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.

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The Forum of Private Business (FPB) has spoken out against a proposed Workplace Parking Levy (WPL) which will charge businesses for providing staff parking spaces.

The FPB has denounced the scheme as a "stealth tax which will have a disproportionate impact on small businesses".

“It's the equivalent of charging homeowners to park on their own driveways and will increase parking problems in town centres and cities,” stated Chris Gorman, spokesperson for the FPB.

"Businesses already contribute enormous amounts to public services through existing taxes such as business rates. Whatever its supposed justifications, the danger is that the WPL could open the floodgates to a raft of new taxes and charges being levied onto companies to pay for things which were previously paid for through general taxation," he added.

"And while councils' finances are under pressure, this is a very short-sighted idea as companies are likely to avoid areas with a WPL scheme in operation, meaning jobs, investment and therefore tax revenue will end up elsewhere."

The scheme has been trialled in Nottingham, and is thought to be introduced by other councils across the UK.