Team Manager
- “Thanks to Nick’s advice we secured a sizeable tax and VAT rebate which was very helpful towards our barn conversion.”
G.G Sevenoaks - The winner of our April prize draw is The Home of Stone Limited. A box of chocolates are on their way to them.
- “It gives us great confidence knowing we are able to rely on you and your team to solve our tax problems...”.
J Matthews JM Hair Ltd - “I don’t think you could improve your service to us as everyone we deal with is great. Nothing is too much trouble...”.
Christine Grey, Grey’s Health & Safety Solutions Ltd - Having hired Ed Gooderham at Green and Co, we now enjoy more freedom to concentrate on other areas of our business, and have a lot less stress...
Mark Cushing – Twisted Pair Limited - "During the past 21 months, when I have needed help and guidance, Green and Co have assisted me in every way".
Carol Jones, K Jones Electrical Limited - “What a fantastic service these guys give, they not only sort your accounts they give impartial advice to ensure all your affairs are up to date and working effectively.”
All Sorts Training - “Becoming a limited company is a big step but with the support of Sam and Ed this transaction will be made smoothly.”.
Vixtay Web Design - “Being my first visit to an Accountant's office I was a bit nervous about what to expect, I was totally surprised... and my fears dispelled...”.
A potential client - “Nick fully understands our business and we therefore have confidence in his judgement. We feel we receive excellent service”
Bev Baker – B E Baker & Sons Limited - “It’s a really nice team, feel like human beings. Advice is excellent and reassuring. Would recommend to friends”
Giles Davis - “Thank you very much, I will definitely recommend you!”
Charlie Fleming – April House Farming - For every £1,000 charged in fees we saved our clients £2,460 in tax.
(on average over the last 12 months).
Nick Park, Partner at Green and Co Accountants warns that farmers, landowners and owners of commercial property may still be caught out by a substantial increase in tax, even with Alistair Darling’s recent "Entrepreneur's Relief" concession
With Alistair Darling’s recent announcement it appears that he has been forced to bow to business lobbying against his original pre budget report proposals, and has introduced an "Entrepreneur's Relief", offering small business owners a capital gains tax rate of 10% on lifetime gains of up to £1 million. As to whether this is too little too late in light of the somewhat gloomy predictions for the economy, and for restoration of business confidence, is yet to be seen.
In many cases the CGT liability on the sale of business assets for less than £1m will be about the same after 5th April as it was before. One major exception to this is individuals with business assets purchased before 1998 who will lose Indexation Allowances. This will be particularly relevant for landowners.
For example take a farmer who purchased land in 1982 for £100,000 and sells now before 5th April 2008 for £400,000, the CGT will be about £12,000, but if the sale is after 5th April, the CGT will be around £30,000.
The other major exception is individuals who own commercial property which is rented to an unrelated business. Their situation is not improved by the current proposals. Take the previous example but assume that the landowner rents the land to an unrelated farm business. In this case if the sale is before 5th April 2008 the CGT will be around £12,000, but a sale post 5th April will result in a CGT liability of about £50,000.
In order to avoid this problem the owner may be able to make a property transfer before April 5th in order to "bank" the Indexation Allowance. This will reduce the CGT on subsequent sales after 5th April by £18,000 in case one, and £33,000 in case two.
Farmers, landowners and owners of commercial property should seek professional guidance about their tax situation as soon as possible. In many cases action should be taken before 5th April 2008.
For more information please contact Nick Park, Green and Co, 01633 871122, e-mail nick@greenandco.com.
Green and Co are a three partner practice based in Pontnewydd, providing specialised services to the agricultural and landowning sectors. Their comprehensive general business services range from a new business advisory service, acquisitions and disposals, to tax planning, audit and accounting – go to www.greenandco.com
