| Pages in topic: < [1 2 3] > | Major changes coming for UK-based self-employed translators Thread poster: Tom in London
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Dan Lucas 
United Kingdom
Local time: 08:23
Member (2014)
Japanese to English
Chris S wrote: Sheila Wilson wrote:
I'm amazed at this topic. In the UK do you really do absolutely nothing about taxes until the summer after the tax year ends? As a limited company we don't pay tax for September 2015 until January 2018!
And with regard to Sheila's other question, yes, it is all done online and digitally these days, at least in my case. I don't think I have ever received a piece of paper from my accountant.
Dan
| | | | Samuel Murray
Netherlands
Local time: 09:23
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
Sheila Wilson wrote:
What happens in other EU countries, I wonder?
Netherlands:
* Financial year runs from January to December. Single annual income tax return to be submitted between March and May the following year, with extensions granted semi-automatically to September. Payment due 2-3 months after that. The past few years, returns had to be (or: could be) submitted via a program installed on your computer, but last year it was a web site you had to log into.
* Quarterly VAT returns, to be submitted and paid one month after the quarter ends (heavy fines for missing the deadline). If you have to pay less than EUR 1.883 VAT per year, you only have to submit VAT returns, and count the VAT that you would have had to pay as income on your income tax return the next year.
* Provisional tax to be paid from February to December, based on tax returns from two years previously (i.e. pay each month 1/11th of the same amount of tax you paid 2 years ago). Of course, you can object and request re-assessments (as I did and received, since 2 years ago was a bumper year for me).
| | | | Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 08:23
Member (2008)
Italian to English
TOPIC STARTER
I have now written to my MP asking her to fight these stupid new arrangements.
They would (inter alia) require all small businesses to adopt new software for keeping our expenses. As yet nobody knows anything about this software, how much it would cost us, whether it would be compatible with all operating systems including future updates, etc.
| | | | Huw Watkins
United Kingdom
Local time: 08:23
Member (2005)
Italian to English
+ ...
| This doesn't bode well... | Apr 9, 2017 |
Dan Lucas wrote:
This is not the kind of low-bureaucracy, small-business friendly approach I have come to expect from the UK and, in that sense, disappointing.
Dan
...for the 'open-to-the-world, bureaucracy-free, post-Brexit Britain' we've been gleefully hearing about from the leave-leaning arm of Parliament's executive (and other less-reputable politicians still causing trouble in Brussels, no names mentioned) does it?
More disappointingly, this is coming from a Conservative government who are traditionally business-friendly and in whose ideal world, the small man can make something of himself if he works hard enough. These punitive bureaucratic measures I would expect more from the left. The world is a strange place these days and now, in addition to having less job and social security, fewer statutory benefits and greater exposure to the climes of global open-market economics, we are now being burdened with even more pointless and redundant red tape than before. Very disappointing indeed.
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Huw Watkins
United Kingdom
Local time: 08:23
Member (2005)
Italian to English
+ ...
| Another point | Apr 9, 2017 |
Does this imply 4 tax bills a year also?
Will any accommodation be made for slow paying clients, for example?
I know in Italy it is not unheard of to have payment terms of 90 days from month end (although it is not as common as it used to be), as I am sure you will agree Tom.
What do we do about paying our tax bills then? Not feed our kids?
At least with a yearly regime we can put money away each month/during lucrative payment periods towards t... See more Does this imply 4 tax bills a year also?
Will any accommodation be made for slow paying clients, for example?
I know in Italy it is not unheard of to have payment terms of 90 days from month end (although it is not as common as it used to be), as I am sure you will agree Tom.
What do we do about paying our tax bills then? Not feed our kids?
At least with a yearly regime we can put money away each month/during lucrative payment periods towards the tax bill to balance the effects of slow payers when the bill does become due. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Yes, four tax bills a year | Apr 9, 2017 |
Yes, Huw, it does mean four tax bills a year for self-employed people and small businesses instead of the current two.
The measure was proposed before the EU referendum by George Osborne, then Chancellor of the Exchequer, now lucratively employed in various capacities alongside his duties as MP for Tatton, Cheshire (see my earlier posts here).
If you haven't done so already, I urge you to contact your MP about it.
Bonne chance,
Jenny
| | | | Michael Beijer
United Kingdom
Local time: 08:23
Member (2009)
Dutch to English
+ ...
I'm currently in the middle of moving from TO3000 to ClearBooks, and having just read this about the 4 times a year stuff and new software news here, am wondering how this will affect me.
Does anyone have any news about this "software" that was mentioned that we will be asked to use in the future?
Since TO3000 isn't tailored to the UK market at all, and ClearBooks is, I suppose I shouldn't be all too worried. And yet, I'm not really looking forward to more paperwork/n... See more I'm currently in the middle of moving from TO3000 to ClearBooks, and having just read this about the 4 times a year stuff and new software news here, am wondering how this will affect me.
Does anyone have any news about this "software" that was mentioned that we will be asked to use in the future?
Since TO3000 isn't tailored to the UK market at all, and ClearBooks is, I suppose I shouldn't be all too worried. And yet, I'm not really looking forward to more paperwork/new software.
One of the things I like about the UK is how simple my taxes are here, compared to say France or Spain. Not to mention the fact that I also pay less taxes here in the UK. I thought the whole idea of the British tax system was to reduce paperwork and make things easier for us small businesses...?
Michael
info:
http://www.to3000.com/
https://www.clearbooks.co.uk/ ▲ Collapse
| | | | Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 08:23
Member (2008)
Italian to English
TOPIC STARTER | Five actually | Apr 9, 2017 |
Jenny Forbes wrote:
Yes, Huw, it does mean four tax bills a year for self-employed people and small businesses instead of the current two.
The measure was proposed before the EU referendum by George Osborne, then Chancellor of the Exchequer, now lucratively employed in various capacities alongside his duties as MP for Tatton, Cheshire (see my earlier posts here).
If you haven't done so already, I urge you to contact your MP about it.
Bonne chance,
Jenny
Actually it means five: one for each quarter plus a big end-of-year one.
There was a good discussion about this, just a couple of days ago, on BBC Radio 4 "Money Box". You can download the podcast here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08lfbgn
It's the segment entitled "Making tax digital".
PS you need to scroll to 17:58
[Edited at 2017-04-09 16:00 GMT]
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Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 08:23
Member (2008)
Italian to English
TOPIC STARTER | Write to your MP | Apr 9, 2017 |
Huw Watkins wrote:
Does this imply 4 tax bills a year also?
Will any accommodation be made for slow paying clients, for example?
I know in Italy it is not unheard of to have payment terms of 90 days from month end (although it is not as common as it used to be), as I am sure you will agree Tom.
What do we do about paying our tax bills then? Not feed our kids?
At least with a yearly regime we can put money away each month/during lucrative payment periods towards the tax bill to balance the effects of slow payers when the bill does become due.
Huw: do write to your MP. I have suggested to mine that if enough pressure comes from MPs, then the government might do a U-turn on this, as it has on so many other things. As you say, I have a problem with Italian late payers.
The tax year ended on 05 April but it will be well into July before I will be able to close my "income pending" file for that tax year. I dream of dumping these late-paying clients but they DO pay, so for the moment I need the work they give me. I'm going to start giving them early warning that in the near future I am going to require them to pay me at 60 days max, or I'll not accept any more jobs from them.
[Edited at 2017-04-09 15:49 GMT]
| | | | Michael Beijer
United Kingdom
Local time: 08:23
Member (2009)
Dutch to English
+ ...
| thanks for that Tom! | Apr 9, 2017 |
Tom in London wrote: Huw Watkins wrote:
Does this imply 4 tax bills a year also?
Will any accommodation be made for slow paying clients, for example?
I know in Italy it is not unheard of to have payment terms of 90 days from month end (although it is not as common as it used to be), as I am sure you will agree Tom.
What do we do about paying our tax bills then? Not feed our kids?
At least with a yearly regime we can put money away each month/during lucrative payment periods towards the tax bill to balance the effects of slow payers when the bill does become due. Huw: do write to your MP. I have suggested to mine that if enough pressure comes from MPs, then the government might do a U-turn on this, as it has on so many other things. As you say, I have a problem with Italian late payers. The tax year ended on 05 April but it will be well into July before I will be able to close my "income pending" file for that tax year. I dream of dumping these late-paying clients but they DO pay, so for the moment I need the work they give me. [Edited at 2017-04-09 15:47 GMT]
Hmm, to be honest, I'm not sure if things will become worse, or perhaps better. Since the online accounting/invoicing system I am currently starting to use (ClearBooks) is based in the UK, I assume it will be nicely integrated with the new Making Tax Digital system, as the system already is with my £ and € Barclays bank accounts. I think I'll email ClearBooks before my MP, as this might not be that bad after all.
| | | | Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 08:23
Member (2008)
Italian to English
TOPIC STARTER | What won't be good | Apr 9, 2017 |
What won't be good is that with the new bookkeeping software they will be spying on us.
We will be required to record all our monthly business-related expenses using that software (i.e. no longer using our own judgment to deduct - for instance - a reasonable proportion of our electricity bills, rent, etc.)
Not that I am a cheat, and I do think that the proportions I deduct are very reasonable and would stand inspection; but I don't want HMRC looking over my shoulder whe... See more What won't be good is that with the new bookkeeping software they will be spying on us.
We will be required to record all our monthly business-related expenses using that software (i.e. no longer using our own judgment to deduct - for instance - a reasonable proportion of our electricity bills, rent, etc.)
Not that I am a cheat, and I do think that the proportions I deduct are very reasonable and would stand inspection; but I don't want HMRC looking over my shoulder when I do it.
Meanwhile they are letting the big tax cheats get away with it... ▲ Collapse
| | | | Angela Malik
United Kingdom
Local time: 08:23
German to English
+ ...
Tom in London wrote:
Meanwhile they are letting the big tax cheats get away with it...
THAT is what irritates me the most! As long as it's fair, I'm OK with whatever the system is going to be -- in any case I don't operate as a sole trader and since I'm VAT registered, my accountant already files quarterly reports for me plus the annual filings for both my personal taxes and my company's corporation taxes.
But don't let Cameron squirrel away money in a tax haven somewhere and Google and Amazon get away with paying practically no tax, and then expect me to feel fine and dandy about the extra accountancy fees and the over-the-shoulder spying on the minute details of my expenses!
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Huw Watkins
United Kingdom
Local time: 08:23
Member (2005)
Italian to English
+ ...
Tom in London wrote: Jenny Forbes wrote:
Yes, Huw, it does mean four tax bills a year for self-employed people and small businesses instead of the current two.
The measure was proposed before the EU referendum by George Osborne, then Chancellor of the Exchequer, now lucratively employed in various capacities alongside his duties as MP for Tatton, Cheshire (see my earlier posts here).
If you haven't done so already, I urge you to contact your MP about it.
Bonne chance,
Jenny Actually it means five: one for each quarter plus a big end-of-year one. There was a good discussion about this, just a couple of days ago, on BBC Radio 4 "Money Box". You can download the podcast here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08lfbgn It's the segment entitled "Making tax digital". PS you need to scroll to 17:58 [Edited at 2017-04-09 16:00 GMT]
Just listened to the podcast. This is the info I gleaned from it: you basically do 4 tax returns a year (to "encourage us to do it as we go along") and then you duplicate ("tidy up" as they put it) all that effort in a fifth annual return. So its an utterly pointless repetition of work. On top of that they are going to force those of us who do our own returns to buy compatible software that feeds into their system.
In short, its a letter to my MP this week without fail!
| | | | Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 08:23
Member (2008)
Italian to English
TOPIC STARTER
Huw Watkins wrote:
.....they are going to force those of us who do our own returns to buy compatible software that feeds into their system.
I'm willing to bet that this software won't be a one-off purchase either, but an annual subscription that increases every year.
| | | | Steph Noviss
United Kingdom
Local time: 08:23
Spanish to English
+ ...
| It seems a basic spreadsheet will suffice | Apr 10, 2017 |
Hi,
The CIOL and eCPD ran a live webinar about this last week (on the 6th), with input from an accountant specialising in small business matters - it was called "Making Tax Digital". Obviously the webinar has now finished so you can't register for information any longer, but you might be able to email the organisers and I also have a handout if anyone would find it useful - please let me know if you want a copy.
What I gathered from the webinar is that HMRC will accept ... See more Hi,
The CIOL and eCPD ran a live webinar about this last week (on the 6th), with input from an accountant specialising in small business matters - it was called "Making Tax Digital". Obviously the webinar has now finished so you can't register for information any longer, but you might be able to email the organisers and I also have a handout if anyone would find it useful - please let me know if you want a copy.
What I gathered from the webinar is that HMRC will accept any method of online data entry, providing it's done through their online system, so those of us who currently use a simple Excel spreadsheet, for example, will be able to continue recording our income & expenses that way, rather than buying any new software (assuming you already have a spreadsheet program, that is, but I think a basic Office package is a pretty standard requirement for our line of business anyway so I'd be surprised if many people don't already have something like that). Predictably, the government haven't yet released information on what the precise compatibility requirements will be (a report was due in March but it's been delayed), but I don't think they will be able to force people to pay for new software just so they can use the new system. It sounds as though there will be a way of linking up your records to their website - as long as they are computerised and not on paper.
It seems that in essence they're trying to phase out paper accounting, so all the required admin will be done online only. The main annoyance therefore will be the extra work involved if they do succeed in imposing quarterly returns, although with any luck if enough people complain they might end up scrapping that idea - only time will tell... For the moment it looks like they have a lot still to finalise so I'm just holding out hope that certain aspects will prove more complicated than they planned so they'll have to simplify the way it will work.
[Edited at 2017-04-10 09:38 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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