March inflation is not a shock in the abstract. For UK small businesses, it is a practical reminder that fuel-led cost pressure has started pushing back into day-to-day trading again. The Office for National Statistics…
The government says it wants to weaken the link between gas and electricity prices, using voluntary fixed-price contracts for older low-carbon generators. For small firms, the practical point is not instant bill cuts, but a possible reduction in future pricing shocks.
New PAYE figures show retail and wholesale lost 57,000 payrolled employees over the past year, while overall pay growth softened. For smaller firms, that points to a labour market that is loosening in places but still awkward on costs.
Brent crude climbed back towards $96 a barrel after fresh disruption around the Strait of Hormuz, and while the UK is not facing an immediate fuel shortage, small businesses have another reason to stress-test transport, pricing and cash-flow plans.
Nearly 160,000 uninsured vehicles were seized on UK roads last year, and that is a timely warning for small firms to check named drivers, business use, temporary cover and any van or car that might be slipping through the cracks.
HMRC has refreshed its guidance on choosing software for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, and the update is a useful prompt for sole traders and landlords to check whether their current setup will actually handle quarterly updates, final returns and future changes.
HMRC has published new VAT road fuel scale charges for the year from 1 May 2026, and while this is not the biggest tax story on any owner-manager’s desk, it is exactly the sort of…
HMRC has updated its Corporation Tax online service guidance with several workarounds and timing gaps that smaller limited companies should understand before their next CT600 filing.
A government expansion of the British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme could cut electricity bills by up to 25% for more than 10,000 manufacturing businesses from 2027, with a backdated support payment planned in the same year.
HMRC’s latest Employer Bulletin flags a cluster of issues that matter to smaller employers now, from P11D deadlines and payroll IDs to higher Small Employers’ Relief and sick pay changes.