go directly to charity.

Advent of Change retails at £27.95 and can be purchased from the Advent of Change website (use Tracking Code HW2018 in your basket – we can then track how much Haines Watts have helped to raise).

Transport spending per head in London is still double the figure for the north, a think tank has claimed.

Not only that, but since the launch of the 'Northern Powerhouse' five years ago, per-person spending in the capital has risen twice as much as in the north, according to left-leaning operation IPPR North.

The new figures have sparked a fresh call from IPPR to Transport for the North to 'follow through' on its Northern Powerhouse investment promises.

Tax

There is still a big misunderstanding about eligibility for R&D tax credits. Relief can be claimed by companies that have incurred expenditure on qualifying projects that are relevant to the company’s trade. Resolving uncertainty with new products, services and processes, even if unsuccessful, can be qualifying activity. Take a look at some of our case studies.

If you or any of your contacts require any tax advice simply contact us on 0113 398 1100 or email leeds@hwca.com

Pensions

When did you last review your pension, finance and investments?

We recommend our clients to Tilney, one of the UK’s leading private client investment and wealth management company who provide top quality, solid and practical pensions advice.

Tilney has just won the prestigious Wealth Manager of the Year award at the Investors Chronicle and Financial Times Investment and Wealth Management Awards 2018.

Read our recent blog : Thinking about retirement? – answers to your questions

For pension and retirement advice, or to book a no obligation review, please contact Charles Coade direct on 0113 224 5544 or email charles.coade@tilney.co.uk or via our Leeds office as below.

We also support a wide range of businesses with online Payroll outsourcing. Our managed payroll services also make all necessary submissions to the tax authorities on your behalf.

If you feel you have comments, questions or thoughts on our Accounting Roundup please let us know – honest feedback is always welcome!