A number of the staff at McAleer Mullan Jackson donned their running shoes in support of the Dromore Community 10k & 5k Road Race and Fun Run on Saturday 22^nd June 2013.

The event was a great success. The participants all did extremely well to brave the changeable weather on the day and complete the course.

Photos of the staff who took part; Hugh McAleer, Jonathan Potter, Eugene McCullagh and Paul Crossley, are reproduced below, courtesy of the Dromore 10k website.

All Tax Credits renewal packs should now have been received. 

The deadline for renewing is 31 July 2013 but the sooner you renew, the sooner the Tax Credit office can calculate your payments for the year.

If you have received an Annual Declaration form, you must complete and return it by 31 July otherwise your payments will stop and you may be asked to repay some money.
Even if you don’t have your actual income figures for the 2012/13 tax year you must provide estimated figures and then give details of your actual income by 31 January 2014.

If you have been sent an Annual Review notice only, you don’t need to renew. Your claim will be renewed automatically. You must, however, contact the Tax Credit helpline if there have been any changes in your circumstances.

It is important to let Tax Credits know immediately of any changes – such as working hours; income; living and family arrangements etc. Otherwise you risk being overpaid and having to pay back surplus tax credits.

Full guidance on Tax Credits is available on the HMRC website via the link below. Please give us a call if you have any other queries.

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/taxcredits/index.htm

Young entrepreneurs in Northern Ireland are set to benefit from an extension to the start-up loans scheme which is to roll out across the country this summer, business secretary Vince Cable has announced.

Those aged 18- 30 with good business ideas will have access to the scheme’s £117 million worth of loan funding, which is already available in England.

Mr Cable said the extension would help ‘many budding entrepreneurs’ in Northern Ireland, which has one of the youngest populations in Europe.

The Northern Ireland start-up loan scheme will:

• Provide financial support that can otherwise be difficult to obtain through traditional bank lending 
• Provide pre-business advice and mentoring 
• Be made available through partners including The Prince’s Trust and the School for Start-ups, with a pending arrangement with Enterprise Northern Ireland and the Ulster Community Investment Trust.

Vince Cable said the lack of an established credit history was a barrier for many young people looking to finance a start-up business.

“This welcomed extension will encourage even more young people to be entrepreneurial with access to finance, as well as professional mentors who can offer knowledge and expertise about how to run a successful enterprise,” he said.