Tax and National Insurance

This briefing provides an introduction to the taxes most likely to affect your business. The sooner you set up systems for maintaining your records, and the better you keep them, the less money you will need to spend on professional help in dealing with the tax authorities. It will also be easier to plan for your liabilities.

Nevertheless, it is well worth consulting a tax expert — a qualified accountant, solicitor or tax adviser — for advice. An expert should be able to save you much more in tax than you spend on fees, as well as sparing you time and effort.

This briefing covers:

• Which taxes will affect your business.
• What can be classed as business expenses.
• Your responsibility for calculating and paying tax and NI for your employees.
• Tax breaks for investors in small and medium-sized companies.