Giving Shares to Employees
Where companies give shares to employees in the company or group that they work for they will generally be taxed on the difference between the market value of those shares and the amount paid, if any. The transaction also needs to be reported to HMRC by 7 July following the end of the tax year. HMRC provide a template to enable employers to report the transaction online:
Considerations around whether employers need to operate PAYE and whether national insurance contributions are payable depends upon whether the shares are ‘readily convertible assets’. Broadly, this would be where there are trading arrangements in place to quickly sell the shares.
It is generally more tax efficient for the employee if the company awards them shares under a tax-advantaged share incentive scheme such as under the Enterprise Management Incentive (EMI) scheme or a Share Incentive Plan (SIP).
Contact us if you would like more information about these schemes.
Corporation Tax relief for Employee Share Acquisitions
Provided certain conditions are satisfied, the employing company will obtain a corporation tax deduction when employees acquire shares in the company or group that they work for, whether they acquire the shares directly or under a share option agreement. The amount of the deduction is the difference between the market value of the shares and the amount paid by the employee and will often mirror the amount taxed on the employee. This is a statutory deduction and will be available irrespective of whether there is a deduction for the transaction in the company’s profit and loss account.
Awarding shares to employees is a complex area so please contact us before you consider such arrangements.
Working Capital Finance explained
Working capital finance solutions offer businesses the opportunity to improve cash flow. The world of commercial finance and asset-based lending (ABL) is complex and expansive with products, terminology, and contractual interpretation varying from lender-to-lender.
The benefits of arranging working capital are:
- Up to 90% of outstanding invoice value can be advanced within 24 hours;
- Flexible lending – funding increases in line with your growth (UK and Export);
- Confidentiality – lenders can offer a completely confidential service – your customers need not know you have a facility in place;
- Lenders allow you to manage your funding at all times;
- Sector-specific finance is often available;
- Structured ABL – funding for management buy-outs/management buy-ins; and
- Trade finance & supply chain finance solutions.
Specialists in this area can advise on:
- Invoice Finance – an effective way of quickly accessing a proportion of the value (up to 90%) of your invoices. Effectively a business ‘sells’ its invoices to the lender in return for accessing cash at the point products and services are sold. Specific sector-based offerings are available, as is the ability to arrange finance for selected invoices only;
- Structured ABL – generate a higher level of funding by unlocking the maximum value tied up in the combined assets within your business, including Debtors, Inventory, Plant & Machinery, and Property. Additional forms of funding can be structured in addition to this, such as top up loans to drive growth; and
- Trade Finance – supply chain finance with various options, enabling the purchasing of goods from overseas where you are otherwise unable to obtain credit from suppliers.
Typically, you will need to ensure your management accounts are up to date, you make available current detailed lists of debtors and creditors, and you might need up to date projections before an expert will consider your application.
Please talk to us about finance; our working capital finance experts have many years of experience and success in advising business across a wide range of sectors in obtaining working capital finance solutions.
Business Companion – trading laws explained
Business Companion provides information for businesses and individuals that need to know about trading standards and consumer protection legislation.
The guidance is divided up into 15 broad Quick Guides and each one contains a number of more detailed In-depth Guides.
There may be rules you are not aware of, so make sure you explore the site thoroughly. Business Companion covers Trading Standards law for England, Scotland and Wales and is backed by UK Government.
See: Home | Business Companion
Building business resilience
Millions of businesses and households are struggling with their energy costs, alongside increases in general taxation, the cost of council tax, water bills and other utilities.
Is it all doom and gloom or can you plan forward and make adjustments in, and to, your business to factor in these changes?
Our experience tells us that business owners are a resilient bunch and those that are the most successful are also flexible in their planning. Here are some of our recommended actions, based on what we have seen other clients doing recently to firm up their resilience to these tough times:
- Review your budgets and set realistic and achievable targets for the remainder of 2023. Know your cash flow forecast inside out.
- Review your debtors list and chase up overdue invoices (if appropriate). If applicable, offer existing debtors extended payment terms and/or discounts.
- Make sure your terms of business contain explicit payment terms.
- Assign responsibility to one individual for invoicing and collections.
- Put extra effort into making sure your relationships with your better customers are solid.
- Review your list of products and services and eliminate those that are unprofitable or not core products/services.
- If appropriate, review banking facilities and discuss future needs.
- Know what you are spending and on what. Look at your detailed expense list in your profit and loss account and assess if there is room for negotiation in any of your fixed expenses and/or whether there are alternative suppliers.
- Review and flowchart the main processes in your business (e.g. sales processing, order fulfilment, shipping etc.) and challenge the need for each step.
- Encourage team members to suggest ways to streamline and simplify processes.
- Review efficiency of business processes and consider alternatives such as outsourcing certain activities locally or overseas.
- Establish your key performance indicators (KPI’s) and measure them on a weekly basis.
- Pull everyone together to explain the business strategy and get their buy-in.
The British Business Bank’s Guide to building business resilience contains impartial, practical, and actionable information and support to help smaller businesses manage their costs, boost their long-term profitability, and increase their resilience.
There is guidance on everything from energy efficiency to investing in technology, included to help make your business more innovative and resilient.
Other topics covered in the guide include:
- Foundations for growth,
- Managing business costs,
- Securing funds and controlling debt,
- Focusing on customers,
- Optimising your supply chain, and
- Controlling staff overheads.
See: Guide to building business resilience – British Business Bank (british-business-bank.co.uk)
Please talk to us about planning ahead because we have considerable experience with helping our clients with their strategy and sustainability in turbulent times.
