Current News HMRC have commenced a series of "Business Record Checks" on businesses. Their intention had been to carry out 50,000 of these checks each year During such a check an Inspector will come to your place of business - or your home if records are kept there. Fines for failure to keep proper records can be very punitive. The Government have demanded that HMRC does more to gather in as big a tax harvest as it possibly can. HMRC now have powers to make inspections unannounced; to carry out the checks referred to above even BEFORE any return is filed. We are advising all our clients to take out Fee Protection insurance to protect against the cost of such interventions. Self Assessment deadlines The deadline for submission of paper tax returns has now passed. The deadline for Online filing remains 31 January 2012. We file all of our Tax Returns on line - so the effective deadline for our clients is January. Remember however that this year, for the first time, there will be a penalty for a return filed after January EVEN IF NO TAX IS DUE. Furthermore, if a Return is 3 months late then a further penalty of 10 PER DAY (up to a maximum of 900 will be applied). Action MS Golf Day Thanks to all of our clients who supported the recent Golf Day for Action MS and to office manager Noel Kerr for his work organising it. The event was a great success and raised a significant sum. You can view photographs of the day by clicking on the link on the right.