Open day 'might help firms with tax planning'

Date: 12th August 2009

Extra government guidance is to be offered at an upcoming conference about maximising cash flows in small businesses.

Aston Villa FC will host a Business Advice Open Day (BOAD), organised by taxation authority HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), on September 16th.

Sole traders and other owners of smaller businesses are welcome at the event, with government agencies scheduled to exhibit including Business Link, the Environment Agency and the Health and Safety Executive.

It is also hoped that attendees will be able to take greater control of their tax planning and put themselves in a stronger financial position to ride out the economic downturn, as a result of the BOAD.

Roger Lovell, business liaison team manager at the authority, said: "HMRC runs a number of schemes to make tax as hassle free as possible, and engages with our customers. And our attitude has always been to assist businesses in short-term difficulty so that we can help keep viable businesses afloat.

"Our partner organisations will also be on hand to explain their services."

Figures cited by the authority suggest that around 10,000 people attended a BOAD over the course of 2008.

Potential attendees were advised to book ahead for seminars they wished to attend on the day.