22 April 2022
Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act 2022 – The Long-Awaited Introduction of the Register of Overseas Entities
The Government has for some time promised to introduce a register requiring overseas entities holding UK property to identify its beneficial owners, in its effort to increase transparency in UK property ownership and reduce the attraction of the UK’s property market to money launderers. Indeed, we last blogged about the potential overseas entities register in May 2019. With UK-based entities subject to strict information-sharing requirements since 2016 (in the form of the register of People with Significant Control or “PSC Register”), many have been calling for an equivalent overseas entities register to be implemented to provide a way of tracking overseas owners who ultimately own and control UK land.
21 April 2022
Employment related securities – returns and reasonable excuses
In an Employment Related Securities (ERS) Bulletin for March 2022 (bulletin 40), HMRC has linked to helpful guidance on what it considers to be a reasonable excuse for failing to meet submission deadlines for annual ERS returns (due on 6th July following the end of the tax year to which they relate) and notification of EMI options (due within 92 days after grant).
13 April 2022
Software support helpdesk services – key contracting principles
In our recent blog, we explored why a Framework Agreement structure is typically the most appropriate customer contracting model for IT managed services providers (“MSPs”) and IT consultancies which offer a diverse product and service offering. Whilst our initial blog focussed on the purpose and terms of the Framework Agreement itself, that document is merely the starting point, given that a Work Order is also needed to document specific terms relating to each product or service offered by an MSP or IT consultancy. A typical service offering is a dedicated software support helpdesk, usually provided to support each of the software products offered by the MSP or IT consultancy to its customers. This blog considers a handful of the key issues to bear in mind when documenting the terms of a Work Order relating to the supply of a software support helpdesk service.
6 April 2022
Does a sole director have authority to act?
Articles are a set of rules which determine how a private company is run and they represent a contract not only between the company and its shareholders but also between the shareholders themselves. Examples of what is covered in a company’s Articles include the liability of shareholders, how shareholders make decisions and how directors operate. The Model Articles are a set of default standard articles which, unless modified or excluded, apply automatically to a private company incorporated on or after 1 October 2009.
31 March 2022
Do you want to phone a friend?
Picture Rishi Sunak as a game show host. The spotlight is on the contestant, an employee, and Rishi asks them if they would like to: a) Keep their pay rise; b) give it all to the government; or c) give it all to charity. I expect many of us would say “Keep it please!” but, in certain situations, without some action on the employee’s part the default answer is that none of it is kept and the government enjoys it all. This post briefly discusses one such issue, and offers other suggestions for the tax year end (which are, unfortunately, unlikely to make you a millionaire).