A survey of MPs conducted by the Association of Accounting Technicians and the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants has found 35% of them fear that businesses are not adequately prepared for new tax reporting rules, known as Making Tax Digital. Critics argues that HMRC has pushed through the changes at a time when self-employed people are preparing their business for Brexit. Separate research from QuickBooks found that 18% of small businesses, equivalent to more than 200,000 firms, were not even aware of the new requirements.
The Daily Telegraph
The Government’ Making Tax Digital programme could see small businesses spend £3.3bn on advice, fees and new software enabling them to file the VAT returns online. The Federation of Small Businesses says the average company is expected to be landed with a £2,770 bill for the changes. An HMRC spokesman called the FSB figure “child's maths”, saying the true sum was closer to £37m, or an average of £31 a year for each business.
The Daily Telegraph, Daily Mail: NACFB Morning Briefing - Monday 4th March 2019
P2P lending company Zopa, has conducted some research on the knowledge of investors in Cash ISAs and has discovered that a staggering 30% have no idea of the interest rates they are receiving. But according to the latest Moneyfacts data, the average cash ISA return was just 1.14 per cent in January, while inflation was 1.9 per cent during the same month.
“People need to get their money moving and working harder, and for many that could mean switching out their lower yielding cash ISA for a higher returning IFISA, albeit with slightly more risk.” said Natasha Wear, Zopa’s investment product expert.
http://www.p2pfinancenews.co.uk/2019/02/20/zopa-warns-savers-on-hidden-cash-isa-losses/
IFISAs uptake last year rose by 700% but many are put off by the fact that, while their cash ISA is covered by the Financial Services Compensation scheme, the same does not apply to IFISAs. So the question is, how safe are they?
Some P2P companies are putting their companies through stress-testing in much the same way that banks are obliged to do. At the moment, this is not a stipulation of the FSC, but some, like Funding Circle believe that it will give comfort to potential investors if they can see that the platform they invest with will be capable of withstanding a possible downturn in the economy, or a rise in interest rates.
As the market matures, P2P platforms will be able to prove themselves and investors can take comfort in solid track records. As with any investment, the key is to spread your risk, don’t keep all your eggs in one basket, but to put your money where you know the rate given is less than inflation is surely a route to loss.
http://www.p2pfinancenews.co.uk/2019/02/20/should-bank-style-stress-tests-for-p2p-lenders-reassure-investors/
IFISAs are growing in uptake. 2017 to 2018 saw subscriptions of over £290 million over 31,000 accounts. By August, it was reported that the Big 3 (who were a little later to the game than other platforms) were raising the profile and boosting customer confidence in the new product. Zopa had attracted over £150 million and Funding circle, over £120 million. Because they were a little later in gaining FCA authority, they were then delayed in offering IFISAs but it is generally agreed that their entrance is creating a buzz of respectability. “The entry of Zopa, Funding Circle and RateSetter definitely helps raise awareness,” Frazer Fearnhead, founder of P2P property lender The House Crowd, says.
The big players insist they are helping everyone and that the competition is against cash and stocks and shares ISAs rather than with each other.
“The initial success of the IFISA proves there’s clearly plenty of demand amongst investors for an alternative to the lower-yielding cash ISA and the highly volatile stocks and shares ISA,” Natasha Wear, head of investment products for Zopa, said.
(http://www.p2pfinancenews.co.uk/2019/02/08/ifisa-plenty-to-play-for/)
The number of home-movers fell by 4% last year making it the first time in 7 years that 1st time buyers accounted for more sales than home-movers (51% against 49%). Lloyds bank believe this is to do with the high costs of moving deterring owners. However, the help available to 1st time buyers with the reduction in stamp duty and the Help-to-Buy scheme has given the 1st time buyers a lift onto the property ladder. An average deposit is now just under £100,000.00
A survey by P2P and business finance lender MarketInvoice (and reported in P2P Finance News), finds that while most accountants will recommend a bank as the first port of call for finance, a third would suggest an invoice finance provider and another third would suggest a business loan provider. Among those who do not make these suggestions, the most common reasons were (36%) that they didn’t really understand it enough and (18%) they were worried about the administrative burden of managing the lender/client relationship.
Total lending supplied by P2P Finance Association members surpassed £10 billion in the last quarter of 2018 with most lending going to small businesses. This clearly demonstrates the importance of P2P in developing and nurturing existing businesses in a difficult economy. The part played by thousands of individual lenders play in the UK economy is considerable and should be loudly applauded.