If you are an old hand at setting up a new business most of the content of this article will be a timely reminder of the issues you need to cover in your project to-do list. For first timers, use this article as a guide to see you through what can prove to be an exhilarating and challenging adventure.

 Planning and research

 Your planning and research should at least cover the following issues:

• What does it take to run your own business?
• What skills will you need?
• What do you know about your competitors?
• How much capital will you need to raise?
• What resources will you need, plant, equipment, computers etc?
• Could you start on a part-time basis and delay leaving the day job?
• Can you run your business from home?

 Also be aware that none of us operate in a vacuum. What special considerations do you need to look out for taking into account the present economic conditions?

 Red tape

 There is no doubt that at times you will just have to deal with it. Here are a few tips that may make the process less painful.

• Find out exactly what is required, what forms need to be filled in and when they need to be submitted.
• If you feel that a particular process is beyond your abilities find a professional advisor to help, the cost will generally be recovered by time that you are able to free up to work on your business.
• If you want to complete the online filing or form filling make sure you read the fine print…

Red tape seems to be a necessary evil in our highly organised society. If you do find yourself beating your head against a brick wall, save yourself the headache, get some help

 Tax planning

Whatever you do, don’t underestimate the UK tax system. Be very clear what your obligations are and the ways you can organise your business affairs to save tax. There is no point in planning for your tax liabilities after the event! The time to plan is before you act. This is a really important point. Tax specialists, us included, take no joy in advising tax payers that they could have saved themselves tax if only they had acted in a certain way at some time in the past. The tax system is riddled with deadlines that once passed, deny you tax saving opportunities.

Its official, HMRC does not want to charge penalties!

HMRC have made the following announcement on their approach to the £100 late filing penalty for people sending in tax returns late:

“We want to focus more and more of our resources on investigating major tax avoidance and evasion rather than penalising ordinary people who are trying to do the right thing.

But it’s important to make clear that the deadline for appealing fines for 2013/14 tax year has now passed. Those who have already appealed will only be let off the fine if they’ve now sent in their return, paid the tax due, appealed and have a good reason for sending it in late.

This is part of our planned, proportionate approach to penalty appeals, particularly for small businesses and individuals.

The bottom line is that we don’t want to charge penalties, we just want the tax return and the tax in on time.

In addition, the more complete picture that digital technology gives us means, in the longer term, we want to move away from sending out penalty notices as a mechanical reaction to a single missed deadline. We will be able to track patterns of behaviour so we only focus on those who persistently fail to pay or send their tax returns on time.”

It will be interesting to see if HMRC’s consultation on this topic results in a change in the law.

The north of England may become a Scottish executives’ area of choice to live if the Scottish Parliament sets the Scottish income tax at higher rates than the rest of the UK.

In effect the north of England could become a dormitory for wealthy families, presently living in Scotland, who for tax reasons, will seek to establish residential status in England.

The Scottish Government is considering higher income tax rates than England under its devolved powers and HMRC have recently published guidance on who will be liable to pay the devolved Scottish rate of income tax (SRIT):

“The SRIT, as introduced by the Scotland Act 2012, will be charged on the non-savings and non-dividend income of those defined as Scottish taxpayers and will start from April 2016.

The definition of a Scottish taxpayer is focused on where an individual lives, or resides, in the course of a tax year. Scottish taxpayer status applies for a whole tax year – it is not possible to be a Scottish taxpayer for part of a tax year.

For the vast majority of individuals, the question of whether or not they are a Scottish taxpayer will be a simple one, they will either live in Scotland and thus be a Scottish taxpayer, or live elsewhere in the UK and not be a Scottish taxpayer.

Whether or not an individual is a Scottish taxpayer will not, however, be simple in all cases. This draft technical guidance provides initial detail on the manner in which HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will interpret some of the terms used in the sections of the Scotland Act 2012, which set out the definition of a Scottish taxpayer.

HMRC is also currently working closely with Ministry of Defence on the preparation of separate guidance to ensure that all service personnel will have clarity on how SRIT will apply to their individual circumstances prior to its introduction. This guidance will be available later this year.”

If SRIT is eventually set at higher rates in Scotland, it will only be payable if you live in Scotland, and not if you work in Scotland. High income earners in Scotland could choose to live in England and commute to work, and thus pay income tax at marginally lower rates.

This will create all sorts of problems as an employer north of the border may have to run two payrolls: one for Scottish residents and one for English residents!

 You usually need to renew your tax credits once a year. You should receive your renewal pack by 30 June. If you haven’t got your pack, call the Tax Credit Helpline.

You can’t renew your tax credits until you get your renewal pack. If you claimed tax credits after 6 April, your renewal pack is usually sent the following year.

Renewal deadline

The deadline is usually 31 July unless your renewal pack gives you a different deadline.

If you miss the deadline your tax credits payments will stop. You’ll be sent a statement and will have to pay back the tax credits you’ve been given since 6 April.

Your payments will start again and will be backdated to 6 April if you send your renewal within 30 days of getting the statement. You’ll usually need to make a new claim if you don’t respond within 30 days of getting the statement.

Renew your tax credits

You can renew your tax credits online. The Tax Credit Office will send you an award notice within 8 weeks of receiving your renewal, telling you how much you’ll get.

Automatic renewal

If you only get a form with the code ‘TC 603 R’ your tax credits will be renewed automatically. Check the form carefully to make sure your details are correct. You can use the online service to report: any mistakes on your form and any changes in your circumstances.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) recently fined an association of estate and lettings agents, 3 of its members and a newspaper publisher over £735,000 for agreeing to restrict the advertising of fees or discounts in a local newspaper.

In light of this case, the CMA has sent warning letters to a number of estate and lettings agents that it has reasonable grounds for suspecting have been involved in anti-competitive agreements to restrict the advertising of fees.

Separately, the CMA has received complaints that other associations of estate agents and local newspapers may be engaging in similar practices, and is considering whether to take further action.

In order to help businesses avoid competition law risks, the CMA has also published open letters to companies in the property and newspaper industries and a case study to raise awareness that this type of activity is likely to be illegal and that businesses may face significant fines if they engage in it.

Businesses that are found to have broken competition law can be fined up to 10% of their annual worldwide turnover, and company directors can be disqualified for up to 15 years where their conduct in relation to such a breach makes them unfit to be concerned in the management of a company. In addition, individuals involved in certain very serious cartel activity, such as price-fixing, may be found guilty of the criminal cartel offence and could go to prison for up to 5 years and/or have to pay an unlimited fine.

The CMA is working with a number of industry bodies, including the National Estate Agents Association and the Property Ombudsman, to help publicise the lessons to be learned from this case and encourage best practice.

Ann Pope, CMA Acting Executive Director, Enforcement, said:

The CMA is keen to work with businesses across the property and newspaper publishing industries to explain the implications of this case and ensure they understand what they need to do to comply with competition law and can recognise where they may be at risk of breaking it.

The CMA has published a range of guidance to help businesses comply with competition law. In addition, we encourage businesses to have an effective compliance programme, including a clear and unambiguous commitment to competition law compliance from senior management. Businesses need to assess if they are at risk of breaking competition law and, if necessary, take steps to remedy the situation.