inspire: financial management

INCOME TAX

* Basic rate of income tax to fall from 22p to 20p from April next year.

* Lower starter rate of 10p to go, meaning all those who pay income tax will start at 20p in the pound - meaning little difference likely to take-home pay.

* Top-rate income tax threshold will rise to £43,000 from April 2009.

CIGARETTES AND ALCOHOL

* Beer will rise by 1p a pint from midnight Sunday, cider by 1p a litre, wine by 5p a bottle and sparkling wine by 7p. Duty on spirits will be frozen.

* Cigarettes to rise by 11p a packet. VAT on nicotine patches and similar products to be cut from 17.5% to 5%.

TRANSPORT

* Fuel duty up 2p per litre, in line with inflation.

* Road tax on highest-polluting vehicles up to £300 and to £400 from April next year.

* The least polluting vehicles will have their duty cut to £35.

EDUCATION AND FAMILIES

* Child benefit, for a first child, will rise from £17.45 a week to £20 a week by 2010.

* 50,000 16 to 17-year-olds who sign activity and learning agreements will receive a training wage in return for gaining skills.

* Education spending in England will rise from £60bn this year to £74bn in 2010. From now to 2010 spending per pupil rise by a further 20 per cent, 10 per cent in real terms, to £6,600

* Public investment in science will rise from £5bn this year to £6.3bn by 2010-11.

INHERITANCE/CAPITAL GAINS

* Tax exemption for capital gains will rise from £8,800 to £9,200, and will be £18,400 for married couples.

* Inheritance tax threshold will to rise from £285,000 now to £350,000 in 2010.

PENSIONERS

* Tax-free allowance for pensioners under 75 will rise in three stages from £7,280 to £9,770 in 2011. For over-75s, the tax free allowance will rise annually from £7,420 to by £10,000 by 2011.

* Grants of between £300 and £4,000 for pensioners installing insulation and central heating in their homes.

* All the 125,000 people who lost their pensions because of company insolvency will get help with a financial assistance scheme increased from £2bn to £8bn.

ENVIRONMENT

* Until 2012 all new zero carbon homes up to £500,000 will be exempt from stamp duty.

* The landfill tax will rise by £8 each year from April 2008.

COMPANIES

* Corporation tax will be cut from 30p to 28p from April next year.

* Tax rate on small companies to be raised in three stages from 20p this year to 22p in 2009.

THE ECONOMY

* Mr Brown said the British economy was growing faster than all the other G7 economies.

* Inflation will be on target in 2008 and 2009, according to forecasts.

* In the last year investment has grown by 6%, business investment by 7%, and inward investment by 10%. Business investment is forecast to rise again by more than 7% this year.

* In the last year employment has risen, with 220,000 more men and women in work.

* In 2008, Britain's growth will be the highest in the G7, between 2.5% and 3%.

* Britain's net borrowing, which in the early 1990s went as high as 8% of national income is this year just 2.7%. It will fall to 1.4% by 2012.

GOVERNMENT SPENDING

* Asset sales will rise from £18bn to £36bn, including a £6bn sale of the student loan book and further financial and corporate sales at home and overseas.

* Investment in schools, hospitals, security and defence and infrastructure will rise from £43bn this year to £60bn by 2012.

* Total government spending will rise to £674bn by 2010/11.

* An extra £400m to be allocated to the Ministry of Defence to cover overseas commitments in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere.

* Investment in the NHS in England will rise by £8bn this year.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

* £50m for a 10-country initiative across central Africa to prevent the destruction of the second largest rain forest in the world.

* £800m to the Environmental Transformation Fund, jointly run by the international development and environment secretaries.

Websites and electronic documents - additional mandatory disclosures for companies and LLPs

Over the festive period, the government issued new legislation extending the requirement for companies and LLPs to provide certain corporate information in their electronic documents and on their websites. In particular, this information includes the company’s / LLP’s name, place of registration, registered number and address of registered office on websites and in emails.

This new legislation is effective from 1 January 2007 and there are penalties for those who do not comply.

Inspired IT Solutions for Owner-Managed Businesses

Inspire believes that an efficient IT system can help simplify company administration, and let you concentrate on running your business.

We can now offer IT advice and support that as your accountants, we know will directly benefit your business, including accounting software, sales, support and training.

Our staff have significant experience in IT network support and unrivalled knowledge of accounting software, along with added experience running owner-managed businesses.

As a member of the Sage Accountants’ Club, we can offer all the Sage products (including Sage Line 50 and Payroll), cheaper than direct from the manufacturer!

Inspire can provide:

• Accounting software support and training
• Microsoft assistance and training
• Systems and network development and support
• Software sales, including all Sage products (cheaper from us than direct
from Sage!)
• Computer hardware advice, sales and maintenance
• IT Security solutions


“Gareth has exceptional accounting software knowledge and with his experience in managing a small business provides the right advice for your business.”
Stephen Latimer, LCCI Ltd, Morpeth

“It is nice to know we do not have to worry about making IT changes to our accounts again - Inspire provide the whole solution.”
Lisa Carr, Team Valley Reinstatement Ltd, Gateshead

Inspire welcomes Gareth Lewis to the team as IT Consultant

As demand has been proven for a modern approach to IT solutions for owner-managed businesses in the North East, Inspire has extended their services to offer IT solutions.

Inspire has hired a new IT Consultant, Gareth Lewis to help meet demand for the services. Gareth has worked with Inspire clients successfully over the last few months delivering value to the local businesses and helping to simplify company administration with efficient IT systems.

Gareth joins the company after gaining significant experience in IT network support, has unrivalled knowledge of accounting software and also has experience of running owner-managed businesses.

Gareth will join the growing team of staff dedicated to providing outstanding professional services to personal and commercial clients across the whole of the North East, and beyond.

The team at Inspire would like to thank all of our clients, friends, associates and suppliers for your continued support over the last year.

We value all of our relationships highly and would like to wish you all the best for a successful and prosperous New Year.