Insights

The eighth MHA legal benchmarking report is now available.

Latest figures, from the Ministry of Justice, confirm that only 9% of Grants of Probate, in the last nine months, have been issued within the Government’s target of ten working-days. The average time for Grants to be issued fell from ten weeks over the summer to eight weeks in December, including those which were returned due to errors or omissions on the applications.

On Wednesday 11 March 2020, Rishi Sunak will deliver his first Budget for the new Boris Johnson Conservative Government. This will be the first Budget since Philip Hammond’s on 29 October 2018 and as usual, the rumour mill has swung into action over what will be included.

If farmers collaborate, such as sharing land, or reduce their activity as they grow older, is their farmhouse eligible for Agricultural Property Relief (APR)? A recent farmhouse case may provide the answer.

The All-Party Parliamentary Group for Inheritance & Intergenerational Fairness recently issued a report suggesting a far-reaching reform of inheritance tax (IHT). These reforms are likely to have an impact on the tax affairs of most UK individuals and trusts.

Following the issue of a consultation paper on proposed changes to the legislation governing agricultural tenancies in April 2019, the Government has taken the opportunity of incorporating some (but by no means all) of the recommended reforms into Schedule 3 of the Agriculture Bill. 

Welcome to the latest edition of eNews from MHA Larking Gowen, and the first edition of 2020.

As the UK leaves the EU and enters a transitional period, we also move a step closer to being able to rewrite VAT exemptions and reliefs without having to follow overarching EU VAT legislation.

During the 2019 election campaign, the former head of HMRC announced that Entrepreneurs’ Relief was costing the Government £2 billion a year. 

There’s a common misconception that where land has the prospect of planning gain, some or all of that gain may be sheltered by a transfer to a third party, even towards the end of the process. 

Welcome to the Spring newsletter for academies and free schools

The question of tax relief on farmers’ grain stores has puzzled practitioners for some years. The structures and buildings allowance may now be available for new buildings, but relief is limited to 2% a year. Agriculture plant and machinery allowances can provide up to 100% tax relief within the annual investment allowance, but buildings generally are not eligible.

We are pleased to announce that MHA Larking Gowen has acted for the shareholders of Salix River & Wetland Services Limited (“Salix”) on the sale of the company to RSK Environmental Ltd (“RSK”).  

We’ve been seeing a lot of negative press around the IR35 reforms, most recently with yesterday’s announcement that the House of Lords Finance Bill Sub-Committee has started an inquiry into off-payroll working rules. Many commentators are suggesting that the reforms should be delayed if not scrapped completely.

Well, after a false start, we now know that Sajid Javid is going to deliver his first Budget on 11 March 2020. It will be the first Budget in more than four decades as a country outside the EU. 

Partner, Andrew Kelsall, comments on the latest Insolvency Statistics that were released by the Insolvency Service on 30 January 2020, covering the 4th quarter of 2019. 

Now in its fourteenth year, the annual Tourism, Leisure and Hospitality Business Survey asks all East Anglian based businesses from across the sector to join forces and take part. The survey was launched today by MHA Larking Gowen, Chartered Accountants and Business Advisors, at Roarr! Dinosaur Adventure, Norfolk.

The MHA Manufacturing & Engineering Survey Report, now in its seventh year, is a go-to report when it comes to understanding the sector, its opportunities and challenges.

Following the introduction of the new Solicitors’ Accounts Rules (SAR) on 25 November 2019, there have been concerns about the requirement of law firms to comply with SAR Rule 10, which covers the operation of a client’s own account.

This year there has already been a certain amount of farming news coming out of Westminster. Firstly, on 9 January we saw the Direct Payments Continuity Bill, which guaranteed that farm subsidy would continue at current levels in 2020. 

In my recent blog I looked at some of the ways farmers could diversify, such as property rental, tourism activities, contract farming and organic farming. This blog will explain some of the possible tax implications of these common farm diversification methods.

It’s clear that currently there’s a lot of merger and acquisition (M&A) activity in the legal sector as we’re seeing increased interest from a number of law firms seeking to acquire B2B with an increasing number of equity partners coming up for retirement. How can law firms ensure smooth succession planning?

Making Tax Digital for Business (MTDfB) is a key part in the Government’s plan to modernise the tax system – it’s the biggest change in tax administration in decades. It will affect every business in the UK, including those with rental income, and will change the way that businesses keep their accounting records, report profits and interact with HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC).

Welcome to the AISMA Doctor Newsline winter 2019-20 edition. At the heart of medical finance...

Diversification has many different forms and can be on as small or large a scale as you choose. It often provides farmers with an income spread more evenly throughout the year than traditional arable farming.

The country has spoken and we have chosen Brexit and five years of Conservative government under Boris Johnson. We accountants are now starting to look forward to the next Budget although, at the time of writing, the date hasn’t been published.

Running a shoot can be very enjoyable, although it does come with a number of pressures. Making sure that there’s enough healthy game and praying for the right weather conditions are just a couple of worries, and then there are the financial commitments, such as the Minimum Wage for casual beaters on shoots.

Friday 13 December 2019 is a date which is likely to be remembered for many years. For younger clients it will be the biggest political landslide of a lifetime, and for all it will be seared into the collective memory. 

An Information Memorandum is a document shared with parties interested in buying your business. Typically, these parties have already signed a confidentiality agreement, and this is the first time that the identity of your business is revealed.

The theme this year is very apt for the current farming climate: Resilience. Our lead article is about a Norfolk farmer at the forefront of drone technology. In line with this, many agricultural businesses don't realise they could qualify for research and development (R&D) relief. Read our R&D article to see if you could qualify for this lucrative tax relief.