Newsletter #106 - How to register as self-employed, Tax pitfalls of being self-employed, 11 Self Assessment Tax tips, New laws for 2008 that every employer should be aware of...

In this week's Business121:

1. Taper relief - Government turns a deaf ear to business
2. How to register as Self Employed
3. The Tax pitfalls of being self-employed
4. Self Assessment - 11 Tips to get ahead of the taxman
5. New laws for 2008 that every employer should be aware of
6. 21 killer ideas to get free publicity

Small Business News

7. 5 Red Letter Day experiences to be won by readers
8. SME's owed staggering £18.6bn in outstanding payments
9. London's entrepreneurs scared of Dragon Den's Deborah Meaden
10. Sir Stelios enters the flexible office space market with easyoffice
11. FSA to investigate comparison websites

Taper relief - Government turns a deaf ear to business

We're back on the subject of taper relief and Capital Gains Tax this week. Following a meeting with the Treasury, Miles Templeman, Director General of the Institute of Directors has revealed that the Government intends to ignore vociferous lobbying by business groups and press ahead with the abolition of business taper relief.

After the meeting Templeman said, "It is clear that the Government is not going to change the core of its proposals to modify capital gains tax. We are going to see a single rate, with no taper relief. We are deeply disappointed, but not surprised. The Government's stance implies that there will still be a substantial tax increase, which is bound to damage business."

The Chancellor first revealed the Government's intention to abolish taper relief in the 2007 Pre-Budget Report. His announcement brought widespread condemnation for being 'anti-enterprise' and for being poorly thought out.

If taper relief is scrapped, and the proposed flat rate of Capital Gains Tax is introduced, business owners that have spent more than 2 years building a business will have to pay CGT at 18% instead of 10% when they sell their business - a massive 80% increase.

Abolishing taper relief will hit hundreds of thousands of business owners and the strength of feeling against the proposals forced Alistair Darling to re-consider his proposals. Now, with just 10 weeks before taper relief is due to be scrapped, and despite first announcing the proposals more than 3 months ago, Darling has still not confirmed whether taper relief will, in fact, be abolished from April 2008.

The Chancellor is finally expected to unveil the definitive plans for taper relief and capital gains tax today, but don't hold your breath, he has delayed the announcement several times already.

You can read a selection of articles and guides that give you the full details on the proposed CGT changes announced in the 2007 Pre-Budget Report in our Budget section.

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How to register as Self Employed
The fastest way to get into business is to become a self-employed sole trader. There’s very little paperwork involved and no fees or other charges to pay. But you can’t simple declare yourself as self-employed. You do need to formally register, and take responsibility for paying your own tax and National Insurance. Here are the steps you must take to get started properly.

The Tax pitfalls of being self-employed
Starting up on your own can be fraught with problems to overcome – that’s half the fun, right? One that could really give you a headache is the tax transition from being an employee to becoming self-employed. Not only will you be taxed in a different way, but the emphasis is on you to work out your own tax! Here are the main tax differences to be aware of, and what your liabilities are.

Self Assessment - 11 Tips to get ahead of the taxman
The January tax returns deadline is looming, but even though HMRC is clamping down on avoidance and requiring accountants secretly to inform on clients in certain circumstances, some straightforward good housekeeping can still produce good rewards. Here's what you need to know about the tax returns process and some top tips on how to ensure you don’t get caught out by the taxman.

New laws for 2008 that every employer should be aware of
Although the volume of employment legislation coming into effect each year is now reducing, there is still an extraordinary regulatory burden on employers and 2008 is set to bring new challenges for employers to meet. To help you stay on the right side of the law Eversheds’ employment specialists have identified eight of the most significant employment law issues for 2008 that every business should be aware of.

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SMALL BUSINESS NEWS

5 Red Letter Day experiences to be won by readers
In our second ever Bytestart small business survey, we've once again teamed up with Standard Life to find out what you think about a number of health care issues. The survey will take just a few minutes to complete and as a 'Thank You' we're giving away Red Letter Day packages to FIVE lucky survey entrants.

SME's owed staggering £18.6bn in outstanding payments
A massive £18.6 billion is the figure put on outstanding payments owed to Britain’s small-to-medium sized enterprises – a leap of £2.6 billion in the last year, according to new research commissioned by Bacs.

London's entrepreneurs scared of Dragon Den's Deborah Meaden
The only female judge from BBC2 Investment programme “Dragons Den” has been voted the person that aspiring entrepreneurs in the Capital would least like to pitch their business idea to.

Sir Stelios enters the flexible office space market with easyoffice
The serial entrepreneur has launched a new flexible office space offering for startups - based in London and bookable by the week.

FSA to investigate comparison websites
The Times reports that the Financial Services Authority is to investigate price comparison websites amid concern that they are misleading consumers into buying unsuitable insurance products. The City watchdog said that it had decided to begin the review after research that showed the sites were confusing and potentially misleading.

** For the latest Small Business News, visit http://www.Bytestart.co.uk **

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