Lowering VAT Threshold Would Drain Small Firms Of Time And Money

Small businesses across the UK are spending a working week every year complying with their Value Added Tax (VAT) obligations, according to new research from the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB).

The latest FSB survey shows that VAT-registered small business owners spend an average of 44 hours, the equivalent of six working days, managing VAT administration every year.

Correctly calculating the proportion of VAT owed is most frequently identified as the most time-consuming element of adherence, with four in ten firms flagging this as an issue (43%). Filling out VAT returns (17%) and researching guidance (10%) are also commonly highlighted as time-consuming elements of the process.

Mike Cherry, FSB National Chairman, said: “VAT is the most time-consuming tax to deal with. Small firms and the self-employed spend days and days every year complying with their VAT obligations – time that should be spent expanding their businesses.

“Once again small firms and the self-employed fear the Chancellor could single them out for a tax grab at the Budget, this time by forcing more of them into the VAT regime. Doing so would create a real drag on business output.

“At a time of spiralling costs and persistent uncertainty, a lowering of the VAT threshold is the last thing our entrepreneurs need.”

The new research finds that over a quarter of firms (27%) find VAT difficult to understand, compared to a fraction (5%) who describe it as very simple to grasp.

Common causes of this barrier to understanding are different exemptions (53%), establishing the rate at which payment is required (24%) and different thresholds (21%).

Mike Cherry added: “The VAT regime is awash with complexity and anomalies. When the burden of administration falls so heavily on business owners and the self-employed, it opens the door to lost hours and honest mistakes. Small firms are not like corporations – they don’t have accounting expertise on tap.

“We have an issue with some firms approaching £85,000 of turnover and putting the brakes on. The sensible route to solving that issue lies in embracing the Office of Tax Simplification’s recommendation for a smoothing mechanism that respects the current threshold, not forcing more small firms into the system.

“A sudden drop in the VAT threshold would punish the smallest businesses and shift, rather than solve, the bunching issue. The registration cliff-edge remains a concern for many firms, but making huge swathes of businesses and the self-employed join the hugely complex VAT regime is not the answer. The Chancellor should be prioritising simplification, rather than expansion, of VAT and the tax system at large.”

Morley Glass and Glazing has been shortlisted for IGU Manufacturer of the Year at the annual National Fenestration Awards.

The business is up against seven other companies in the category, which is sponsored by Edgetech (UK). Despite strong competition, Morley says that it feels confident thanks to its commitment to customer service, 10-day lead time for sealed units with integral blinds inside, and 30% year-on-year growth.

In the past 12 months, the business has launched an updated website, boosted its Screenline spares service and opened a new showroom at its headquarters in Leeds. A recent £700,000 investment has been made in a second IGU production line to allow for increased production capacity, which according to Morley can now manufacture 3,000 sealed units with integral blinds every week. Morley has also expanded into the home automation market with the launch of its unique ‘SmartMotion’ interface, all while continuing to offer a lead-time of 10 days from 11am any Friday.

Ian Short, managing director of Morley Glass & Glazing, said: “2017 has been a landmark year for Morley Glass which has seen us continue to build on the foundations we established last year when we made the move to our new 50,000ft2 factory. We’ve met every challenge we’ve set for ourselves so far and being named the National Fenestration Awards’ IGU Manufacturer of the Year would be a fantastic end to an exciting 12 months of activity.”

www.morleyglass.co.uk

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GLASSOLUTIONS has won the ‘Customer Care’ category of the G17 awards for its commitment to quality customer care with the further development of its innovative and user-friendly e-commerce app.

Arguably the only app of its kind in the UK supporting a national glass supply service, it has been successful in putting control in the hands of customers, allowing them to configure and order glass ‘on the go’, build a quote in their own time and choose the option of delivery to site, without the need to call into a GLASSOLUTIONS branch for any aspect of their order. The app has successfully helped customers work smarter, solve problems, and add real value to their own customers.

Head of Customer Services at GLASSOLUTIONS Darren Dickinson, says: “Ease of use and adaptability are everything in the digital age, and that’s what we aim to provide with the app: an app which allows businesses large and small to access our extensive glass range, configure exactly the product they need to add value to their business proposition. Feedback from customers in 2017 has resulted in changes and improvements to the app, which in turn has led to improved year-on-year performance. Online sales up to the end of July 2017 increased by 343% compared with the whole of 2016 online sales.

“The app gives GLASSOLUTIONS a new way to reach out to customers and truly understand what customers value. We’re incredibly pleased with progress in 2017 and believe our customer insight holds the key to continued success for us and our customers.”

GLASSOLUTIONS has previously won G-Awards, in 2016 it won Commercial Project of the Year, in 2014 it was awarded Environmental Initiative of the Year and was crowned Glass Company of the Year in 2012.

This year’s winners were announced at the prestigious G17 Awards Presentation and Gala Dinner which took place on 17^th November at the London Hilton on Park Lane.

Find out more about GLASSOLUTIONS at www.glassolutions.co.uk.

According to Corgi Fenestration, many original MTC cards are expiring this autumn and through 2018 and need to be renewed.

Corgi adds that installers and surveyors should be wary over which card they use as some have switched from being personal cards to company cards, that need replacing each time you change job. Those working on a sub-contracting basis may need more than one company card.

In order to upgrade, if your existing MTC card was issued via a GQA accredited NVQ, then you automatically meet Corgi Fenestration requirements and can get a card straight away. If your NVQ is about to expire, it is possible to complete a competency upgrade in order to upgrade a card.

“A Corgi Fenestration branded skills card means you hold the best qualifications in the business,” commented Mick Clayton, GQA CEO. “They are based on National Occupational Standards regulated by Ofqual and delivered by GQA licenced assessors – the most experienced assessors in the industry.”

Corgi Fenestration says that its skills card has a host of other added features. It acts as an identity card; it can be scanned to reveal qualifications and any GQA accredited training held centrally on the Corgi Fenestration skills register and it can also be a Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) card, where appropriate.

www.corgifenestration.co.uk

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With the impact of Brexit now starting to bite, understanding long-term industry drivers is now more important than ever, according to Palmer

The window and door industry is ‘not immune from the impact of Brexit and faces strong economic headwinds’ – that’s the warning from Robert Palmer. According to the head of the research specialist, the UK window industry faces dual challenges of a tougher second-time replacement market and wider economic uncertainty as the UK exits from Brussels. “The post-Brexit phoney war is coming to an end and the realities of what will result in the case of a hard Brexit are now beginning to dawn,” he says. This, he argues, is already exerting an impact on consumer confidence and with it economic growth. This slowed in the first quarter of 2017 to just 0.2% – the weakest in 12 months. “The Office for National Statistics attribute this slowing to the decline in growth to consumer-facing industries and a slowdown in household spending,” Palmer says.

Big ticket items

He adds that this has also been evidenced in figures from payments provider Visa, which reported the steepest fall in consumer spending for four years this summer. Visa also highlights a cut back in spending on big ticket items. “This is also noted by researchers GfK which recorded a major dip in the number of consumers considering now to be the right time to make big-ticket purchases,” says Palmer. He continues: “Consumer credit is not inexhaustible. According to the Bank of England consumer credit grew by 10.3% in the 12 months to May, higher than expected. Some economists say that consumers are confident enough to increase their borrowing. “But the financial regulatory bodies have signalled their concerns about difficulties some consumers will have in making repayments. With inflation rising and wages static the reality is that consumers’ disposable incomes will continue to fall.”

Trends in housing are another area, which Palmer suggests may curb growth in the window and door sector in the coming year. He says: “The housing market has slowed, partly as a result of increases in stamp duty and changes in tax on second homes and investment properties and partly because of the availability of property. “From strong double digit growth in 2013 and 2014, housing transactions barely moved in 2015 and 2016 and look set to actually decline in 2017 particularly in London, where issues surrounding affordability are most acute. “This isn’t necessarily all bad news – some rebalancing and cooling of house price inflation is perhaps inevitable and to be welcomed, especially if more new homes can be built to ease issues of supply. The negative for the window and door industry is that there is a direct link to house moves and investment in home improvements.” Palmer returns, however, to the argument that it is uncertainty surrounding Brexit which is the greatest threat to UK economic growth.

“The ill-fated General Election is seen by some as an opportunity to soften the Brexit terms or even, though much less likely, abandon the whole process altogether. That is debatable but what it did do is to increase uncertainty. For instance how long will May remain as PM with her hard Brexit agenda? Are the soft Brexiters now in the ascendancy? And for that expected, unexpected event, who is actually in charge?” he asks. With a new study due for publication at the end of the summer, Palmer refused to be drawn on a detailed analysis of the window and door. He suggested, however, that tougher second-time replacement sells and the shift away from home ownership, are driving long-term changes of their own. According to figures published by Palmer in its last report: The Window, Door and Conservatory Markets in Housing in Great Britain (Oct 2016), first time window and door replacements have dropped from 80% in 2000 to less than 30% in 2015, with ‘replacement of replacement’ installations now accounting for 70% of all installations.

Focus on aesthetics

He argued that this was driving increased focus on aesthetics: “Homeowners want something that is tangibly different and the appearance of windows is increasingly important in the market,” he said. “That in turn is driving innovation in the industry and the shift to premium finishes and foils in retail markets. While there will always be a place for standard budget white PVC-U, there has been definite shift in consumer expectation.” He added that this shift to higher end-offers was also driving growth for aluminium and significant growth in sales of aluminium bi-fold doors. He also forecasts ‘exponential growth’ in the solid roof conservatory market as a second key area of opportunity. “This is to a degree the point,” continues Palmer. “Things are in our view going to be tougher but that does not necessarily mean that all parts of the industry will struggle. If the economy slows, as we are expecting, then, as always, high end and innovative products are more likely to weather the storm, while cheaper commodity products will become more vulnerable.”

Tel: 020 83908131

E: info@palmermarketresearch.co.uk

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Following months of product development and rigorous tests, Bowater by Birtley is pleased to announce that it has achieved the much coveted PAS1188 test standard on its Flood composite door.

“Bowater by Birtley is one of just two companies to hold PAS1188 on composite doors,” explains Kevin Kiernan of Bowater by Birtley. “We invested the time and money to get it right because we recognise the importance of being able to offer this product.

“Flooding is an increasingly relevant issue for homeowners in the UK and potentially devastating for those affected, not only in terms of damage to life and property, but also for insurance and resale ability. A recent study by the conservation charity WWF, reports that up to 2.5m homes will be at risk of flooding by 2050 if we don’t start future-proofing now. With the risk of being affected by floods growing, there is political consensus that investment in defences and sensible planning is essential. But how do homeowners know when they are buying a genuinely suitable flood defence door? They can only be sure if the door comes with certification and in this case the relevant certification is PAS1188.”

All products tested to PAS1188 are subject to an initial type test and the facility that manufactures the product is assessed for quality at the start of the process and then on an ongoing basis, typically once or twice a year.

Kevin continues: “The Bowater by Birtley range of doors was brought to market to give fabricators, installers, housebuilders, specifiers and homeowners a wide choice of quality composite doors. We are already just one of a handful of companies to offer a double rebated 68mm composite door and now we are one of just two companies who will able to offer a fully certified Flood Defence door. This means that our customers can benefit from a complete range of doors with no gaps and no compromise, especially where it really matters.”

For more information call 0845 121 5376 or visit www.bowaterbybirtley.co.uk

North-West installation specialist, Droylsden Glass, has announced that it has become the latest firm to partner with Dekko.

The business, which is celebrating 35 years of trading, has added Dekko’s standard Deceuninck PVC-U windows and the Infinity premium collection of seamless PVC-U windows, to its range.

“In today’s competitive marketplace, the best attribute any installer can have is a strong and diverse product range,” commented Kurt Greatrex, sales director at Dekko. “By offering both solutions, Droylsden can deliver a high-quality core product from Deceuninck with the fantastic upselling opportunity offered by our luxury Infinity collection.

“Infinity makes such a great addition to Droylsden’s offering because of the variety of projects they complete. Infinity provides a high-performance solution for the many schools Droylsden refurbishes whilst still providing Mrs Smith with a fantastic, premium finish to her home. With the seamless, timber-like appearance achieved by our Graf welder and one of our authentic woodgrain finishes, Infinity is even at home on older, heritage properties.”

In addition to Infinity, Dekko also offers the Räum range of aluminium windows and doors, all three solutions from The Residence Collection and the ‘Make it Yours’ marketing support package.

“The Make It Yours marketing package was one of the key reasons we recently decided to switch trade suppliers over to Dekko – you simply can’t get this type of support from other fabricators,” commented Kevin Thackeray, director of Droylsden Glass. “Make It Yours adds a huge amount of value, while my local competitors are relying on bland overprinted brochures to promote their business. I’ve now got access to high quality, bespoke marketing material.”

www.dekkowindows.com

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