HM revenue & Customs is also looking at reducing by three months the time allowed for submission of company tax returns (from 12 to nine months). This would bring it in line with the date of payment of any Corporation Tax due.

The legislation required to make these changes is currently on its passage through Parliament and the effective dates are not yet published. Companies House will be writing to all companies affected once the provisions are finalised.Once the dates are known, if a company foresees practical difficulties as the result of the changes, the possibility exists to alter their year end date so that the preparation of their accounts and company tax return takes place at a more convenient or advantageous time of year.


SPINTRONICS - SMALLER, FASTER AND MAGNETIC!

Leeds physicists are leading a new £2.3m project to make new materials which would allow computer memory and other components to use magnetism rather than conventional electrical charges, paving the way for smaller, faster gadgets.

Magnetism in microelectronic components - spintronics - is already used for reading high performance hard disks, like those in iPods. A similar device can also store information magnetically on a memory chip, instead of needing an electric charge. Charges leak away and have to be replenished a thousand times a second, but magnetism doesn't require a power supply. It can also be used to control the flow of electrons in a component so a chip could re-configure itself in the most effective way for each calculation it handled.

Leeds specialises in making magnetic materials and they are now using a 'sputter' machine (pictured) which allows them to fabricate materials in layers with thickness control equivalent to adding or removing a single atom.

Dr Chris Marrows said: "We are in effect spray painting with atoms in the sputter machine. It gives us the control to build materials layer by layer. It's the same process - but much more clean and controlled - which causes thin grey layers of gunk to form at the ends of a fluorescent light bulb."

"The iPod wouldn't have been possible without the high speed drive inside it. In the past, simple coils of wire were used but the individual bits of data are now so tiny that exquisitely sensitive detectors are needed to get the data back."

Unlike the flash memory in digital cameras, spintronic memory can be written to more quickly and won't wear out. Also, it could make computers less power hungry, reducing electricity bills and carbon dioxide emissions.

Dr Marrows added: "Ultimately in the extreme case of operating on the single spin of an electron, spintronics will be an excellent basis for quantum computing."

Imagine a computer instantly working when it was turned on because it didn't need power to reload its memory and get it working.


BUSINESSES 'FAILING TO CLAIM' TAX BREAKS

Article 'courtesy of Business Heads'

Many businesses are failing to claim the tax breaks that are available to them, according to a new study. The research has revealed that many tax reliefs and incentives are going unclaimed either as a result of lack of awareness or because of concern over the amount of red tape involved in applying for the reliefs.

Average awareness of key incentive schemes, including employee share schemes, research and development (R&D) tax credits and first year capital allowances, was found to be just 41%. Meanwhile, only 11% of firms had taken up the reliefs.Small companies are particularly likely to miss out on tax breaks.

Just 30% of businesses with turnover of less than £2m were aware of the reliefs, while only 7% had made use of them.The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) warned that many small businesses would be unlikely to approach Government agencies for assistance. Stephen Alambritis of the FSB commented, 'If you leave it to a civil servant to sell something, it just doesn't happen'.

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A range of FREE training and events is available to support Creative Industries and those interested in a creative approach in developing high level management skills.

For further information and a booking form contact Anna Smart at: asmart@ucreative.ac.uk or telephone 01252 92982

DON'T FORGET THE BMC SUMMER BARBECUE TOMORROW!

Please come along, whichever BMC building you are from - the more the merrier!

It will be a nice way to round off your working week in the sunshine (fingers crossed x)have a free beer or glass of wine and some yummy food - providing our tech guys who will be in charge of the barbecue are as efficient with forks and prongs as they are with their cables and duct tape!

We will also cater for those of you who are vegetarians and we'll endeavor to get together an eclectic mix of music for you all enjoy.

Hope to see you all there!

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Fantastic open plan office - ideal for expanding company. Benefits from separate Meeting Room, Lounge Area, Comms/Admin Room [1600 sq.ft.]

Professionally designed sound machine studio includes inner sound-proof booth, office area and seperate machine room. Considered suitable for post production, acoustic sound recording, voice-overs, digital editing etc [400 sq. ft.]

Fantastic Industrial Workspace with Green Screen - Infinity Cove [1700 sq.ft.]