Autumn Budget & Spring Statement hub.

Tax

Are you paying more tax than you need to? Each year, thousands of people in the UK do just that. Our seventy strong tax team based in central Cambridge is on hand to guide you through the complexities of both UK and international tax systems making sure you’re not only compliant, but both you and your business save tax.

Business taxes

Whether you’re a family run business or multi-national group we provide constructive advice regarding tax. The ever-changing legislation and a global crackdown on tax avoidance means it’s important to understand the tax implications of any commercial decisions you make. At PEM we have 60 professionals who will consider relevant taxes in the context of your […]

Personal taxes

Whether you’re thinking about this year’s tax return or further ahead to retirement and inheritance planning there is often a significant amount that can be achieved to minimise your personal tax exposure.

Stamp Duty Land Tax

The rules on Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) have changed considerably over the past few years, making professional advice vital for even the most straightforward of property and land purchase transactions. With the highest rate of SDLT at 19%, unexpected charges can prove expensive – but an understanding of the complex regulations, such as reliefs […]

Inheritance Tax

Without the right planning HMRC could end up being the major beneficiary of your hard work rather than family and loved ones who could suffer IHT up to 40% on any assets passed to them.

Capital Gains Tax

The disposal by sale, gift or destruction of every asset owned personally needs to be considered from a tax perspective – despite general belief to the contrary. The asset could include your own home, stocks and shares in an investment portfolio or even the sale of a business.

Income Tax

Optimising spendable income is a priority for each of us. Understanding genuine opportunities to mitigate income tax achieves this. We work with individuals in a pragmatic manner reviewing their position each year to improve their financial future, from a simple review to protect allowances to asset and income restructuring there are opportunities for all

Employment taxes

We understand that your staff are your most valuable asset. Whether you’re a start-up, multi-national or not-for-profit, the recruitment, retention and motivation of talented people is a fundamental part of any successful enterprise. Flexible benefits, share incentives and bespoke remuneration packages are just a few ways you can motivate staff to maintain high-performance standards. However, […]

Trusts

When flexibility is the key as you are uncertain about the future a trust can be a perfect solution. Modern trusts play an important part in family financial management shielding wealth from erosion, providing protection for vulnerable individuals and enabling a gift to be made whilst retaining control.

Tax compliance

Our team of personal tax accountants take the stress out of tax compliance and ensure that any risks of suffering penalties and surcharges for non-compliance are minimised. In addition we’ll utilise any tax reliefs and allowances that may be available to you.

VAT

VAT is a complex and challenging tax to navigate. Get it wrong and you could be faced with unexpected bills and potentially substantial penalties. Similarly, fail to maximise your VAT recovery or apply the incorrect rate you could find yourself making costly overpayments.

Whether trading locally or in the global marketplace, it is important to ensure your systems and processes are compliant. Our experienced team advise businesses across many industries, including those with particularly complex legislation, such as charities, not-for-profits and property developers.

International Employment Tax

Are you relocating UK based staff overseas? Employing UK staff for the first time? A UK company managed by directors who are resident overseas? All of these scenarios and many more require the need to understand and comply with the tax, social security and reporting obligations both in the home and host country.

Transactional tax

Whether you are looking to acquire, dispose or simply restructure your existing business, there will be inevitable tax implications to consider. An understanding of these tax consequences together with your wider commercial objectives, and risk profile, will assist in your decision making process.

Capital allowances

Most businesses are aware that tax relief is available on some capital expenditure through capital allowances but this can be a complex area. The good news is that there is potential for significant tax savings if allowances can be maximised. It is worthwhile obtaining professional advice for large capital expenditure projects. In particular if you are building or refurbishing business premises then a detailed review will certainly be of benefit.

Research & Development

Research & Development (R&D) Tax Relief is a valuable relief which allows eligible companies to receive additional tax breaks either by reducing corporation tax or in the form of cash tax credits paid directly into your bank account.

Tax on payments, expenses & benefits

Remunerating employees is often more than just a case of paying their salary and participation in an employer pension scheme. A remuneration package may include bonuses or benefits such as a company car or private medical insurance through to the less obvious perks like staff parties and social events.

Employee share incentives

Many companies consider providing shares or share options to key employees to help achieve corporate goals – such as profit growth; a sale of the business or even a flotation of the company’s shares on the stock market. When cash is tight, the use of share incentives can form a crucial part of an employee’s remuneration package and may be used to help recruit, retain and motivate key employees.

Employment status

The status of self-employed workers is the subject of a number of well publicised employment law cases and HMRC are looking closely at employers who engage with consultants to check whether the consultant is genuinely self-employed or whether the person providing the services should be treated as an employee.

HMRC enquiries

As an employer are you ready for an HMRC employer compliance review? Any employer can be selected at random. With the Government’s target to increase tax revenue, the risk that you as an employer may be selected for an HMRC review is increasing, especially as HMRC have started to undertake many of these reviews by telephone rather than attending business premises, representing minimal effort for HMRC but this can still be an extremely time consuming process for the employer.

Creative Industries Tax Relief

Creative Industries Tax Reliefs are a suite of eight tax reliefs introduced by the government to assist UK companies involved in the arts, with additional tax breaks either through enhanced deductions of qualifying costs, or, in some circumstances a cash credit from HMRC. The relief works similarly to reliefs available to companies undertaking qualifying research and development activities.