Last year, 13 professional negligence cases were filed against accountants in the High Court according to Reynolds Porter Chamberlain LLP, a city law firm. Only 4 claims were made over the previous 5 years and this massive increase is being blamed on the recession.

The government intends to set up an independent body so that resellers can appeal against banks that refuse to grant them a loan.

There was quite a lot of minor change in the Budget, and we should praise the intention to focus on helping businesses with a raft of measures, but for us one man consultancy companies there was actually nothing of very much interest in there.

The deadline for online VAT returns is drawing close. As from April 1st this year, it becomes mandatory to file online.

It was only a matter of time before HMRC launched an all out attack under the Managed Service Companies legislation – it would now seem that time is up! Some of the big providers have already fallen and the rest will soon come under fire.

The Chartered Institute of Taxation has expressed concern that there is not enough time left before the general election to draw up, and properly scrutinise, a Finance Bill. This came after Stephen Timms, the Treasury secretary, confirmed last week that there would be a Finance Bill before the upcoming election.

Seriously, this has been a week of mixed messages, both at work and in the wider world. It’s getting so you know longer know which version of reality you should believe.

The controversial subject of intra-company transfers was raised again this week by The Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC).

HMRC is urging sole traders and contractors, as well as employees, to contact them if they believe they have received an incorrect tax code this year.

According to the latest figures from Institute of Directors (IoD), SMEs in the UK are collectively spending as much as £80 billion on red tape and compliance.

The Conservative’s manifesto for business was released to day. In among all the detail was a commitment to encourage the use of Open Source in HMG contracts, which is nice.

The Association of Consulting Actuaries has slammed the government for the “complex” nature of its new proposal for pension tax relief reforms for high earners.