David Porthouse & Co

Carlisle Accountants

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81 Larch Drive, Carlisle CA3 9FJ

Employer Payment Summary by 19 November 2016

 
Sometimes when you are an employer, you might have happened to have made no wage or salary payments at all for a PAYE month such as the month from 6 October to 5 November 2016, in which case you must submit electronically an Employer Payment Summary as a NIL return by 19 November. This is too easy to overlook.

If you engage an accountant or a payroll bureau to do your wages, then this will be taken care of. In our case we keep a diary and do a batch of payrolls at about the same time each month. Our payroll files are bright yellow like the P30BC booklet so we do not overlook them.

Aberdeen Businessman does well

 
May we congratulate Mr Trump, the well-known property magnate and golf-course owner, whom we understand has done rather well for himself in the colonies.

Referendum or Plebiscite

 
What is the difference in meaning between a referendum and a plebiscite? Around the world these terms can be used interchangeably, or they may have specific meanings. In another country which began with English Common Law, namely Australia, a referendum is binding but a plebiscite is not. It is suggested that this usage be adopted here in the UK.

The Alternative Vote Referendum held in 2011 was indeed a referendum under this terminology. Had there been a “Yes” vote, then section 9 of the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act 2011 would have come into effect at once, without further reference to Parliament. The vote on the European Union held this year was simply a plebiscite. There is nothing resembling section 9 in the Referendum Act 2015, which of course should have been titled the Plebiscite Act 2015 to make it clear.

This may be incompetent draughting. Such draughting does happen if we recall rubbish like non-corporate distribution tax. However, this cannot be remedied by use of the Royal Prerogative. It is up to Parliament to sort it out. Had Parliament intended the use of royal powers, it would have specified something like section 9 in the 2015 Act, presumably with an authority to make an Order in Council.

The Referendum Act 2015

 
This Act does not actually offer any definition of what a “referendum” is! Is it just a straw poll? Who does it bind? We are not told. There is a vague reference to a Statutory Instrument, so presumably we need one of these in order just to interpret the Act now that we know the outcome of the Referendum.

A Statutory Instrument is like a micro Act of Parliament, and it needs to be approved by both Houses to be effective. Presumably it would authorise the Government to give notice under Article 50 by means of an Order in Council at a date of the Government’s choosing. This looks like the correct procedure we should be following now, and it is a wonder that our Prime Minister and our Lord Chancellor are not actually pursuing it so we can get on with it and stop dithering.

The Referendum Act might have authorised the Government to proceed with an Order in Council without the need for a Statutory Instrument, but it did not do so, and our judges cannot second-guess the supposed intentions of Parliament. Maybe this is a poor job by the parliamentary draughtsmen, and poor preparation by the Lord Chancellor, but this is what we are stuck with. Invoking a naked Royal Prerogative sets a precedent for a future highly streamlined referendum or plebiscite followed by the Royal Prerogative which entirely bypasses Parliament, which is something to be avoided. The outcome of this Referendum was foreseeable, there was no emergency situation, and therefore use of the bare Royal Prerogative is inappropriate. An Order in Council is like a legitimate use of the Royal Prerogative authorised by Parliament, and is often used in this way. If however Parliament omitted to authorise an Order in Council, then that is just what it has done.

Personally I voted for Brexit and would not pay a penny to the EU until they start getting clean audit reports. Some negotiation is possible, but not at any price. However, we do have laws in this country and we ought to follow them! Let’s hope that in the future Brexit means a return to some correspondence between laws being enacted and laws being uniformly and fairly applied.

CIS Returns to 5 November 2016

 
Construction Industry Scheme returns for the period from 6 October to 5 November 2016 should be submitted online by 19 November. This includes NIL returns.

It is too easy to forget the need to submit a NIL return when no payments to subcontractors have been made. If you engage an accountant to do your CIS returns, then this will be taken care of. In our case we keep a diary and do a batch of work at about the same time each month.

Should Tax Collection be Computerised at all?

 
I’ve got a couple of tax returns on the go with the Revenue, and I am waiting, waiting and waiting for them to be processed and visible on the online system. My perception of computers is that they should work at lightning speed: why else would I take an interest in optical character recognition? The Revenue’s perception appears to be something else.

Yet the Revenue have grandiose plans to computerise everything. Well believe me, it takes time to introduce new ways of doing things, and it isn’t easy. The Revenue’s existing system cannot report back on quarterly VAT payments or CIS balances (unlike Irish Relevant Contract Tax which does tell me the balance). There is no sinister conspiracy here, just plain old incompetence (my OCR efforts can show incompetence as well). I suggest that the Revenue get these matters sorted out before they even think about another round of computerisation.

A Company which has missed the 31 October 2016 Deadline

 
If your company had a deadline of 31 October 2016 for the submission of its accounts to Companies House, and this deadline has been missed, then you still have something to play for, and you should contact company specialist accountants such as David Porthouse and Co at once. You will incur a penalty of £150, but this penalty rises to £375 after 30 November if you still haven’t submitted your accounts. These penalties are £300 and £750 if you miss the deadline two years’ running. We can readily prepare and submit your accounts within the month if you contact us now.

Time to Think about Auto-Enrolment

 
If you only employ one or two people, then your Staging Date for Auto-Enrolment may not be until the autumn of 2017. However, it is now time to start thinking about exactly what you will do to enroll your employee(s) into an appropriate pension scheme.

The Cheque Run about 25 October 2016

 
It is quite common to invoice a customer with terms of “30 days or net monthly account”. Small customers will be expected to pay within 30 days, while large customers will be expected to pay at the end of the month following the month of the invoice, so an invoice sent in September would be settled by 31 October 2016. Large companies do it this way because they may receive several invoices from a supplier, and will want to settle all of them with one payment when they do their computerised cheque run. It would be a good idea for the supplier to have sent a statement at the start of October listing outstanding invoices. Typically the cheque run would be about the 24th to the 26th of the month. If you give credit and have debts to collect, then you might like to have a discussion with accountants such as us.