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Welcome to the DPC round up of the latest business news for our clients for 11th November 2024.
Please contact us if you want to talk with out team of experienced Stoke-on-Trent accountants about how these updates affect your business. We are here to support you!
THIS WEEK…
Cautious optimism?
As had been widely expected, the Bank of England reduced the interest base rate to 4.75% last week. This was due to inflationary pressures easing in recent weeks.
The Bank expects inflation to increase slightly again over the next year to around 2.75% and then fall back to the 2% target after that.
In their quarterly report, the Bank outlined that they will be taking a cautious approach and so will not be cutting rates too quickly or too much. It seems unlikely there will be a further cut when the Bank next meet on December 19th.
Taxing agricultural assets
Changes to inheritance tax were announced in the Budget that have caused consternation to farmers and business owners across the UK. What exactly is changing and what could this mean for you?
Agricultural property relief (APR) is a type of inheritance tax relief that helps reduce the amount of tax that is paid when farmland is being passed down to the next generation. Currently, the relief has no financial limit, meaning regardless of the value of the farmland, it could be passed on with no inheritance tax payable.
Business property relief (BPR) is similar but relates to business assets included in a person’s estate. Again, this relief currently applies without any financial limit to the relief.
Clearly, both reliefs have played an important role in families being able to pass on agricultural and business assets without having to worry about inheritance tax.
Avoid the last-minute panic!
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) have begun reminding taxpayers that time is ticking for getting self-assessment tax returns filed in time for the 31 January 2025 deadline.
More than 3.5 million tax returns have already been submitted, however HMRC are anticipating more than 12 million in total needing to be filed by the end of January. So, HMRC are encouraging people to submit their return as early as possible.
Filing earlier does have some advantages, such as avoiding a last-minute panic, and knowing how much any tax payment will be in time to be able to budget for it.
Growing Caribbean exports
Marking the second event of its kind, the UK-Caribbean Trade and Investment Summit was held in London last week. Organised by UK Export Finance (UKEF), the UK’s export credit agency, the summit brought together UK and Caribbean government officials, as well as senior investors, to discuss business partnerships and financing for projects across the Caribbean.
In the year leading up to April 2024, UK exports to the Caribbean countries involved in CARIFORUM reached £2.7 billion, a substantial 36% increase compared to the previous year.
A new law holds large organisations criminally liable
A new corporate criminal offence of “failure to prevent fraud” is set to take effect from 1 September 2025, following its introduction in the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act.
This law holds large organisations criminally liable if they benefit from fraudulent acts carried out by an employee, agent, subsidiary, or other associated person on their behalf.
Trump return boosts US financial optimism
Immediately following the US election results and Donald Trump’s win, the dollar made gains against other currencies. The FTSE 100 index also went up on Wednesday afternoon by 1%.
The positive moves appear to be based on Trump’s plan to cut taxes and raise tariffs, as these will cause inflation to increase and reduce the speed at which interest rates are cut.
US interest rates staying higher for longer will mean that investors get a better rate of return on savings and investments they hold in dollars.
However, there are concerns that the UK economy could be detrimentally affected by Trump’s proposals around trade, and lead to a slow-down in growth.
Projects to support rural communities
The UK government has awarded £1.2 million in funding to small businesses for projects to boost transport links in rural areas.
Through the Rural Transport Accelerator Fund, eight small businesses have received £150,000 each to develop digital tools and other innovations that will improve connectivity for rural communities. By partnering with local authorities, these projects will support rural jobs, community wellbeing, and local economies, with trials beginning in areas from Norfolk to Scotland.
Competition concerns allayed
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) have provisionally concluded that with certain commitments the proposed merger of Vodafone and Three would not be a competition concern.
Vodafone and Three first proposed merging in June last year, however the CMA have been investigating the proposed deal because of concerns that the merger would lead to higher prices for customers as well as harming mobile virtual network operators.
The CMA have identified remedies including a commitment to upgrading the merged company’s network across the UK, including 5G rollout, and short-term customer protections that would solve competition concerns and allow the merger to go ahead.
Many recommendations for improvements made
As use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools to help with employee recruitment increases, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has published guidance on key data protection considerations.
While AI tools can help you improve efficiency in the hiring, there is need for caution. AI tools can unfairly exclude jobseekers from roles or compromise their privacy. ICO recently audited a number of providers and uncovered several areas where improvement is required leading to almost 300 recommendations being made. ICO plans to continue working with these businesses over coming months.
Promoting good mental health at work
Last week was Stress Awareness Week 2024. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) used the occasion to remind employers of their need to carry out their legal duty to prevent work-related stress and support good mental health at work.
According to HSE figures, 17.1 million working days were lost to work-related stress in 2022/23. An average employee suffering from work-related stress, depression or anxiety takes an average of 19.6 days off work a year, almost the equivalent of a working month.
Clearly, it is in an employer’s interest to do what it can to reduce and minimise stress in the workplace.
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