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Effective tax planning is essential if you are to minimise your tax bills. Simple tax planning can significantly reduce your tax liabilities.

The self-assessment tax return is an unavoidable burden if you are liable for self-employed tax or have complicated income tax affairs.

Corporation tax is charged on a company's profits. If you trade as a limited company, ensure that paying this tax is as painless as possible.

National Insurance Contributions (NICs) are payable whether you are self-employed or employed by your own company, although different rates apply.

As well as your legal obligations, you’ll want to ensure that payroll is painless and that you use any opportunities to improve your tax-efficiency.

VAT

Effective VAT planning aims to ensure that VAT is relatively painless, and that you are reclaiming as much as possible of the VAT you pay.

Capital gains are made when you sell something for more money than you paid for it. As a result, you can be subject to tax. Take professional advice.

Business property taxes apply to businesses with commercial premises.There are two commercial property taxes: business rates and stamp duty land tax.

If you have tax problems or face a tax investigation, it pays to seek professional advice and you must act rather than just hoping for the best.

Online advertising soars ahead of Black Friday

23 November 2021

A new study of business spending has revealed that companies have significantly increased their use of Facebook, Google, and LinkedIn advertising in 2021.

As Black Friday approaches, UK firms are expected to spend even more heavily than usual on digital advertising according to accounting platform Dext. Its analysis of business spending in 2021 has identified significant increases in the use of online advertising this year after a dip in 2020.

The findings show that advertising on Facebook has recovered after an 8% drop in year-on-year spending between October 2019 and October 2020. In 2021, the average Facebook spend by business advertisers went up by 13%, from £764 to £861 per transaction. There has also been a 25% increase in spending on Google advertising since October 2020.

However, the biggest change since the pandemic has been the 76% increase in average spend for digital advertising on LinkedIn, which fell from £484 to £387 last October and has now soared to £681.

Dext director Paul Ashfar said: "It is encouraging that investment has now surpassed pre-pandemic levels and that businesses are positioning themselves for growth. These trends acknowledge that businesses trust consumers to spend this November - a promising sign of better things to come."

Taken as a whole, business spending in 2021 has grown steadily since last year. According to Dext data, business spending in 2020 fell to a pandemic spending low of less than £2,000 a month but climbed to over £6,000 month in September 2021.

Black Friday

Also this week, a new survey of consumers by Quadient has focused on buying behaviour and parcel delivery expectations as shoppers get ready for Black Friday and Christmas. Its findings show that 50% of respondents will do most of their shopping for Black Friday and Christmas online this year compared to 21% who expect to mostly shop in-store.

For online shoppers, home delivery remains the most popular option, despite the fact that missed deliveries remain a significant problem. The results show that:

  • 45% of Brits surveyed said they missed a delivery to home or work in 2021 and required re-delivery attempts or depot collection;
  • 25% of respondents say they missed more than three deliveries;
  • 34% of Brits expect to miss a delivery to home/work in 2022;
  • 25% said they had experienced instances of lost or stolen parcel deliveries in 2021, up from 20% in 2020.

"With half of people intending to do their shopping online this holiday season … it's now more important than ever to get first time deliveries right," said Bren Standell, commercial director, parcel lockers division at Quadient.

Written by Rachel Miller.

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