UK: OTS final report on a new business structure - the SEPA

The Office of Tax Simplification has published its final report on a new business structure - the Sole Enterprise with Protected Asset (SEPA) - that is designed to allow traders to protect their primary residence while continuing to operate as a sole trader. The OTS believes that the SEPA would obviate one of the principal non-tax reasons for incorporation - limited liability - and, as such, enable those trading through the SEPA to be subject to simplified tax and accounting requirements. It would, in other words, provide sole traders with what they seek when choosing to incorporate whilst retaining the simplicity of operating as a sole trader. A copy of the final report is available here (pdf).

UK: BIS publishes business population estimates

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills yesterday published its latest business population estimates: see here (pdf). At the start of 2013, there were an estimated 4.9 million private sector businesses in the UK, of which 62.6% were sole proprietorships, 28.5% companies and 8.9% ordinary partnerships. 99.9% of private sector businesses are classed as SMEs.