Posts Tagged ‘business premises’

How to Trim a VAT (Value Added Tax) Bill

Wednesday, April 27th, 2011

For many business owners, business tax services offer one of the best ways to navigate the often confusing world of VAT (Value Added Tax) regulations. VAT requirements, registration, returns and other related aspects can all be handled by a reliable accounting services company on behalf of the business owner, to ensure that the process is handles effectively and efficiently. Outsourcing a business tax services expert can also help businesses save costs, which further adds to the benefits of approaching a renowned accounting firm such as PATC.

One of the most commonly asked questions that many business owners ask when it comes to VAT is how they can trim a VAT bill. The legal implications of withholding important criteria or trying to take short cuts are extremely serious, but with the help of your business tax services expert, you will be able to reduce your bill legally and efficiently.

Before you can begin to do this however, you will need to understand how the VAT process works. The basic criteria for VAT are as follows:

  • VAT applies generally to transactions relating to items and services.
  • VAT is proportional to the price charged for these items.
  • VAT is charged at each stage of the production and distribution process.
  • Business owners may deduct tax paid during previous stages, but then the burden of the tax is on the final consumer.

 

To reduce VAT costs, items would need to either fall under the exempt categories, or deduct tax that has been paid during previous stages. You will not have to register for VAT unless you make taxable item sales that exceed R1 million (from 1 March 2009) over 12 consecutive months, which means that smaller business who do not turn over a huge profit each year may be except from VAT.

There are also additional aspects such as whether your business premises are also your home, or whether you tax your commercial property, partial exemption, overseas customers and export VAT. With an accounting services company that has years of experience in dealing with all aspects relating to VAT and other taxes, you will be able to find the best ways to save money and streamline the entire VAT process.

To learn more about the many business tax services that PATC offers business owners, contact us today to find out how we can help your specific VAT needs.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/taxes-articles/how-to-trim-a-vat-value-added-tax-bill-4674464.html

About the Author

Pinetown Accountants provide personal and professional services in Durban South Africa. Our services are tax consulting, professional accountant and financial accountants.

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Protecting Your Business

Tuesday, April 26th, 2011

For many small business owners, their business is their livelihood, but it’s alarming that more than one in ten don’t have any understanding of the business insurance coverage they have*.

If a disaster occurred tomorrow and you could no longer trade, would you be confident that your business could get back on track? The best place to start is to consider the kind of insurance covers available to protect your assets.

Typical covers for protecting your physical assets include:

– Fire and other damage- cover for your building and business contents and stock for specified events including fire, storm, explosion and earthquake.

– Accidental damage- cover for accidental loss or damage to your business’s property.

– Burglary- cover for theft of your stock or business equipment following forced and violent entry at your business premises.

– Glass- cover for the replacement costs of broken glass or signage at your business premises.

– Equipment breakdown- cover for the cost of repairing or replacing key mechanical or electrical equipment in the case of sudden or accidental failure which results in physical damage to the equipment.

– Goods in transit- cover for goods in transit for loss or damage caused by collision, fire, derailment or theft.

There is more to business insurance than just protecting physical assets. Public liability claims could run into the millions and it is important to consider what would happen to your income if your business was out of action following a claim.

Other covers available to protect businesses include:

– Business Interruption- helps to ensure that small businesses can survive periods of major trading disruption by covering loss of gross profit or gross rentals caused by an interruption to the business as a result of damage caused by an insured event.

– Public and Products Liability- covers legal liability to third parties for personal injury or damage to property claims caused by an occurrence connected with your business.

– Fraud and Dishonesty- covers loss of money or goods as a result of an act of fraud or dishonesty committed by an employee.

– Money- covers loss of money while kept in your building, in transit or at your private residence.

– Tax Audit- covers the professional fees incurred as a result of a tax audit of your business.

In addition to not having the right type of cover, a common mistake made by some small business owners is renewing their policies every year without accounting for growth in their business or enhancements such as renovations and increased stock levels.

Research suggests that only 63 per cent of small to medium businesses in Australia believe they have adequate insurance.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/insurance-articles/protecting-your-business-4679395.html

About the Author

Ted Brumby has been running small business for years and understands pretty much the main issues involved to have a great return on investment. He believes that the best way to prevent problems is having business insurance. Ted has enough experience to say what a good public liability insurance cost is and how to choose the right insurance to cover each business needs.

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