NEWS

LATEST NEWS FROM JT Accounting

February 20, 2025

Crackdown on illegal working in the UK: Key highlights & takeaways

The UK government has intensified its crackdown on illegal working, with January 2025 seeing record enforcement activity. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced these efforts as the Border Security, Asylum, and Immigration Bill returned to Parliament last week.

February 19, 2025

HMRC late payment interest rates to be cut

Following the reduction in the Bank of England base rate, HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) have confirmed that their interest rates will be reduced accordingly.

February 19, 2025

Reforms to homebuying coming

The government announced major plans last week to modernise the house buying and selling process. The reforms centre on digitalising and making property and identity data available electronically. This will allow mortgage companies and surveyors to have information within easy reach.

February 10, 2025

Base rate cut to 4.5%

The Bank of England reduced their base rate to 4.5% last week, as had been widely expected in the days leading up to the decision.

February 6, 2025

Reforms to pensions proposed in order to drive growth

The Prime Minister and Chancellor met with business leaders last week and unveiled proposals to give occupational defined pension schemes more flexibility.

February 5, 2025

Is cash still king?

The new economic secretary to the Treasury, Emma Reynolds, has said that there are no plans to regulate businesses, whether big or small, to compel them to accept cash.

February 3, 2025

Chancellor’s speech: An update on economic growth measures

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, delivered a speech last week that served as an update on the government’s plans for delivering economic growth.

January 31, 2025

Why you should prioritise tax planning before the tax year ends

As the UK tax year-end approaches on 5 April, it’s an excellent time for you to review your business finances and explore tax planning opportunities, particularly if you are self-employed. Tax planning can help you to reduce tax liabilities, boost your cash flow and put you in a stronger financial position.

January 29, 2025

HMRC’s phone service criticised … again

A report released by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has further criticised HM Revenue & Custom’s (HMRC) phone service. It found that nearly 44,000 customers were cut off without warning after being put on hold for more than an hour in the first 11 months of last year.

January 27, 2025

What do rising government borrowing costs mean for your business?

Recent economic developments have sparked concerns among UK businesses. Government borrowing costs surged in December to their highest levels in four years, and this has drawn heavy criticism of the Chancellor’s fiscal strategy.

January 23, 2025

Renters’ Rights Bill continues to progress

The Renters’ Rights Bill returned to Parliament for debate last week and included some new changes.

January 22, 2025

Government pushes AI adoption as part of growth strategy

The government launched an AI opportunities action plan last Monday that aims to ramp up AI adoption across the UK.

January 20, 2025

Inflation falls to 2.5%: What this means for your business

The latest figures reveal that UK inflation fell slightly in December, down to 2.5% from 2.6% in November.

January 16, 2025

Balancing AI's promise and pitfalls

Artificial intelligence (AI) continues to bring benefits across many industries, including healthcare diagnostics and consumer technology. However, as its applications expand, so do concerns about its accuracy and potential for misuse. Two recent examples—the use of AI in detecting ovarian cancer and its controversial implementation in summarising news—illustrate both the transformative potential and the risks of AI.

January 15, 2025

New digital markets competition regime now in force

Last week, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) set out its initial plans for the new digital markets competition regime. The regime is designed to support the UK’s tech sector and has its legal footing in the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act. The Act received royal assent in May 2024 but came into force on 1 January 2025.

January 13, 2025

Tax return filing deadline looms

With the 31 January Self-Assessment tax return filing deadline fast approaching, HM Revenue and Customs issued a press release last week noting that 5.4 million taxpayers are yet to complete their return.

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