The comments were made in the judgement delivered by His Honour Judge Simon Brown in a recent case taken by a Friend LLP client against his former accountants.

The case, which was reported in The Birmingham Post on 6 August, concerned an entrepreneur, Mr M, who had appointed another firm of accountants to advise him on inheritance tax planning.  The judge described the advice received from the other firm as “a negligent tax avoidance scheme” and damages of £580,000 were awarded against them.

The advice provided by the previous accountants was given between 2000 and 2004.  Having received inadequate advice, Mr M approached Friend LLP in 2005 and Frank was able to advise on the myriad issues that Mr M had to deal with in order to protect his family’s assets.

As well as obtaining advice from Friend LLP, Mr M began legal action against his former accountants which culminated in the Birmingham High Court hearing in December 2009.  Frank appeared as a witness in the case and clearly impressed the judge, who referred to him as:

“a highly competent accountant and suitable tax adviser who would have provided appropriate advice if he had been instructed rather then the Defendants in the first place.”

Naturally, Frank was delighted to be able to help Mr M protect his family’s assets and to win damages for negligent advice.  Commenting on the case, Frank said;

“This legal victory for Mr M is justified and well deserved.  It is extremely gratifying that our work in advising Mr M and supporting him in court was so well regarded by the judge”.

For future information on our private client tax services, led by Frank Upton, please click here or call 0121 633 2008.

Our litigation support and forensic accounting teams have been involved in many court actions and other contentious matters involving companies and shareholders.  For further information, please click here or contact Malcolm Friend on 0121 633 2004.

A well-known and successful property entrepreneur, Stephen Goldstein also founded surveying practices Alexander Stevens and Stephens McBride and is a former chairman of the Jewellery Quarter Urban Renewal. Stephen has had joint ventures in the leisure sector with the former Ansells brewery, is currently Chairman of a French leisure group in the hotel and golf course sector and brings extensive experience in European property and business matters.

With 30 years’ experience of advising private equity investors on property strategy and property finance, and acquisitive, ambitious businesses in general, Stephen will provide an additional layer of expertise to Friend LLP’s property and finance advisory work, as corporate finance partner Denise Friend explains:

“Stephen’s skills, experience and approach are a superb fit with our strategy of strengthening the Friend LLP advisory team and sustaining ongoing growth in both domestic and international markets. He brings immeasurable experience of property finance work combined with a “hands-on” approach that sits very nicely with the partner-led style at Friend LLP. We are confident that Stephen will add substantial value to our clients and their businesses.”

Stephen adds:

“I’ve known Friend LLP for a long time and I like their across-the-board expertise and intelligent, partner-led approach. We share a similar commitment to providing top-level advice, delivered personally, with a good dose of commonsense. Very few corporate finance teams can offer the combination of tax advice, financial due diligence and strategic property finance solutions that we can now deliver through Friend LLP.”

Stephen Goldstein is also associated with a number of charities, with his most recent efforts being directed at The Mad Hatters’ Tea Party Charity, which includes an annual event at the Botanical Gardens for 800 disadvantaged children and young people. Additionally, Stephen is a former chairman of Midlands Regional Variety Club and is a longstanding and active supporter of the Duke of Edinburgh Award.

Friend LLP is a leading regional firm of accountants and business advisers, with offices in Brindleyplace, Birmingham, and in Portman Square in London. The firm provides the full range of business advisory, audit and business assurance, tax, corporate finance, corporate recovery and technology consulting services to private companies and financial institutions in the UK and overseas. The practice has developed an expertise in assisting overseas companies with principal locations in North America, Western Europe, Australia, India, China and other emerging markets, that are looking to establish businesses in the UK.

For more information, please contact Denise Friend on 0121 633 2000 or denise.friend@friendllp.com

This is the inaugural Breakfast with Friends seminar.

 Over the next few months, Breakfast with Friends will focus on providing a useful analysis of current events and issues, from a tax and commercial viewpoint.

 
With corporate profitability recovering and tax rates soaring, the rewarding of management and shareholders and the holding of assets are among the biggest business and tax issues that companies now face.

Providing a tax focus on these issues, Frank Upton and Iain Wright will discuss: 

• Tax efficient methods of extracting cash;
• The new regime for pension contributions;
• Incentivisation of management; and
• Tax and financially efficient holding of business assets. 

The seminar will take place between 07:30 and 09:00 on 14 September 2010, at Eleven Brindleyplace, Brindleyplace, Birmingham, B1 2LP and will proceed as follows:

07:30 – 08:00     Breakfast and networking
08:00 – 08:30     Seminar presentations
08:30 – 09:00     Questions and networking
09:00                 Close

Frank and Iain will remain available after the event to answer any other questions you may have.

To book a place on this seminar, please fill out the form below:

[contact-form]

There are limited places available, so please book early to avoid disappointment.

If you would like to receive details of future seminars to be held this autumn, including:

• Minimising taxation of intellectual property and R&D;
• Taxation of overseas trading; and
• Tax tips for company sales and purchases.

Please click here to be added to our events mailing list.

(l-r) Georgina Clark (Friend LLP), Richard Taffinder and Kath Jenkins (Hills Numberplates) and Mark Scotter (Friend LLP)

The UK’s largest manufacturer and distributor of number plates is looking forward to an exciting year ahead after gaining additional investment to help support its diversification into new and innovative markets.

The professional advice in respect of the investment was provided to Hills by Friend LLP and Shoosmiths.

Hills employs over 60 people at its Birmingham-based plant and has been a leading global player in the plastic number plate market for over 30 years. Hills is the acknowledged UK market leader in both size, technology and innovation and is the only number plate manufacturer in the UK that is able to offer full production facilities, from the conversion of acrylic and substrate raw materials to the manufacture of finished number plates ready for attachment to vehicles.

As testament to its innovation, Hills has a history of patent registration on production techniques and products, many of which are combined within their Hiltek product. The Hiltek product offers significant quality improvement and cost reduction in comparison to standard production methods. The company has also found a highly effective way of combating the ever increasing threat of number plate theft through the patented Secureplate brand; the first brand in the world to meet the DVLA approved anti-theft standard.

To best support the growing success of these patented products, and to help fund a programme of expansion into Europe and the Far East, Hills required additional investment. The company felt that private and trade investors would be the most appropriate to help achieve the goals of the company, and to cement existing relationships within the market.

Richard Taffinder, the Managing Director of Hills said: “With the issues that have faced the automotive sector in the last two years, Hills have invested in exploiting unique IP solutions in emerging foreign markets; a strategy that has helped reduce the impact of the recession. We saw an opportunity to significantly increase our global licence plate profile by pooling resource with investors that are involved in the same trade but different market sectors.

“To attract this investment, our advisors were asked to independently review the current trading and legal status of the Hills group and potential areas of opportunity. In doing this, Hills were able to demonstrate real value within the company, which gave significant confidence to the new investors and existing stakeholders.”

As financial advisors to Hills, it was the role of Friend LLP to thoroughly review and assess the existing business, and to develop an independent set of financial forecasts and business plan upon which the proposed investors and Venture Finance (the current providers of Hills’ working capital funding) could rely. Through working closely with Hills, it became clear to Friend’s advising team of Denise Friend and Georgina Clark, that Hills was a promising business with a great deal of potential in a changing market place.

Denise Friend, corporate finance partner at Friend LLP, added: “Given the recent economic issues in the automotive sector, the degree of innovation and flexible approach to the market demonstrated by the team at Hills is refreshing. They realised some time ago that the number plate market in the UK was becoming somewhat stagnant and devalued and have taken highly innovative steps to commoditise their products, with considerable success.

“The new investors are obviously able to see Hills for what it is; a business with a great history, niche market position and fantastic innovation and expansion potential.”

Throughout the process, Hills had been supported by solicitors, Alastair Peet and John Finnemore, of Shoosmiths.

Corporate partner Peet said: “We’ve invested more than a year’s worth of hard work and technical expertise into finalising this particular project due to its complicated structural nature, and we’re more than delighted with the result.

“We’ve thoroughly enjoyed working with Hills, who’ve been a client of ours for the last three years, and we look forward to further enhancing this relationship in the future.”

In addition to Hills’ legal and financial advisors, Venture Finance demonstrated strong support for Hills throughout the process, and welcomed the opportunity to support the business with ongoing working capital facilities.

Alison Small, Managing Director of the North Division of Venture Finance plc commented: “We have been delighted to extend our support to Hills at a time when the automotive sector has been undergoing its challenges. Rather than taking a “one size fits all” sector approach we took time to understand the particular challenges and opportunities facing Hills. Clear information is key to this process and the open approach of the directors together with the input of Friend LLP has been invaluable in ensuring that all parties are fully briefed and in tune with the company’s future plans. We very much look forward to being part of the company’s success in the coming years”.

Richard Taffinder concluded: “We are delighted that with the help of our advisors and funders, Hills has managed to secure this additional investment, with a group of investors who clearly share Hills’ excitement for the prospects that the near future holds.”

For further information, please contact:
Georgina Clark on 0121 633 2034 or georgina.clark@friendllp.com or;
Mark Scotter on 0121 633 2019 or at mark.scotter@friendllp.com

For companies, there was welcome news in the form of reduced corporation tax rates and the promise of tax simplification in future, but this was tempered by reduced tax allowances for capital expenditure.

Many investors had feared large rises in capital gains tax. Investors who qualify for Entrepreneurs’ Relief will benefit from an increase in the capital gains covered by it to £5m over a lifetime, but other investors will suffer from an immediate rise in the capital gains tax rate from 18% to 28%.

It is difficult to imagine Gordon Brown proudly uttering the words “we are set to miss the golden rule in this cycle by £485 billion” but today’s Budget saw the demise of golden rules, prudence and “neo-endogenous growth theory”. In their place were shared pain and a promise that “Everyone will share in the rewards” when the public finances are repaired.

We had been carefully prepared for the pain of this Budget ever since the Coalition Agreement was signed in early May with the promise of higher capital gains tax rates and the widely rumoured VAT increase. After living in fear for two months, the feeling in the Friend office this afternoon is that the pain could have been an awful lot worse. Many people will pay more tax, but most will pay less than they had feared.

Income tax and National Insurance Contributions (“NICs”)

As widely reported, the personal allowance for basic rate taxpayers will increase by £1,000 from next April, saving basic rate taxpayers £200 per year. Higher-rate taxpayers, earning over £44,000 or so, will be only £65 per year better off because the earnings threshold for higher rate tax will be reduced, or £100 worse off if their income is from savings or investments. Anyone earning over £113,000 per year will be at least £335 worse off as a result of the changes.

Otherwise, there were no changes to previously announced income tax and NIC rises, so the 50% rate remains in place, an effective tax rate of 60% will apply to income between £100,000 and £112,950 and we will all be paying an extra 1% National Insurance from next April.

Employers’ National Insurance Contributions (“NICs”)

To mitigate “Labour’s Jobs Tax”, as Employers’ NICs are always described, the earnings threshold for paying Employers’ NIC will be increased by £21 per week when the rate is increased from 12.8% to 13.8% next April. Employers’ NICs on employee earnings of less than £20,800 per year will be lower than had neither of the changes been made.

Capital Gains Tax (“CGT”)

The CGT rate will increase from midnight tonight (Tuesday) to 28% for higher-rate taxpayers. However, Entrepreneurs‘ Relief will also be increased from tonight to cover the first £5m of qualifying capital gains in a lifetime.

Broadly, Entrepreneurs’ Relief reduces the CGT rate to 10% for sales of qualifying business assets and of shares in unquoted trading companies where the seller has held at least a 5% shareholding for at least 12 months and is an officer, director or full-time employee of the company.

It would appear that the Conservatives have won most of the arguments regarding CGT with the Liberal Democrats. Entrepreneurial activity will continue to be favoured whilst the Government have acknowledged that very high rates of CGT would be counterproductive.

The big losers from this change will be second-home owners, stock market investors and investors holding small stakes in companies or who are not officers, directors or full-time employees of companies whose shares they hold. Venture capitalists and business angels may wish to consider how they manage their investments, particularly if they do not qualify for Enterprise Investment Scheme (“EIS”) benefits.

Pensions

When introducing the 50% top rate of tax, the previous government also introduced a fiendishly complicated system to ensure that 50% taxpayers received only 20% tax relief on pension contributions. Whilst acknowledging the need to retain the £3.5bn tax that this measure is designed to generate (and presumably to demonstrate that everyone is suffering together), the Chancellor did suggest that this regime would be simplified, probably by the imposition of an annual limit on tax effective pension contributions.

VAT

The biggest jeer from the Labour benches was reserved for the increase of VAT from 17.5% to 20% from 4 January 2011. The date was clearly chosen to avoid the inflationary effects of two VAT rises in the same year and measures will be put in place to prevent arrangements designed to charge 17.5% VAT on goods or services to be provided after the increase.

Corporation Tax Simplification

George Osborne announced that he wanted to simplify the UK’s corporation tax system over the next 5 years. The UK proudly boasts the longest tax code in the world, having recently overtaken India. Whilst the simplification measures have not yet been announced, the Government’s policy approach indicates that they wish to restore the tax system’s reputation for predictability and stability and to make it more competitive, simpler, greener and fairer. Such an approach is to be welcomed, but please rest assured that, whatever the changes, a poor tax adviser is still likely to be as rare as silverware in the England trophy cabinet!

Corporation Tax Changes

The main rate of corporation tax will be reduced from 28% to 24% in annual 1% increments from next April, whilst the small companies rate will be reduced to 20%, also from next April.

To compensate for these rate reductions, the annual investment allowance (“AIA”) will be reduced from £100,000 to £25,000 and the capital allowances rate will be reduced from 20% of qualifying expenditure to 18% from April 2012. The AIA gives a 100% first year allowance on expenditure up to the limit and it may be worth considering bringing forward expenditure to benefit from the more generous rates.

Despite concerns that the reduced headline rate would mask a higher effective tax rate, the government have promised that manufacturing will pay less tax overall as a result of these changes.

Other Measures

The Chancellor promised to look into the taxation of foreign profits regime, which makes the UK a fairly unattractive holding company regime for many multinationals, and to consider the taxation of intellectual property. This could include the introduction of a low rate of tax for income derived from patents.

Banks are to be hit with a £2bn levy on their balance sheets and National Insurance holidays will be introduced for new businesses taking on employees outside of London and the Southeast.

Finally, the favourable tax status of furnished holiday lettings will be retained whilst targeted tax relief for the video games industry will be withdrawn. Clearly, the new generation of MPs do not have Playstations in their Cornish holiday homes!

Summary

Today’s Budget contained a large number of tax increases together with a few tax reductions. Whilst we are all likely to pay more tax in future, it is to be hoped that the tax system will ultimately become more efficient, making the UK a more attractive place to do business.

A detailed Budget analysis will be available on our website www.friendllp.com. If you would like to discuss the Budget, please contact Frank Upton, Iain Wright or your usual Friend LLP contact.

Friend LLP are delighted to announce that we have moved offices to Eleven Brindleyplace, one of Birmingham’s most striking locations.

This move is part of our continued growth and expansion, providing our partners, staff and clients with truly world-class office accommodation and a prime location within the city’s business district.  This  marks the beginning of an exciting new phase in our development, and a major milestone in the history of our Firm.

Eleven Brindleyplace is a brand new building, which was recently named the Best Commercial Workplace for its “carefully thought out, high quality” multi-let office building at the British Council for Offices’ (BCO) annual regional awards.  It was described by the judges as an architecturally impressive building and a well thought out solution which can be differentiated in the marketplace.

The new Birmingham office address is:

Eleven Brindleyplace
2 Brunswick Square
Birmingham
B1 2LP

Please ensure that our contact details on your systems are updated with this information.  Our telephone numbers will remain unchanged.

For more information please contact Amanda March on +44 (0)121 633 2000 or at enquiries@friendllp.com

This edition of Tax Matters aims to help you understand how UK tax law affects overseas individuals working in the UK and their employers.

Who and what is taxed in the UK?

To be liable for UK income taxation, an individual must be either resident in the UK or have a source of income or gains in the UK.

An individual who is resident in the UK will, as a general rule, be liable to tax on the whole of his income and gains, whether they arise in the UK or elsewhere. Temporary visitors to the UK are not treated as resident for the purpose of determining taxable employment earnings or of charging foreign income to tax.

How is “UK residence” defined?

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) clearly define when they regard an individual as resident:

• An individual is resident in the UK if he is here for 183 days or more in a tax year or an average of 91 or more days per tax year over a period of up to four years.
• Individuals intending to live in the UK permanently or for at least three years are regarded as resident from arrival.
• Individuals intending to remain indefinitely are regarded as resident from arrival if they have available accommodation here or plan to stay for at least three years.

Domicile in the UK

Domicile is a general legal concept that has been adopted by the UK tax system in relation to individuals. An individual acquires a domicile of origin at birth, normally that of the father. This domicile of origin continues unless and until the individual acquires a domicile of choice. An individual is deemed to acquire a domicile of choice if he fixes his chief residence in a new country, with the intention of living there permanently or indefinitely.

Application of the remittance basis

A non-UK domiciled individual will be taxed on his income as it arises but may claim for the application of the remittance basis. The remittance basis applies to income from a source outside the UK and principally covers foreign rental income, interest and dividends paid by non-resident companies, and capital gains arising from overseas assets.

The remittance basis applies automatically to a non-UK domiciled individual with aggregate unremitted foreign income and gains of less than £2,000 per year.

Where the non-UK domiciled individual has been resident in the UK for at least seven of the preceding nine tax years, he will be liable to an additional remittance basis tax charge of £30,000 per year.

There is a wide definition of remittance which covers non cash remittances and payments made abroad with respect to services and debts linked to the UK. The legislation is complex and outside the scope of this edition of Tax Matters.

Pre-arrival planning

Individuals who will become resident in the UK for tax purposes should aim to ensure that ongoing foreign gains and income are, so far as possible, not subjected to UK taxation. It is important to have evidence of remittances to the UK where a claim is made to be taxed on that basis.

Individuals considering longer-term residence in the UK or UK investments will need to consider inheritance tax (IHT). IHT applies to the value of a deceased person’s estate but, in the case of a non-domiciled individual, applies only to assets located in the UK, subject to any relieving provisions in double tax agreements.

Making UK investments through an overseas company should remove the location of the investments outside the UK. There are, however, many factors and costs involved with such arrangements. In no case is it more important to take advice than when considering the acquisition of a house or flat in which to live in the UK.

Tax equalisation packages

Employers may offer policies known as “tax equalisation packages” to reimburse the employee for any excess tax cost of an overseas assignment. Essentially, the employer bears the tax cost of the taxable assignment benefits such as accommodation and education, plus the higher rates of UK tax on base earnings.

Note though that the reimbursement of excess tax costs to an employee over a period can create a spiralling of the expense of this reimbursement because the reimbursement itself becomes taxable income!

It is important to obtain advice on the UK tax treatment of employee benefits, the expatriate concessions and any favourable double tax treatment, to understand their impact on the cost of tax equalisation packages and how it may be reduced.

Individuals who implement tax planning strategies should always consider the effect on any tax equalisation package.

Split employment contracts

Where a non-domiciled individual performs some duties outside the UK, it is not uncommon for him to have two employments. Earnings from any wholly overseas employment will be taxed only on remittances to the UK.

HMRC will, on enquiry, investigate split employment contracts closely and expert advice is therefore essential.

UK Social Security Contributions

Individuals coming to work in the UK must consider their social security or national insurance contributions (NIC).

An individual who is resident and employed in the UK will be liable for NIC unless EEA regulations or reciprocal arrangements apply.

The UK has arrangements with many countries: some overseas nationals may not have to pay NIC if they are here for a limited period; others may not have to pay NIC for the first year (or more).

Individuals coming to work in the UK need to apply for a national insurance number (NINO). Many employers will have a fast-track application system so that the employee will not personally have to visit application centres.

UK tax compliance matters

The majority of employed earners in the UK pay tax under the PAYE system, where the tax is deducted at source from their earnings and benefits.

Company directors, the self-employed and those with complex affairs or several sources of income are required to “self-assess” their income and capital gains taxes.

Self-assessment involves submitting a tax return on-line by 31 January following the end of a tax year, together with an assessment of any outstanding tax due. HMRC have one year to raise questions and make any amendments to the assessment. Spouses are taxed separately and submit separate tax returns.

The tax return contains claims for non-domicile and non-residence but individuals or their employers should notify HMRC as soon as possible of their arrival so that the correct PAYE procedures can be put in place and excessive tax deductions or underpayment avoided.

Taxation of incentive plans

Many incentive plans receive special tax treatment in the home country, such as in the USA where, in many instances, tax is deferred until the employee receives the benefit.

The UK tax system often does not recognise the tax deferral of benefits and tax is normally charged for the year in which the employer makes the contribution. Relief for contributions to a retirement benefits scheme may however be available.

While it can be possible to make incentive plans conform to the UK tax regime, it may be necessary to discontinue them during the course of the UK assignment or accept that the UK tax treatment will result in excess tax costs.

The UK tax treatment of overseas individuals can be complex and mistakes can be expensive. Friend LLP’s specialist tax team has a wealth of experience in advising overseas employers and employees considering working or investing in the UK.
For help and advice on UK tax matters please contact:

Iain Wright:
+44 121 633 2015 or iain.wright@friendllp.com

1. Why value a company’s shares?
2. How to value a company
3. Applying company valuations

1. Why value a company’s shares?

Potential reasons for valuation may be:

• Selling a company
• Management buy-out
• ESOP
• Raise capital
• Taxation
• Litigation
• Part of a divorce settlement
• Estate planning

You should note that the value of a company’s shares is influenced by the reason you are asking the question. By changing the purpose of the valuation, you potentially change the value of the shares.

2. How to value a company

Valuation Methods

2.1 Asset based valuations
2.2 Multiple based valuations
2.3 Discounted cash flow / NPV
2.4 Other methods

You may need to adjust the company financials prior to applying these valuation methods.

3. Applying company valuations

Understanding the valuation results

The next stage is to understand what value you have derived from the above methods.

• Enterprise value is the value of the business
• Debt free, cash free valuation is similar to the Enterprise value (used for deal comparison)
• Equity value is the value of the equity

Equity Value is equivalent to the Enterprise Value less debt. To obtain a comparable value between Equity Value results and Enterprise Value results, the Enterprise Value obtained from the profit multiples must therefore be adjusted for the net debt / cash in the business.

Review range of values:

Where there are large ranges in the valuations relied upon, these should be investigated. In this instance th the Asset Based valuation is ignored as it is less appropriate for this type of business. The Comparable Transactions valuation is also ignored as the deals all took place within a buoyant and incomparable market.

Applying the results to specific circumstances

The final stage is to apply the overall Equity Value to the shares for sale, taking into account the specific circumstances of the transaction; i.e. the reason for the valuation or the number of shares held.

Common amendments would be for the:

• Marketability of shares
• Class of share
• The degree of control that the shares would grant / percentage ownership

There can often be significant discounts for lack of control, a discount of 40% is not uncommon.

Valuations are an Art not a Science!

.

Contacts

Denise Friend         denise.friend@friendllp.com         0121 633 2000
Mark Scotter             mark.scotter@friendllp.com          0121 633 2019
Georgina Clark       georgina.clark@friendllp.com       0121 633 2034

Adrian is a highly experienced business advisor who was until recently the head of audit and business assurance at BDO in Birmingham.

Birmingham born, Adrian, who trained with Kidsons in Birmingham, is an old boy of King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Boys and a past president of the Birmingham and West Midlands Society of Chartered Accountants.  With more than 20 years’ experience as a partner advising businesses of varying sizes and from many sectors, Adrian is well equipped to expand the business of Friend LLP based upon the firm’s reputation for providing a personal service led by experienced partners and directors.

Commenting on Adrian’s appointment, Malcolm Friend, senior partner said “Adrian is a great addition to our team of highly experienced partners who deliver top quality advice.  His appointment as head of Audit and Business Assurance, following the appointment six months ago of tax specialist Iain Wright, demonstrates Friend LLP’s ambition to be the leading independent firm of business advisers in the Midlands.  Adrian will further enhance our ability to combine top quality advice with personal, dedicated service and we are very pleased with the oppurtunities that are available to grow our business.”

Adrian added “I have joined Friend LLP at an exciting time.  I am looking forward to working with the firm’s partners and directors to establish ourselves as long term trusted advisors of choice to SMEs, entrepreneurs and their funders.”

Friend LLP is a leading regional firm of professional advisers, with offices in Birmingham and London.  The firm provides the full range of audit and business assurance, tax, corporate finance, transaction services, forensic, corporate recovery and technology consulting services to private companies and financial institutions in both the UK and overseas.  The practice has developed an expertise in assisting overseas companies with principal locations in North and Central America, and Western Europe that are looking to establish businesses in the UK, and in helping clients take advantage of emerging economies in India and Asia.

For more information or interviews please contact Adrian Jones on 0121 633 2000 or at adrian.jones@friendllp.com

Changes to Stamp Duty for first time buyers and buyers of expensive houses stole the headlines, but the Budget contained good news for entrepreneurs looking to sell businesses and for SMEs incurring capital expenditure. Rates and thresholds for income tax and corporation tax remained constant, resulting in real terms tax increases, and the new higher rates of income tax for those earning over £100,000 and £150,000 will apply from 6th April as previously announced.