Scotland’s non-domestic rates reliefs
Business rates is the commonly used term for non-domestic property rates. Business rates are charged on most non-domestic premises, including most commercial properties such as shops, offices, pubs,
Post-cessation receipts and expenses
Tax relief may be available for post-cessation expenses of a trade. In order to be an allowable post-cessation expense, the trade must have ceased, and the expense must have been deductible in
Basis of assessment changing
Forthcoming ‘basis of assessment’ reforms will change the way trading income is allocated to tax years for the self-employed. The changes will affect sole traders and partnerships that use an
Farming – using the herd basis
There are special rules which can apply to farmers and market gardeners that prepare their accounts on accruals basis. This includes special rules for farmers’ averaging relief, dealing with losses
Scope of Trade
There is no statutory definition of ‘trade’. The only statutory reference to the term is that ‘trade’ includes a ‘venture in the nature of trade’. This absence of a formal definition decides if an
Demergers
There are special statutory demerger provisions that are designed to make it easier to divide and place into separate corporate ownership the trading activities of a company or group of companies.
Points to consider when valuing goodwill
Valuing goodwill is a complex process and there are many different methods which can be used and that vary from industry to industry. Goodwill is a way of placing a monetary value on the business’s
Income excluded from a property business
HMRC publishes a list of income streams that are excluded from a UK property business. The list includes fishing concerns, hotels and guest houses, tied premises, caravan sites, lodgers and tenants in
Business gifts
The rules for deciding whether a gift given in the course of business is deductible are complex. The rules for business gifts generally follow those for business entertaining expenditure. This means
Dividend tax increase announced
The 1,25% increase in NIC contributions from April 2022 will be mirrored by a similar increase in the tax charge on dividends. From April 2022, the dividend tax increases will apply as
