However, there are a few concessions that HMRC make to allow you to say thank you to your staff  for their outstanding service throughout the year, to reward their long service, or simply to wish them a merry Christmas.

To reward long service, you can present an employee with a gift if they have been with you 20 years or more. There is a restriction though, the gift can’t be more than £50 for each year of their service, so a 20 year service can glean no more than £1,000.

Suggestion scheme: as long as the scheme is ‘organised’ rather than simply a case of throwing ideas around in the pub after work it can net staff tax free rewards up to a maximum of £5,000. The actual figure should be based on a set percentage of the expected financial benefit of the suggestion to your business.

Encouragement awards: merit based rewards are included in the concessions. A cash payment is allowed but only up to £25.

Annual party: staff can party tax free – whether it be at a Christmas celebration, summer barbecue or awards night. Be aware though that the total cost of such get togethers can’t exceed £150 a year per person.

Promotional gifts: each member of staff is entitled to receive promotional gifts which your business might usually use to advertise a corporate message up to the value of £50 a year. You may have to use some discretion as to what is suitable to be given to staff.

Celebratory presents: in the strictest sense, all extras which employees receive, over and above their salaries and expenses, are subject to tax. However, HMRC does differentiate between gifts and benefits. Gifts might include flowers on the birth of a child, a bottle of wine to mark a birthday or a Christmas gift.

Rawlinsons is a firm of Chartered Accountants, Business and Tax Advisers providing a complete range of accounting, business, taxation and specialist services to more than 3,000 clients.

The Peterborough-based firm has seven partners, a 60-strong team and 70 years of history.
www.rawlinsons.co.uk <http://www.rawlinsons.co.uk>

Related posts:

1. Tax man reminds us about new self-assessment penalties The HMRC, HM Revenues and Customs, are reminding both businesses...
2. SME trials spark backlash against tax man HMRC (Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs) has come under fire...
3. Tax breaks for SME investors Part of the governments plan to stimulate growth the help...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

The iomart Group plc, one of the leading hosting and cloud computing services companies, have been named on the shortlist for one of the most prestigious business awards in the UK. In the 2011 National Business Awards, the company is a finalist in the category of small to medium business of the year.

The corporate banking director of strategy and market development at Santander Stephen Dury, spoke about the award which his company sponsors and he himself helps to judge. He said that iomart were operating in a hugely competitive market and have shown the courage to become market leaders through expansion and development and acquisition.

Iomart recently won another accolade when they were names as the Scottish Digital IT Company of the Year, and is ranked amongst the top 25 providers of cloud services in the world, as rated by Talkin’ Cloud 50. It has also been ranked by MSPmentor 100 as one of the top ten managed hosting providers.

The CEO of iomart Group plc, Angus MacSween, has said that they were all delighted that the commitment that iomart had made to innovation and sustainable growth was being recognised in the UK. He added that everyone at the company and worked long and hard to make the company a leading provider in a very competitive market and making the shortlist for these national awards showed the progress that they had made.

Announcing the finalists, Steve Pateman, Head of Santander Corporate, Commercial and Business Banking said: “Small and medium sized businesses are the drivers of the UK economy, and the National Business Awards are an excellent opportunity to celebrate the innovation, flexibility and hard work of these companies. I would like to wish all the finalists every success both in these awards and for their future business ventures.”

Baroness Bottomley of Nettlestone, Chair of Judges, the National Business Awards, said: “The economic climate continues to present UK businesses with an unprecedented challenge: it is therefore particularly encouraging that the entries in this year’s National Business Awards have shown no drop in quality or performance. Congratulations to all finalists for demonstrating tremendous strength in their ability to adapt and innovate which no doubt reflects the resilience and optimism that are the hallmarks of UK enterprise.”

Organised by UBM plc, winners will be honoured at the National Business Awards gala dinner at the Grosvenor House Hotel, London, Tuesday 8th November, where George Osborne, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, will deliver this year’s welcome address.

Martin Stiven, Vice President of Business at Orange, part of Everything Everywhere, said:

“Reaching the finals of the National Business Awards is no mean feat and I am delighted that the calibre of entrants keeps on improving. All finalists have demonstrated exceptional drive, resilience and innovation during challenging economic conditions. Many congratulations to all finalists and best of luck with the next stage of the competition, I very much look forward to the live judging in September and October.”

Visit the National Business Awards website – www.nationalbusinessawards.co.uk – for a full list of all 2011 finalists.

Related posts:

1. Orange National Business Awards 2011 Since 2002, The National Business Awards in partnership with Orange...
2. Comment on perceived benefits of Cloud Computing We recently published an article and broadcast outlining what IT...
3. European Business Awards UK entrant Presented by HSBC the European Business Awards announced that Weir...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Based in Bootle, Liverpool Weir & Carmichael are an SME. They are a recycling and flexible packaging solutions supplier and since 1955 have been supplying manufacturing industries in the UK. For Britwrap Reusable Transit Packaging, one of their products they have been selected as a representative for the UKTI Innovation Award.

Designed for protecting products in transit, Britwrap is a protective cover that is sustainable and dramatically cuts waste, packaging costs, damages returns and promotes manual handling correctly.

Commercial Director Martin Ellioth stated that they were thrilled to be selected as a representative of the UK and have been in operation more than 55 years and it is an honour to receive recognition as one of the leaders in our field and more importantly our country. November 22, 2011 the final category winners will be announced in Barcelona.

.

Related posts:

1. Orange National Business Awards 2011 Since 2002, The National Business Awards in partnership with Orange...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

If you believe your business has achieved outstanding success or innovation over the last year then now could be your time for recognition.

Over the past decade the awards have witnessed both the boom and bust periods of the last ten years, acting as a barometer for British Business success. From how businesses have changed in the past ten years to where the most significant growth sectors are in 2011, compared to 2002, the awards process by its very nature provides us with a fascinating insight into this.

To add further depth to discussion, research has been conducted with previous finalists and winners, collating their insights into the shape of British business in the last ten years, as well as the next.

Business futures analyst and strategist James Bellini, Martin Stiven the Vice President of Business at Orange, CEO of WOW! Stuff Richard North and Alex Evans, Editorial Director, National Business Awards join us online to discuss the tenth Orange Business Awards

For more information visit www.nationalbusinessawards.co.uk/

Related posts:

1. Business Continuity Planning essential for SME’s in 2011 Business Continuity Planning should be the focus for SME’s in...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

In November 2009, the Court ruled that the wealthy entrepreneur did not qualify for a non-resident business tax rate due to his presence in the U.K. for more than the established number of 90 days during a given tax year.

Following that ruling, which James-Cooper’s attorneys argued was inconsistent and discriminatory, foreign investors have been much more leery of the U.K. as a place to invest or do business.  Peter Vaines, of the law firm Squire, Sanders & Dempsey, said he believes that the ruling has caused the number of new investors in the U.K. to fall off by half.

Mr. Vaines said that HMRC had re-interpreted the tax laws, specifically the “90-day rule” set out in section IR20.  That rule has been understood by everyone concerned to mean that if a taxpayer was not in residence in the U.K. for more than 90 days during a tax year, he or she would qualify for non-resident taxpayer status.

HMRC argued that James-Cooper did not sever his ties with the U.K.; his family home in Henley-on-Thames, visits to Ascot racecourse and a collection of Rolls-Royces based in the country were cited as evidence that he had not adhered to the letter of the law.  This is the crux of the argument, since it is not clear exactly what “the letter of the law” means in this case.

Gaines-Cooper remarked that he has dealt with 16 different countries’ tax laws, and those in the U.K. “.took more time and cost more money than the 15 others put together.”  He plans to appeal the judgment.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

The award will be called, The Entrepreneur All Rounder.  Applicants will have to prove that they are not only successful in their own business endeavours, but will also have to demonstrate a passion and ability to build the community of entrepreneurs in the UK.

The Entrepreneurs Organisation consists of business entrepreneurs from around the world who run operations making £650,000 a year or more.

Representatives of the Entrepreneurs Organisation in the UK said that they believe entrepreneurs will drive the engine of recovery for the country and in giving this reward they are looking not only for businesspeople who demonstrate experience in creating an increase of market share, spear-heading rapid growth, and demonstrating excellent customer service, but individuals who can lead other entrepreneurs to do the same.

The idea and commitment of sharing expertise is what will make the entrepreneur who receives this award an absolute stand out.

Standard Chartered Private Bank is happy to involve itself in The Entrepreneur All Rounder award to help demonstrate its desire to work with entrepreneurs from all around the country in an effort to provide funding and financial services for the businesses it also sees as the future of the UK.

The awards ceremonies will be held next year and applicants can be fielded through the Entrepreneurs Organisation UK.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

In total, eight entrepreneurs and companies were honoured with host TV personality John Sergeant in charge of doling out the awards which included a Liftetime Achievement Award that was given to Alfred Gooding from Risca.

Gooding is an entrepreneur who has created a large amount of businesses over his fifty year career that has helped to create thousands of jobs in Wales and in other locations as well.

Among his prominent companies is Modern Building Wales which has been responsible for the construction of 7,000 homes.

Another award recipient at the awards benefit was the automobile insurance agent, Group Admiral, who won the Welsh Company of the Year Award which is sponsored by the University of Wales’ Global Academy.

Group Admiral employs about 3,000 people in Swansea, Cardiff, and Newport and is the only FTSE 100 company found in Wales. There are also subsidies of the insurance group in Europe with the expectation that a US branch will open by the close of the year in the United States.

Sophia Hughes and Lucy Cohen won the Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award for co-founding the accountant firm Mazuma which is located in Cardiff.

Mazuma now has six franchises located around the UK in addition to the Mazuma Hub which was created this summer with plans to build up 30,000 customers and 110 staff members by 2012.

Freshwater’s Woman in Business Award went to GoCompare.com’s chief executive and founder Hayley Parsons. The website, which was established in 2006, is one of the largest price comparison sites in the UK.

Zeffa’s Excellence in Marketing Award went to Clogau Gold which is a jewellery company known for its handcrafted custom jewellery that contains place settings of Welsh gold which is extremely rare.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.