Electric Trainer

Apple, Apps and VAT receipts

If you're a VAT-registered small business or freelance you occasionally come up against ignorance or pure willfulness on the part of bigger organisations. 

I love this story about one man's tenacity in the face of Apple's 'have a good day' wall of indifference.

The real problem is that so many people in big organisations haven't got a clue how VAT works, which is why it's such fun when we talk about it in our self-employment workshops.

And small businesses can avoid all the nonsense of collecting piddling VAT receipts by using the VAT Flat Rate Scheme, one of Gordon Brown's better ideas. 

Some IR35 clarifications

Working out whether you can be self-employed (as opposed to being paid as an employee) can be tricky for some media freelances.
HMRC are due to publish some clarifications of its IR35 legislation in May 2012.
Just to be clear: the law hasn't changed, just the way HMRC are trying to explain it.
More here if you're interested: http://www.freelanceuk.com/news/4069.shtml