Business121 Small Business Newsletter #66

In this week's Business121:

1. Last minute self assessment filers could be hit by tax office strike!
2. Creating an online sales page that converts
3. How to build trust with your website visitors
4. Statutory Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures: The Real Issues
5. Employees On Long Term Sick Leave: An Employer's Perspective
6. Top Ten Self Assessment Tips as deadline approaches
7. Filing Your Tax Return - Do's and Don'ts
8. Tax man renews assault on dividends
9. Employment red tape impacts potential of small companies
10. Accountants see Cameron as small business red tape hero

Last minute self assessment filers could be hit by tax office strike!

Small business owners who file their self assessment tax returns at the very last minute, could miss the January 31 deadline this year because of a strike by tax officers.

The Public and Commercial Services Union has announced that it intends to take industrial action this Wednesday - which by remarkable coincidence is the self-assessment filing deadline day!

Here is the notice published on the HMRC News site:

Industrial action 31 January - Self Assessment filing

The Public and Commercial Services Union has announced that it will stage a national strike on 31 January,

We will do everything we can to maintain our services to the public and business. Our advice to self assessment taxpayers is the same as it is every year - file early before the 31 January deadline and make payment online if possible.

Paper returns can be delivered to any HMRC office and we will do all we can to open our Enquiry Centres to receive returns. A taxpayer or their agent who finds it impossible to file by 31 Jan due to the industrial action should file as soon as possible on the following day.

On-line services will not be affected.

The action is clearly designed to cause chaos on what is one of the tax office's busiest days of the year. But, it's innocent taxpayers that will be affected by this strike.

For those of you that have yet to file your self-assessment forms, you can still do so online, but only if you have already registered online. Registering to submit your returns online takes 5-7 days, so unless you're already signed up you'll be too late to make tomorrow's deadline.

If you're worried about missing the filing deadline because of the strike action, the ICAEW has some useful advice.

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Creating an online sales page that converts
The key to having sales pages that convert visitors to customers is to be sure you include a few essential elements. Here's a checklist of the essential elements to help you design and write a successful online sales page.

How to build trust with your website visitors
If you deliver honest, useful content on your site, with no sneakiness, then people will get to hear about you. They'll be hungry for information they can trust.

Statutory Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures: The Real Issues
It is common knowledge (hopefully) that all employers regardless of size and structure are required to have in place suitable disciplinary and grievance procedures. Susanna Heley discusses the practical issues surrounding the statutory three step disciplinary and grievance procedures, and how it appears that employers will have to pay the price for problems with the current regime.

Employees On Long Term Sick Leave: An Employer's Perspective
Employers faced with employees on long term sick leave or who suffer frequent shorter periods of absence as a result of illness are often in a difficult position. As the laws relating to sick leave and discrimination have become ever more comprehensive, understanding your rights as an employer has never been more important.

Top Ten Self Assessment Tips as deadline approaches
The deadline for filing your annual tax return is tomorrow (January 31). If you've yet to complete yours and are finding it difficult to know where to start with your self assessment forms, read our top ten tax return tips. If you miss the deadline you'll get a £100 fine.

Almost 900,000 taxpayers were fined last year for filing their returns late. If you're in danger of joining them, you might also find our article on - the Do's and Don'ts of Filing Your Tax Return useful.

Of course, in light of today's news of the tax officers strike, we should add one more DON'T to the checklist - "Don't expect the tax office to be working on the day you need them most!"

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SMALL BUSINESS NEWS
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Tax man renews assault on dividends
The tax man is launching a ferocious winter offensive against dividend payments, with owner managed businesses in the firing line, warns a specialist adviser.

Employment red tape impacts potential of small companies
Increases in workers’ entitlements could mean 300,000 less jobs created by small businesses. Over 25% of smaller businesses surveyed by the independent Small Business Research Trust (SBRT) say that increases in the National Minimum Wage and holiday entitlement in the past 12 months have restricted their ability to employ more people.

Accountants see Cameron as small business red tape hero
New research has revealed that nearly 40% of accountants believe that the greatest barrier to growth of small businesses is red tape and predict David Cameron is the best person to fix the issue.

** For the latest Small Business News, visit Bytestart.co.uk **

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PERSONAL TAX RETURNS - IT'S NOT TOO LATE
Let us help you beat the January 31st deadline for submitting tax returns. Contact Ian Marlow at HfM today on 020 8690 7444 or email Ian@hfmtax.co.uk

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