Wessex Commercial September Newsletter
Released On 10th Oct 2023
Important Insights
• Councillor Tudor Evans OBE, Leader of Plymouth City Council: “One of our key priorities is driving green investment, jobs and skills. The Freeport does exactly that.” Read more here
• Business investment in the UK increased by 3.4% in Q2 2023, the biggest increase since Q1 2022 and follows strong growth of 3.3% in the previous quarter. Investment in air transport was the main contributor to the Q2 increase, rising by 23%, amid an increase in imports from the United States in April. Learn more here
• Productivity in the UK – as measured by UK output per hour worked – rose by 0.1% in Q2 2023 on the same quarter a year ago and is now 1.4% above its pre-pandemic level. The administrative services industry made the biggest positive industry contribution to productivity growth in the second quarter (see Chart 1). Learn more here
• UK’s political short-termism is killing hopes of business investment. Read more here
Interest rate pause raises hopes peak has been reached
Mortgage holders have been offered relief after the Bank of England kept interest rates on hold for the first time in almost two years, raising the prospect that a peak in borrowing costs has been reached in the battle against inflation. In a knife-edge decision as the economy comes under growing pressure, the Bank’s monetary policy committee (MPC) voted by a narrow majority to hold its key interest rate at 5.25% – already the highest level since the 2008 financial crisis. Official figures on Wednesday showed a surprise fall in inflation, and brought to a halt the central bank’s most aggressive round of rate increases in decades.
Do you understand your responsibilities as a business owner?
Understanding the roles and responsibilities within a company is essential for anyone involved in running or managing a business.
In our latest blog post, we demystify the differences between three key positions within a company: Employee, Shareholder, and Director.
In particular the relationship between a Shareholder and Director, who often both end up being the business owner. It is important as a business owner you understand the differences, and sometimes conflicts, in these two roles and master their synergy.
HMRC is changing the reporting period that sole trader and partnership businesses use to work out their taxable profits.
Currently, businesses calculate their taxable profits based on their accounting period which can end at various points during the tax year. But, from 6 April 2024, unincorporated businesses will pay tax based on the profits earned during the tax year.
