The onset of spring should prompt a review of your tax affairs. The 2002/03 tax year ends on 5 April 2003. In the special year end tax planning supplement included with this newsletter we summarise the more important year end tax tips to help you identify areas that should be considered. As always we would be delighted to discuss with you the issues involved and any appropriate action you may need to take.The new tax year will see some tax increases take effect. These were announced in the 2002 Budget and are intended to help finance the government’s spending programme. National insurance contributions will be raised for employers, employees and the self-employed. For employers, the rate is increased to 12.8% from 11.8% and for employees and the self-employed there is an extra 1% charge on all earnings or profits without limit. In addition the main personal allowance for everyone aged under 65 is frozen rather than being increased in line with inflation. However it is not all bad news! We include some good news in our newsletter on the VAT front concerning bad debts and VAT repayments. Capital gains tax taper relief continues to be a source of good news as well. However as with many tax reliefs the devil is in the detail. We provide answers to a number of frequently asked questions to help guide you through the minefield. To complete our spring newsletter we consider franchising. Franchising is a popular way of running a business and we consider the pros and cons.
We hope you enjoy the variety of articles we have included in this newsletter. Happy reading!