John’s Winter Blog 2014

John’s Winter Blog 2014

Well this blog is entitled Winter Blog but it hardly feels like that. All it seems to do is rain, rain, rain and I only recall one morning so far this winter where I have had to scrape the ice off the windscreen.

Those of you who have not visited our offices recently will be pleased to know we have a new secretary, Rosalind, supporting Marilyn. Quite often she may answer the telephones, so do say hi to her. We also have two new part time members of staff, Tina, who is helping in the area of bookkeeping and management accounting and Mike who is helping with Tax Returns. Mike brings a wealth of experience having worked with the HM Revenue & Customs for a number of years.

We are sorry that Kelly is not with us at the present time due to health issues but we hope that she will be able to return to work at some point in the future, although she is helping out from time to time via a computer link to her home. On the subject of computer links, we recently launched a new system called portal - this is a facility whereby we can electronically send your Tax Returns to you for approval and you can electronically approve and reply to us without the necessity of sending forms through the post, obtaining signatures and sending them back - all approved by HM Revenue & Customs. If you have not heard already from Vanessa then do contact her at: vanessa@caladine.co.uk for more information about this if you want to register and submit your Tax Returns in this way.

The VAT world becomes messier from 1st January 2015 with the introduction of VAT Returns in the EU countries for digital supplies, what is called B 2 C customers - quite technical, do see my technical article on this subject, but if you are involved in the supply of digital services do contact us for further advice.

There is a new tax relief called social investment tax relief which will appeal to those who want to invest in social enterprise programmes, and again there is a technical article on this subject within the website.

Well, if I have not already chased you for your Tax Return information, then I am chasing again. All Tax Returns have to be electronically filed by 31st January 2015 and if you have not yet let me have your information then please do so and try and get this to me as soon as possible to avoid any major rush and panic in the New Year.

2015 is going to prove to be a very interesting year in the world of pensions with new regulations coming into effect from April 2015, allowing individuals to withdraw their pension funds in lump sums, although there are taxation consequences. This is quite a complex area and does need careful planning, so do feel free to contact the team for help or we can at least point you in the right direction.

Christmas is almost upon us, a season of joy and thanksgiving. A time when we remember the birth of our saviour Jesus Christ but also for me a time to rest. I find my desk on returning from the holidays on the 2nd January the same as I left it on the 24th December! ie no post or work waiting for me!

I wish you all a very happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year.