Martin Aitken & Co Ltd News & Developments

Key highlights from the UK Chancellor's Summer Statement 2020.

•  In his Summer Statement, the Chancellor confirmed that the Government is introducing a new Coronavirus Job Retention (CJRS) bonus to reward and incentivise employers who continue to employ their furloughed employees through to the end of January 2021. The bonus will be a one-off payment of £1,000 for every furloughed employee who remains continuously employed through to 31 January 2021.
• A new Kickstart Scheme will cover employers’ costs for the first six-month for those taking on 16-24 year olds for a minimum of 25 hours per week at the NMW.
• A £1,000 payment will be made to employers for each new trainee aged 16-24-year.
• Employers who hire new apprentices will receive payments of up to £2,000.
• There will be a temporary cut to Stamp Duty Land Tax on residential property in England, increasing the zero-rate band to £500,000 and saving purchasers up to £15,000.
• In Scotland, starting point for land and buildings transaction tax is to rise temporarily from £145,000 to £250,000, although this reduced threshold will not apply to second homes purchases.
• The rate of VAT will be cut temporarily from 20% to 5% for restaurant, food, accommodation and attractions businesses.
• An ‘Eat Out to Help Out’ Scheme will offer 50% meal discounts, up to £10 per head during August.

Click on the links below to read the latest updates on the support and funding available to businesses, individuals and third sector organisations facing the Covid-19 pandemic. 

The Treasury has announced a zero-rate of VAT will apply to sales of PPE for Covid-19 from 1 May 2020 until 31 July 2020, in a move it says will save care homes and businesses more than £100m.

We have summarised the various announcements that have been made by the UK and Scottish Governments to support businesses, employers, employees and the self-employed during this period of disruption.

The UK Government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme will remain open until the end of October 2020. 

Our annual Tax Planning for Life navigates you through a wide range of tax planning opportunities and wealth planning strategies for all stages and facets of life.

The Government has announced a raft of measures to assist businesses who require funding support through a variety of initiatives. The main one being the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS). 

The Third Sector Resilience Fund (TSRF) and Wellbeing Fund are open for applications from Third Sector Organisations.

Due to the escalation of the Coronavirus Covid-19 outbreak and the measures that have been announced by the Scottish and UK Governments, we wanted to make you aware of a few changes we are making to our business operations.

We want to reassure you that our priorities over the next few months will be the health and well-being of our staff, clients and business partners; continuing to support and provide an uninterrupted service to you, our clients; and ensuring that everyone at the Martin Aitken Group continues to adhere to the advice and direction of the public health experts in Scotland and acts and behaves accordingly.

Key highlights from the Spring Budget and a Coronavirus rescue package for Scottish businesses.

“….get it done” was a recurrent phrase in the Budget speech of the new Chancellor, Rishi Sunak. It could equally have been “get it spent” or “get it borrowed” as Mr Sunak announced a raft of spending initiatives with few supporting tax increases. New £320m rescue package announced for Scottish businesses on 14 March 2020 >read more

The UK Chancellor and Scottish Government Ministers have announced a package of temporary measures to support businesses through this period of disruption.

There are still some details to follow on how businesses and individuals can access some of the various schemes and support measures. We are expecting further announcements from HMRC shortly and we will publish an update on these pages when we hear more.

Tax, finance and investment matters for company directors, owner-managers and private individuals. 

What will the future look like for you?  Click on the links below to read the full articles. We do hope you find the information within this edition useful.  

Inside this issue:  

Investments, business and work in the 2020's: Ian Finch and Tricia Halliday provide their thoughts on the markets, doing business and working in the 2020's. Click here to read their insights> 

Charity finance update 2020: good governance and risk management

Date: Wednesday 19 February Time: 2.00pm to 3.00pm

Topical accounting, finance and tax matters facing charity trustees, finance directors and financial managers.

Click on the links below to read the full articles and briefing notes. We do hope you find the information and forewarnings contained within this edition useful.

An interactive session designed for Dental Associates who are considering buying their first practice.

Three dental principles in conversation with finance professionals Anne Marie Chiesa, RBS and Jayne Clifford, Martin Aitken and practice sales and purchases agent, Patricia Munro, Strictly Confidental.

Commercial, finance and tax briefing for dentists. 

 Helping you to manage your finances, grow the practice profits and plan ahead.

Click on the links below to read the full articles. If you have any queries or would like to discuss any of the issues raised in this edition, please do get in touch with Jayne Clifford, director by email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or by calling 0141-272-0000.

We are very sorry to inform you that our former Chief Executive, Adrienne Airlie passed away suddenly on Thursday 5th December 2019.

We are delighted to announce that we will be continuing to work alongside Glasgow Social Enterprise Network (GSEN) offering six free workshops for GSEN members across 2020. 

Commercial, finance and tax insights and planning opportunities for SMEs, social enterprises and charities. 

Helping you to manage, comply, plan and grow the pharmacy's profits.