Why would you want to file your tax return early?

The end of this month, for example, is the deadline for filing a paper version of the 2014-15 self assessment tax returns, and if you file online, the deadline is 31 January 2016.

A significant number of taxpayers still file after the deadlines and seem happy to pay the late filing penalties and interest on unpaid tax if any falls due. A remarkably larger number seem content to wait and file at the last minute. So what are the advantages of filing earlier? Two spring to mind:

1. If any tax is due you will have more time to accumulate funds to pay it, and

2. If you have overpaid tax you will get the money back sooner…

If you have a professional advisor there are additional benefits. It is possible to process your tax information and review your tax position prior to filing. This will ensure that no planning opportunities have been missed and any remedial actions can be taken before the return is sent to HMRC.

There are not many strategies that can be legitimately used in arrears, but there are a few. For example, in certain circumstances it is possible to pay charitable donations after 5 April 2015 and carry back the higher rate tax relief to 2014-15. If you want to make the most of the advice that we can give, give us time to research and plan. Bringing in your tax records in the last weeks of January to file the previous year’s tax return is counterproductive. The early bird really does get the benefit of reasoned tax advice and you will know, in advance, what your tax payments are likely to be for the next year.

In a recent insolvency investigation Richard Price and Timothy Porter, both directors of Recruit Investments Limited, which headed up a group of businesses specialising in labour recruitment, have been banned from being company directors for 6 years and 5 years respectively for transferring company assets for no consideration, including Arabian horses and money to one of the directors and parties unconnected with the company.

The insolvency Service investigation, which led to the disqualifications, uncovered that Mr Price and Mr Porter:

• transferred company assets with a value of £242,640, which included a number of Arabian horses, to parties unconnected with the company for no consideration in return
• paid £165,541 of company money to Mr Price and/or unconnected parties without due regard to the interests of the company’s creditors, who were largely left unpaid. The funds were withdrawn and the assets transferred at a time when Mr Price and Mr Porter were, or ought to have been, aware that the company was insolvent and unable to pay its debts as and when they fell due.

Recruit entered into liquidation on 12 November 2013 with a deficiency of £2,656,328. Mr Price and Mr Porter gave undertakings to the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills on 19 August 2015 and 08 August 2015 respectively which prevents them from being directly or indirectly becoming involved in the promotion formation or management of a company until 22 September 2021 and 31 August 2020 respectively.

Jane Knight, Senior Investigator, Insolvent Investigations – Midlands and West said:

The Insolvency Service will rigorously pursue company directors who seek to benefit themselves ahead of their creditors by extracting company funds when others are not being paid.

Limited liability protection is only available to those who comply with their obligations as company directors. If those obligations are ignored, that protection will be withdrawn.

You will have automatic copyright protection for writing and literary works, art, photography, films, TV, music, web content and sound recordings

‘Design right’ automatically protects your design for 10 years after it was first sold or 15 years after it was created – whichever is earliest. You can use it to stop someone copying your design.

Design right only applies to the shape and configuration (how different parts of a design are arranged together) of objects. You can also register your design for better protection provided it meets the eligibility criteria. You must register a design to protect 2-dimensional designs such as graphics, textiles and wallpaper.

You’ll need proof of when you created a design if you want to claim design right. This could be copies of your design drawings or photos:

• kept with a bank or solicitor
• that you’ve sent to yourself by registered, dated post and kept unopened

Protection you have to apply for includes:

1. Trade Marks: for example product names, logos and jingles.
2. Registered designs: covers the appearance of a product including shape, packaging, patterns, colours and decoration.
3. Patents: inventions and products including, machines, machine parts, tools and medicines.

The time it takes to register these various protections varies from one month to around five years (in the case of patent applications).

You could register more than one type of protection. For example: register your name and logo as a trade mark; a product’s unique shape as a registered design; patent a new working part; or use copyright to protect your drawings.

 1 October 2015 – Due date for Corporation Tax due for the year ended 31 December 2014.

 19 October 2015 – PAYE and NIC deductions due for month ended 5 October 2015. (If you pay your tax electronically the due date is 22 October 2015.)

 19 October 2015 – Filing deadline for the CIS300 monthly return for the month ended 5 October 2015.

 19 October 2015 – CIS tax deducted for the month ended 5 October 2015 is payable by today.

 31 October 2015 – Latest date you can file a paper version of your 2015 Self Assessment tax return.

 1 November 2015 – Due date for Corporation Tax due for the year ended 31 January 2015.

 19 November 2015 – PAYE and NIC deductions due for month ended 5 November 2015. (If you pay your tax electronically the due date is 22 November 2015.)

 19 November 2015 – Filing deadline for the CIS300 monthly return for the month ended 5 November 2015.

 19 November 2015 – CIS tax deducted for the month ended 5 November 2015 is payable by today.

If you are considering, or already are, selling your products and services in the EU, you may want to read the following recent announcement published on the UK government website.

“Emerging Europe offers opportunities for all UK companies ranging from novice to experienced exporters, and across multiple sectors.

Emerging Europe is made up of 11 markets and over 120 million consumers located in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE).

This region offers:

• increasingly affluent consumers
• economic growth at double the rate of western Europe
• widespread use of the English language
• low risk compared with other Emerging Markets further from the UK
• easy accessibility from the UK – just 2 to 3 hours flying time on low cost airlines

UK exports are worth over £16 billion, with goods exports doubling over the past decade, and services exports – over £4 billion – trebling.

What is Emerging Europe?

Markets of Emerging Europe are at differing stages of development, but all offer long-term growth prospects for UK companies. The markets are:

• Austria
• Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Bulgaria
• Croatia
• Czech Republic
• Hungary
• Poland
• Romania
• Serbia
• Slovakia
• Slovenia

Benefits of doing business in Emerging Europe

The markets offer UK companies a number of advantages including:

• ease of developing business relationships as located close to UK with access via large number of budget airlines
• ideal for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) on tight budgets
• supply chain opportunities in support of strategically important industries
• opportunities resulting from £170 billion European Union (EU) Structural and Cohesion funds for 2014 to 2020
• UK’s positive image as a reliable business partner and increasingly as a source of innovative products and services and new technology

Opportunities

There are opportunities across a range of sectors. These include:

• advanced manufacturing
• defence and security
• energy
• healthcare and life sciences
• infrastructure
• services (financial and professional services, e-commerce and traditional retail)”