Happy Friday, everyone and welcome to today’s lowdown.
News roundup
For the first time in 10 years, the Bank of England has raised interest rates, which have gone from 0.25% to 0.5% (BBC)
***
The Scottish government has laid the ground to raise rates of income tax on higher earners. (Financial Times)
***
Campaigners have welcomed the government decision to delay the national insurance contributions changes for self-employed. (The Guardian)
***
At the ongoing Tesco fraud trial, boss Dave Lewis has revealed internal disagreements between his predecessor and the supermarket’s management team about profit targets before the exposure of the accounting scandal. (Telegraph)
***
FinTech invoice finance firm MarketInvoice has expanded its offering to include business service loans. (MarketInvoice)
***
New on AccountingWEB
On the site, Rebecca Cave explains why the IR35 checking tool is not fit for purpose and Kate Upcraft provides additional explanation of HMRC’s advice concerning benefits and expenses set out in Employer Bulletin issue 68.
On the blogs, AccountingWEB regular FirstTab considers different staffing options for his practice.
And over on the Industry Insights, Practice Excellence presents an on-demand version of “The five pillars of effective marketing” session. Experts from PracticeWEB share tips to improve your brand awareness, client loyalty and using SEO marketing effectively.