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Business consulting services
Our business consulting services can help you improve your operational performance and productivity, adding value throughout your growth life cycle.
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Business process solutions
We can help you identify, understand and manage potential risks to safeguard your business and comply with regulatory requirements.
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Business risk services
The relationship between a company and its auditor has changed. Organisations must understand and manage risk and seek an appropriate balance between risk and opportunities.
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Cybersecurity
As organisations become increasingly dependent on digital technology, the opportunities for cyber criminals continue to grow.
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Forensic and investigation services
At Grant Thornton, we have a wealth of knowledge in forensic services and can support you with issues such as dispute resolution, fraud and insurance claims.
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Mergers and acquisitions
Globalisation and company growth ambitions are driving an increase in M&A activity worldwide. We work with entrepreneurial businesses in the mid-market to help them assess the true commercial potential of their planned acquisition and understand how the purchase might serve their longer- term strategic goals.
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Recovery and reorganisation
Workable solutions to maximise your value and deliver sustainable recovery
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Transactional advisory services
We can support you throughout the transaction process – helping achieve the best possible outcome at the point of the transaction and in the longer term.
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Valuations
We provide a wide range of services to recovery and reorganisation professionals, companies and their stakeholders.
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IFRS
The International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) are a set of global accounting standards developed by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) for the preparation of public company financial statements. At Grant Thornton, our IFRS advisers can help you navigate the complexity of financial reporting from IFRS 1 to IFRS 17 and IAS 1 to IAS 41.
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Audit quality monitoring
Having a robust process of quality control is one of the most effective ways to guarantee we deliver high-quality services to our clients.
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Global audit technology
We apply our global audit methodology through an integrated set of software tools known as the Voyager suite.
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Corporate and business tax
Our trusted teams can prepare corporate tax files and ruling requests, support you with deferrals, accounting procedures and legitimate tax benefits.
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Direct international tax
Our teams have in-depth knowledge of the relationship between domestic and international tax laws.
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Global mobility services
Through our global organisation of member firms, we support both companies and individuals, providing insightful solutions to minimise the tax burden for both parties.
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Indirect international tax
Using our finely tuned local knowledge, teams from our global organisation of member firms help you understand and comply with often complex and time-consuming regulations.
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Innovation and investment incentives
Dynamic businesses must continually innovate to maintain competitiveness, evolve and grow. Valuable tax reliefs are available to support innovative activities, irrespective of your tax profile.
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Private client services
Our solutions include dealing with emigration and tax mitigation on the income and capital growth of overseas assets.
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Transfer pricing
The laws surrounding transfer pricing are becoming ever more complex, as tax affairs of multinational companies are facing scrutiny from media, regulators and the public
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Tax policy
Tax policies are constantly evolving and there are a number of complex changes on the horizon that could significantly affect your business.
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Outsourcing Changes to the Outsourcing legislation, specifically when offshoringSignificant changes to the dynamic of the financial services sector in recent years have shifted the paradigms in how we work. The increased digitisation of the workforce, changes in business models, globalisation, and remote working capabilities have led to a new approach to the delivery of services.
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Asset management Inflation and tax planningThe recent onset of rapid inflation is an unwelcome development that is having a widespread impact on US businesses and tax planning.
On 28 October, the UK government announced its 2018 Budget including forthcoming changes to the UK tax system. These included legislative developments that will impact global businesses with internationally mobile employees, as well as potentially significant domestic employment tax changes for contractors.
Short Term Business Visitors (STBVs)
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) have now published the response to the consultation into STBVs from overseas branches. These changes were introduced in the 2018 Budget and will only apply from 6 April 2020.
Of the two options proposed in the consultation, (i) extending the day count threshold for the special (Pay As You Earn (PAYE) tax withholding arrangement, or (ii) a full tax exemption for STBVs from overseas branches, HMRC have chosen to amend the special PAYE arrangement. HMRC believe that the new changes should still achieve the aim of easing the administrative burden for employers who have inbound employees visiting the UK for business. In summary:
- The 30 work day threshold limit is increased to 60 work days or less. HMRC believe this will open up the PAYE special arrangement to a greater number of STBVs from branches, and it will reduce the need for employers to monitor or restrict business travel when STBVs approach the 30 workday limit.
- PAYE reporting and payment deadlines of 19 April and 22 April will be changed to 31 May to allow employers more time to gather relevant information about their STBVs to operate PAYE accurately, and brings this in line with the STBV reporting deadline.
Personal Service Companies (PSCs)
One of the main changes likely to affect many UK businesses is where they engage with contractors, freelancers and consultants who use their own limited company.
In summary, if a company engages with workers that are not included on the UK payroll, consideration to the new rules (and the potential increased costs / administration) should be considered. HMRC and HM Treasury have announced an extension to the public sector IR35 changes to medium and large private sector organisations from April 2020. A formal definition of small organisations who will be exempt from this measure is yet to be released. This announcement will be of interest to all medium and large organisations who engage with contractors, freelancers or consultants through a limited company (PSC) or agency arrangement.
HMRC considered the IR35 changes to the public sector to be a success and are now extending them to address what they consider is ’endemic non-compliance’ in the private sector. HMRC state that as a result of the introduction of the new public sector off-payroll rules, 58,000 contractors per month are now paid through payroll under the IR35 rules. In one tax year this has generated over £410 million in additional PAYE and NICs, suggesting a practice that is clearly working well in their mind.
Currently, the IR35 rules are drafted so that the PSC is normally responsible for operating PAYE and NIC where it works for a private sector company. HMRC have amended these rules so that the engaging company will have responsibility for assessing whether the engagement is caught by IR35 and the fee payer would be responsible for operating PAYE and NIC (which would result in additional administration and potentially increased NIC costs). HMRC estimate that a third of individuals engaged through a PSC would fall within the IR35 rules, whilst only 10% of this population are taxed correctly under PAYE.
Other relevant announcements
Other specific measures announced in the UK Autumn Budget that impact employers include:
- Employment allowance reform – With effect from April 2020, the government will restrict the availability of the Employment Allowance to employers with employer's National Insurance contributions below £100,000 in their previous tax year (eg 2019/20).
- Apprenticeship levy – The government are halving the co-investment rate for apprenticeship training to 5% from its current level of 10%. Any excess above the permitted maximum will still be funded solely by the employer.
- Taxation of self-funded work-related training – Following the recent consultation, the UK government will be maintaining the scope of the current tax reliefs available to employees and self-employed.
- National Insurance contributions (NIC) on termination payments – The previously announced NIC changes to termination payments will now be legislated to take effect from April 2020.
- Vehicle benefits in kind – With effect from April 2019, the flat rate van benefit charge will increase to £3,430, the multiplier for car fuel benefit will increase to £24,100 and the flat rate van fuel benefit will increase to £655.
- Tax relief on pension contributions – Proposed changes to tax relief on pension contributions, that would have affected both inbound assignees and domestic, were ultimately not announced in this year’s Autumn Budget.
If you would like to discuss any of these amendments please contact Tom Neill or visit grantthornton.co.uk for all the UK budget reactions.