A company is deemed insolvent under English law when it becomes unable to pay its debts as and when they fall due. To establish whether a company has become insolvent, Company Legislation applies two tests:

1. The cash-flow test: are your company’s current debts, or future debts, unable to be paid as they fall due?
2. The balance sheet test: is the value of your company’s assets less than the amount of its liabilities, considering the present uncertain circumstances and future liabilities?
3. If it is satisfied that both these tests are positive, your company may be trading whilst insolvent.

However, although your company may be financially struggling indicating it is insolvent, upon further analysis it may be considered viable and a rescue mechanism may be all that is required. If however the members still wish to close the company, they can do so via a process called Members Voluntary Liquidation.

Alternatively, if a company is not considered to have any future viability, it will need to be liquidated. Creditors Voluntary Liquidation is the term given to the process of winding up a company that is no longer solvent and it is initiated by the creditors of the company.

Creditors Voluntary Liquidation

Putting a company into liquidation means that it must no longer trade so that capital can be recovered once the assets of the company have been realized for the benefit of the company’s creditors. If there is not sufficient money available to pay the company’s debts, the Directors of the company are at risk wrongful trading.

Our specialist debt management advisors will work with our recommended IP to ensure that the liquidation process runs smoothly. Whilst the IP has a duty to act in the best interest of your creditors, our aim is to ensure we work in your best interest and to afford you all rights and protection available.

We will work with you and your accountant to get a true reflection of the company’s assets and liabilities as well as any potential viability of the company. The IP will be responsible for setting up a creditor’s meeting which will be when the company formally enters liquidation. We will work with the IP to prepare a report which will be sent to the creditors specifying the financial position of the company.

As the assets of the company will need to be sold – should you wish to start a new company, you will be given the opportunity to buy the assets. There will be no restrictions placed upon you setting up a new company despite the current one being entered into a creditors voluntary liquidation.

Advantages of Creditors’ Voluntary Liquidation:

• Historic debts will be written off;
• You can purchase the company assets through a new debt free Company;
• Leases can be terminated if not required;
• Terminate employment contracts and make staff redundant. They will be paid out by the Redundancy Payments Service;

We are here to help you through the entire process. With our help, you can be sure that the entire process runs smoothly and that you are involved in every step and decision which is taken.

HMRC County Court Judgements

What are County Court Judgements (CCJs)?

County Court Judgements or CCJs are the result of any legal decision that has been handed down from a County Court, concerning a debt that is owed.

If payment is not forthcoming, a company that is owed money has the right to take the case to court. The court will then determine whether or not the debt is owed.

If the court decides that the debt must be repaid, then the party that owes the money will receive a County Court Judgement informing them that the original debt plus interest and charges is payable.

County Courts Judgements are registered with the county court system one month after the judgment has been issued, unless the debt is paid in full during that time. The County Court Judgement will also appear on credit records for six years. When applying for credit in the future, a County Court Judgement is likely to stand against you, as this information is available to lenders.

ARE HMRC THREATING YOU WITH A CCJ FOR A COMPANY TAX PROBLEM

If the judgement is not paid the creditor can have recourse to a bailiff execution order and use this remedy to distrain over company assets to the value of the debt. Alternatively the creditor could instigate winding-up proceedings.

The best solution for dealing with CCJs is to avoid them completely therefore it is important to deal with pressing creditors and legal demands proactively.

Have you received a warning letter from HMRC threatening County Court Proceedings?

Contact us now for FREE and impartial advice.

Dealing with tax debts can be a demanding and stressful time for any business. When trying to establish and build a company, debts can be easily built up ranging from the expenses associated with plant and machinery to being unable to pay your staff wages.

When a business begins to struggle with paying its overheads, there is always an outstanding tax liability that needs paying too.

For a business to trade successfully and remain solvent, it must be able to pay its debts as and when they arise. Failure to pay any tax debt can often result in further tax problems and implications as the HMRC will continue to accumulate with interest, penalties and surcharges until the debt is paid in full.

Our specialist tax consultants are experts at dealing with tax debt problems and can assist with the following tax liabilities you or your business may be experiencing –

• Self-Assessment,
• National Insurance,
• Value Added Tax (VAT),
• Pay As You Earn (PAYE)
• Corporation Tax
• Capital Gains Tax

So, if you have tax debt problems whether it is an historical tax debt that you need to bring up to date or will be struggling to meet the tax payments you need to make on account, we can help.

We are authorised agents of HM Revenue & Customs and we work with businesses like yours to overcome their tax debt problems. Our team are always on board to help you get the best possible arrangement with HMRC to pay the debt over a period that financially suits you and your business.

Why not see for yourself the difference our team can make to your business.

Express Tax Solutions are experts in providing businesses with practical and effective tax arrears advice and business debt management services. If your business is in trouble and possibly insolvent, then you may be tempted to call an insolvency practitioner. DONT!

An Insolvency Practitioner is under a legal duty to act in the best interest of your creditors at all times, not in the interests of the business, the shareholders or the directors.

At Express Tax Solutions we specialise in advising the sole traders, partners and directors what is best for them and it is often very different from the advice you will receive from an insolvency practitioner.

Depending on the circumstances of each individual business, we work to identify the underlying debt problems and formulate a plan that will work for you and your business. This often involves looking in detail at your business operations and financial forecasts to devise best solution to help the business to get back on track or successfully close the company down.

Our clients consistently find that our advice and service will save them many times our fee. Our service will also mitigate many of the stresses and pressures that our clients are under.

• We are independent tax arrears specialists with extensive experience.
• We can provide clear guidance and make a prompt assessment of the issues in hand.
• We will give you straight forward advice which we believe will best resolve your position.
• Management’s time can be released to focus on addressing business issues.
• A successful and realistic time to pay arrangement will safeguard the business and for the benefits of shareholders, employees and creditors.
• To preserve creditability with HMRC, you may only get one chance to get it right. You will also need to be certain that you can still fund your other business commitments in addition to meeting ongoing and historic tax liabilities.
• Because we are turnaround professionals, as well, we are equipped to quickly identify the future trading prospects and viability of a business and ensure your strategy is appropriate. Remember… “if nothing changes, nothing changes!!
• We are recommended by the high street banks, factors and invoice discounters, accountants and leading firms of solicitors to their clients.
• We are a well known firm in the business community and have a reputation for giving sound advice. In short you can trust the advice we give you.

Our Services include:

• HMRC Time to Pay Plans
• IVA
• CVA
• PVA
• Pre-Pack
• Insolvency