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Without a digital invoice processing system, companies leave themselves vulnerable to invoice fraud – a scam that almost a third of businesses have been targeted by in the last year.

Employees can easily process fake invoices if they appear genuine and the amount is below the company’s payment threshold, paying money into the bank accounts of fraudsters.

Though fraud against UK businesses has reduced in the last few years, over £1.2 billion was lost to invoice fraud in 2022, and developing technologies ensure that it remains a growing threat.

It’s vital for all businesses to learn how to recognise potential invoice fraud and avoid falling for this common scam – so here’s what you should know about how to prevent invoice fraud.

Every year, HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) publishes the latest tax gap figures – revealing the difference between the amount of tax due and the amount that they actually collect.

Compared with a tax gap of 7.4% in 2005–2006, the first year of taking these records, the most recent revised figures for the 2022–2023 tax year put the current tax gap at 4.8%.

While this percentage has stayed the same since 2020–2021, in monetary terms, the tax gap has been increasing along with tax liabilities – rising from £31 billion the previous year to £35.8 billion in 2021–2022, then reaching a record high of £39.8 billion in 2022–2023.

This is the largest the tax gap has ever been in cash terms, and while some of the increase will be a result of non-payment due to the rise in company insolvencies affected by the pandemic, small businesses are now taking the blame for up to 60% of all uncollected taxes.

On top of the 1p cut to the National Insurance rate that was announced in last year’s Autumn Statement, the Spring Budget announced in March 2024 introduced a further 2p cut.

This means that for self-employed workers paying Class 4 National Insurance contributions (NICs), the rate will drop from 9% to 6% for the tax year from April 2024 to April 2025.

Following the UK general election on 4th July 2024, the Labour Party returned to power after 14 years of Conservative governance, led by the new Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer.

After quickly assembling his Cabinet, there is a heavy weight of expectation on Starmer’s Labour government – but what can we expect to happen within its first 100 days?

Here’s what we know so far about the Labour government’s plans for the next few months.

In January, the UK government introduced a zero emission vehicle mandate, which requires 100% of new cars and vans to be zero emission vehicles by 2035.

Despite this, electric car sales seem to have been stalling recently – perhaps due to difficult economic conditions with high interest rates.

One way to make electric vehicles more accessible to individuals is to use them in salary sacrifice schemes, as the taxable benefit is low for employees.

While it might seem counter-intuitive, opting into a salary sacrifice scheme for an electric car and taking the pay cut could actually boost an employee’s take-home pay, thanks to reduced Income Tax and National Insurance Contributions (NICs).

Relying on a homemade will comes with the risk of it being found invalid, as highlighted by the recent legal case of Ingram and Whitfield v Abraham 2023.

In this case, Joanne Abraham’s children were the original beneficiaries of her estate, but a homemade will drafted by her brother claimed that he should be the inheritor. However, the court found this will to be invalid, so Joanne’s estate went to her children after all.

Here’s what you should be aware of regarding invalid wills and the importance of keeping a well-written will up to date with Inheritance Tax (IHT) changes.