Our March meeting was moved from the usual first Tuesday of the month to avoid clashing with the ‘Network of networks’ event at Kempton Park on 4 March. Originally planned as a joint meeting with Business Link Surrey at their Woking offices, it was relocated to The Barn Restaurant at Newlands Corner at the eleventh hour, when we discovered Business Link somehow forgot to book the room for us! Luckily, The Barn was available, and it’s a great venue with easy car parking and good food, which is always welcome.

Given the imminence of the Budget and the approaching end of the tax year, this was an excellent time for three of our ‘money mavens’ – Karen Worcester, Richard Jones and Ian Kent (ably supported from the audience by Edward Tudor) – to bring us all up to speed with the impending fiscal changes destined to have such a big impact on small businesses.

The topics covered were wide ranging, including the controversial revisions to Capital Gains Tax (which seriously affect long-term financial planning for every small business), shares versus buy-to-let, commercial property SIPPS, and the so-called ‘Non-Doms’tax. Bashing the high profile Abramoviches of this world is likely to have a serious knock-on effect in stifling entrepreneurship in the UK.

Speaking strictly ‘off the record’ (it was a private gathering, after all!) our experts were able to reveal numerous creative accounting solutions to reduce your tax burden, whether you are a sole trader, partnership or incorporated business. Particularly useful for new businesses, for example, were the tips regarding claiming back tax from years of previous employment set against initial start-up costs – a potential saving of thousands of pounds which could really help the budding entrepreneur.

It was interesting to note on the following morning’s Radio 4 Today programme, Evan Davies and his team covered exactly the same key topics our presenters had dealt with in greater depth on the night. SBC members have a fantastic business resource in this and many other areas, because the expertise within our membership covers most aspects of business – so you can get informal free advice from somebody you can trust.

Thanks to our presenters and to Richard for organising the event. They managed the difficult task of making tax issues both interesting and amusing for the lay person – a great achievement!