HMRC are planning a tax crack down on buy to let landlords who have not signed up to a tenancy deposit protection scheme (TDP).

The tenancy deposit protection scheme came into force on 6th April 2007 and means that all deposits (up to the level of £25,000) taken by landlords for assured short-hold tenancies in England and Wales must be protected by the TDP scheme.

Buy-to-let landlords who have not yet signed up with HMRC should act quickly and notify the tax authorities under the current general ‘amnesty arrangement’; failure to do so could result in their details being passed to the HMRC under the TDP regime.

Full information on the Tenancy Deposit Scheme can be found online at http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TenancyDeposit/index.htm

In the next year the Government plan to introduce new legislations to combat the problem of employing illegal workers and paying below the minimum wage.

As a result the government plan to tackle the problem of employing illegal workers by targeting the business and the owner of the business. The legislation will involve changes to your business and employment process. All job applicants will have to produce a passport or birth certificate from next year to prove that they are not illegal immigrants. To avoid claims of race discrimination even native born Britons will have to comply with the new Home Office rules.

Businesses could be fined up to £10,000 pounds and worst case scenario there is even the threat of management facing a jail sentence if the new laws when introduced are not enforced. 

To read more about the governments plans and how this will effect you as an employer please go to http://society.guardian.co.uk/asylumseekers/story/.

On Sunday 10th June 4 of our employees Emma Finlay, Jenny Foster, Vicky Davies and Cheryl Taylor will be taking part in the Race for life in aid of cancer research.

If you would like to support the girls and sponsor them in their efforts please email Cheryl@a4gsolutions.co.uk or alternatively you can sponsor online using the following link:

http://www.raceforlifesponsorme.org/emmafinlay26

Plan for life and be prepared

“I used to write down a list of all the things that could go wrong.

People might think - hang on, that's too negative - you have to be positive. And you do. But by having that list, you find solutions to all your potential problems.

For me that might have been considering what I would do if the laces on my shoes broke in the lead up to the Olympic final. For you it might be what would you do if the battery ran out on your laptop just before the most important sales presentation of your life.

Solution: carry spare laces in your kit-bag or a spare battery in your case. You can cross that one off the list.

In the build up to a big event, I would spend two weeks coming up with a long list of everything that could possibly go wrong, work through them all and then end up with a long list of solutions. My partner in Javelin Business Strategies, Malcolm Palmer encourages everyone in his businesses to build all these “what ifs” into a system that everyone can follow so that no-one has to make the same mistake as someone before them.

When you’ve done it, you can then sit back and think that whatever happens, I've got a plan. And that is a great, great feeling”.

This is the third of Steve's traits, and is a taster of what to expect from his presentation on the 13th June at the Javelin Business Strategies conference and networking event.

To attend the Javelin business conference and networking event in Canary Wharf for a special price of just £97 + VAT (full price £149 + VAT) please phone Jenny Foster on 01474 850154 or book online at www.javelinconferences.co.uk selecting A4G Solutions from the drop down box.

PS If you're coming, bring plenty of business cards!