companies house made easy

self-assessment deadline extended

Sole traders, entrepreneurs and other individuals who are required to fill out self-assessment tax returns will not receive a late filing penalty if they make their submission on the 1st or 2nd of February.

schools must develop entrepreneurs

The Forum for Private Business has called for schools to play a leading role in encouraging entrepreneurship amongst young people.

google targets welsh SMEs

Search engine giant Google has announced a 12 month campaign to get businesses in Wales to start using the web.

view all news

An extension of the Enterprise Finance Guarantee, corporation tax rate to remain unchanged for 2010, and increased tax relief on empty properties have been announced in the pre-budget report.

Chancellor Alistair Darling’s measures have been welcomed by small business groups such as the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB).

"Extending the Enterprise Finance Guarantee scheme, which we called for last year and has seen more than £600 million lent out to just over 6,000 businesses, is a welcome move, although we wanted to see the scheme extended indefinitely and promoted further to help small firms get much-needed access to finance," stated FSB National Chairman John Wright.

Corporation tax had been set to rise by 1% in 2010, but has now been frozen, saving small business an estimated £300 million for the next year.

Tax relief on empty properties is hoped to help 850,000 SMEs, who will not be required to pay any tax on empty buildings with a rateable value of less than £18,000.