The most radical announcement by the Chancellor on 8th July was a significant reduction in the amount the government plans to spend on tax credits and other State benefits. At the same time he announced that there would a new national living wage to be paid by employers, rising to £9 an hour by 2020.

This strategy combined with the increase in the personal allowance to £11,000 for 2016/17, and eventually £12,500, means that employees will keep more of what they earn but the tax credits received to top up their income will be significantly reduced.

Employers will need to assess the impact of this change on the profitability of their business and we can help you consider this in more detail as there are other factors such the increase in the employment allowance to £3,000 next year and the planned reductions in the corporation tax rate that may also be relevant to your business.

Hopefully your tax return was in by the end of last month!  If not, what excuse will you give?  Paperwork destroyed in a yacht fire and wasp attack in a car were apparently among the top ten excuses that HMRC received last year to explain late tax returns.  Another was ‘I could not complete my tax return because my husband left me and took the accountant with him.’  Nothing to do with us I should add!!!

Having completed John O’Groats to Land’s End on a bike in 11 days in 2015 in aid of Salisbury Hospice, 2016 was a year off from any serious biking challenges (apart from the odd 100 miler or two!).

2017 is a different story!  In just under 2 weeks time I will be embarking on a 4 day 140 mile trek off road through the Lake District, taking in some stunning scenery and seriously challenging climbs (roughly 16,000 feet in total!) and descents over some very rugged terrain that will test both bikes and riders to their limits.  This will be done carrying all clothing and gear for the expedition – there is no support vehicle!

The ride is being done in aid of the Yorkshire Cancer Centre Appeal which raises funds for St James’s Institute of Oncology (Jimmy’s) in Leeds, which provides specialist medical equipment, research and development and patient ‘home comforts’ for cancer patients.

If anyone feels able to sponsor me for the event I will be extremely grateful.  You can make a donation via the following Just Giving link.  This link also provides a bit more information on the charities and the crazy fools who have taken up the challenge!

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Richard-Moore53

Watch out for details of Bournemouth to Paris in aid of Julia’s House later this year!

Thanks for your continued support.

Jon Baggot

7:30 p.m. on Saturday saw the start of a crazy night out away from the office for the team at Numeric Accounting. It was agreed that an 80’s Summer Party on board a disco boat with Blue Funnel, out of Ocean Village, Southampton, was worth a go. And it turned out to be a fantastic fun time for everyone.

The evidence has now emerged and please see for yourself:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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From the amount of snow fallen over the past 24 hours and from some of the pictures and stories on social media, you’d be forgiven to confuse the south of England with scenes from Pyongyang and the recent Winter Olympics.

Our Dibden employees haven’t managed to make it to our Southampton office in the middle of the New Forest today (02 March 2018), however a few local Salisbury Team members have made it to the city centre. Our Directors are also working, but with the only possible mode of transport in to work for them being a sled or possible snow mobile, they’ve decided to work from home.