Stephen Charles
Tax Partner, Sheffield
Stephen is a Tax Partner at the firm, specialising in corporate and business taxation as well as being captain of the Hawsons cricket team! He is a qualified chartered accountant and chartered tax adviser and has been at Hawsons since 2007, previously working at a national firm.
Stephen’s recent articles
Increase in probate fees abandoned
The government has abandoned its planned increase in probate fees. The increase in fees was originally expected to take effect from 1 April 2019. However, in March 2019 HMRC postponed the introduction of the increase, attributing the delay to pressure on Parliamentary...
Changes to Principal Private Residence (PPR)
When an individual dispose of a property that is their only or main residence under PPR rules usually an exemption on their capital gains tax applies. The exemption applies if the relevant conditions are met throughout the period of ownership. This relief is...
UK’s economy is growing at the slowest annual rate in a decade
According to the most recent data by the Office of National Statistics the economy is growing at its slowest rate in almost a decade. In the third quarter Britain’s economy grew by just 0.3% after a dramatic shrink in the second quarter. This means that annual growth...
House price growth at a six-year low
The Halifax have said that house prices rose by 1.1% in the year to the end of September, which is the slowest rate since April 2013. Even though house price growth has not been this low since April 2013, low interest rates are keeping mortgage approvals steady. The...
Brexit causes housing market stand-off with buyers and sellers
House buyers and sellers are both holding back as the Brexit talks continues. Statistics for September displayed that the number of sellers putting their homes up for sale is the lowest level since June 2016, the month of EU referendum. The Royal Institution of...
Brexit could cause property investment to surge
UK property investors are becoming more cautious whether to invest due to uncertainties around Brexit. But a new survey has suggested that when we do leave the European Union property investment will increase. According to the new survey commissioned by Experience...
National Living Wage to increase to £10.50 within five years
Conservative Chancellor Sajid Javid announced at the Conservative party conference that he would raise the National Living Wage to £10.50 within five years. The current amount for over 25s is £8.21, but the Living Wage Foundation believe that it should already be £9...
IFRS 16 leases rules have changed 1 January 2019
Leasing is very common and is often used as a financing solution to access buildings and equipment without suffering large up-front cash outflows. Most of a company’s operating leases to date tended not to be shown on the balance sheet. Going forward the introduction...
Changes to business risk reviews for large Business Customers from 1 October 2019
Hawsons have worked with many Large Businesses and International groups over the years so that they can introduce the appropriate systems and procedures and achieve “low Risk status” with HMRC. Part of this process has been to liaise between the Businesses and HMRC to...
Property price growth has fallen to less than 1% in England
House price growth has almost slowed to a standstill, with the annual price growth in the 12 months up to July 2019 being just 0.7% in England. If we compare that to Wales and Scotland where year on year rise is 4.2% and 1.4% respectively. In terms of location average...
Housing experts predict Brexit would cause house prices to fall
A poll conducted by Reuters has found that housing experts predict that Britain’s property market will suffer with average prices dropping by around 3% nationally if we leave the EU without a deal. 85% of housing experts in the poll say that this drop could last for...
Official figures show that property sales fell in July
Official figures show that property sales fell in July Sales of residential properties have reduced significantly in the UK. There was a reduction of 8.5% between June and July, and a year on year decline of 12.4% (Official Data). HMRC’s data shows that there were...
Hawsons Partners complete a-26 mile hike for charity
On the 27th July 2019 Hawsons partners David Owens, Paul Wormald, Scott Sanderson, Pete Wilmer and Craig Burton all took part in a 26-mile hike in the Peak District raising over £1,700 for Macmillan Cancer Support. Macmillan Cancer Support is a service that helps...
Preparing for the IR35 rules changes
If your business utilises subcontractors who provide personal services through limited companies or other intermediaries then you may have to make substantial changes to comply with the new rules. The government has reformed the off-payroll working rules which will...
Tax Rates 2019/2020
We have summarised the key rates and allowances which are fundamental to our business and personal lives. We are sure that you will find them a useful point of reference and have set out below a few examples of how they can be used. Personal tax rates As the UK...
