The Fizz! Blog

Another scam aimed at new businesses

This is from the ICAEW website:

Fraudsters invent a new registration requirement for VAT

We regularly receive emails from members alerting us to the latest scams as fraudsters invent new ways to try to defraud taxpayers in the UK. We always advise the sender to contact HMRC at [email protected]
 
The latest scam purports to relate to tax obligations under EU law.
 
In this case, a newly incorporated company receives a fraudulent letter asking it to pay £320 by credit card to register on the ‘Intracom VAT Registry’. The form and style of the letter suggests to the recipient that it has the official backing of the UK or EU tax authorities and it would be easy for innocent businesses to be taken in by this scam.

If you receive anything like that, ignore it.  There's no liability to pay anything at all.

www.fizzhq.com

Fit notes as compared to sick notes

A couple of years ago, sick notes were reframed as fit notes.  Rather than just saying a patient wasn't able to work, doctors had the ability to say that a patient was able to do *some* work, and specify what they were able to do.  The idea was that this would reduce absenteeism, and avoid employees becoming isolated at home when it would actually be healthier and better for them (and their employer) if they were engaged in some aspect of their employment, even if they couldn't fulfil all of their duties.

However, every single fit note that we've handled on behalf of our payroll clients since the change has had the "you are not fit to work" box ticked.  So, in practical terms, the cost and upheaval of the change appears (based on this completely unscientific sample) to have made absolutely no difference to anything.  Perhaps the lesson is that changing human nature and behaviour can take a bit more than just adding some more tick boxes to a form.

www.fizzhq.com