The Budget 2010 deciphered
The good, the bad and the ugly – finance expert Paula Tallon explains how the chancellor’s emergency deficit reduction measures will affect you Read more here...
Profits slipping through sector’s fingers: CIP payment chaos
As the June 30 deadline for checking prescription payments approaches, Zoe Smeaton speaks to the underpaid and asks why the sector can’t be remunerated accurately Read more here...
C+D Senate: devolution of the global sum to PCTs
With PCTs now controlling pharmacy funding, what will this mean to you? The C+D Senate weighs up the potential pitfalls and delivers its verdict on how they can be avoided. Zoe Smeaton reports Read more here...
An expert generic insight
Love ’em or hate ’em, there’s no escaping the fact that generic medicines are vital to pharmacy’s profits. Michael Cann, the new chair of the generics trade lobby, tells Jennifer Richardson what’s new in the world of generics Read more here... Salary Survey 2010More than 2,000 C+D readers contributed to the C+D and PDA Union Salary Survey 2010, including pharmacists, contractors and pharmacy staff. Read more here... The new weapon in medicines pricing More value-based pricing is coming our way says Gavin Atkin. But what will it mean for pharmacies and pharma? Read more here... How to handle your rent review Rent is usually one of the biggest costs for any business, and for a number of years landlords have had the upper hand as commercial rents have risen ever higher. Read more here... For richer, for poorer PSNC unveiled an £87m boost in contract funding last year, but with Cat M clawbacks looming, C+D asks what difference the cash will make for businesses large and small? Read more here... Saving tax on the sale of your pharmacy Your pharmacy is your pension and a few simple tips can save you tens of thousands of pounds when you sell. Anne Hutchings explains the difference between share sales and asset sales and how to maximise your tax relief. Read more here... Preparing for sale How can you make the best of selling your pharmacy in the current economic climate? Anne Hutchings offers some advice. Read more here...
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This month Anne Hutchings looks at the four key areas to look at in your retail pharmacy business if you want to improve profits.
The Government has made it clear that it does not like people taking action to reduce their tax liabilities. In the 2004 Budget the then Chancellor announced an array of measures aimed at blocking various tax avoidance schemes. He also announced a measure to ensure that the HM Revenue & Customs was notified when a tax avoidance scheme was used, making it easier for the Revenue to track schemes and then attack them. Furthermore, Vince Cable (the new Business Secretary) wants to net £4.6bn from clamping down on tax evasion. So where does this leave you, and what can still be done to reduce your tax bill?
Sole trader, partnership or limited company. Which is the best way to structure your business? This chapter looks at each option and its pros and cons. You need to be able to make an informed decision about the most suitable trading format for your circumstances
There will be many occasions throughout your career when you will need to seek the advice of other professionals. Whether you are a locum or a manager, running your own pharmacy, or buying or selling a business, having a good team of advisors who are working in your interests, and can support and help you, is essential.
At an early stage in your acquisition planning you should establish how much you can afford to pay for a business. There is no point in making an offer on a pharmacy costing £900,000 only to find out that your personal resources and borrowing capacity will only stretch to £500,000. 
When planning how to extract profits from your company as tax efficiently as possible, the best place to start is estimating what your profits are likely to be, says
Richard Baker
