Horwich Advertiser Issue 619

Page 20 February 2025 AD SALES 01204 478812 ACROSS 7 Provided with protective covering (8) 8 Speck (4) 9 Gather (5) 10 Boat race (7) 12 Type of variable electrical control (6) 13 Embarrass (5) 15 Stimulus (3) 16 Expiry (5) 18 Yield post (6) 20 Wool fat (7) 23 Crowbar (5) 25 Hardens (4) 26 Pertaining to a school (8) DOWN 1 Quivered (8) 2 Israeli intelligence agency (6) 3 Illustrative craft (3) 4 Verge (4) 5 Largest desert (6) 6 Wood (4) 11 Mischievous (4) 13 Relating to aircraft (4) 14 Sanitary (8) 17 Excite (6) 19 Scandinavian kingdom (6) 21 Second son of Adam and Eve (4) 22 Formerly Mesopotamia (4) 24 Grass (3) QUICK CROSSWORD Answers on page 23. BUSINESS TO ADVERTISE CALL 01204 478812 £ THE co-operative society behind plans for a mutual bank based in and serving retail and business cus- tomers in the North West has appointed a senior financial services figure as its chief executive. Bolton born and bred, Dave Burke has joined NWMutual, a co-operative society being launched in response to bank branch closures and the lack of banks dedicated to purely serving the region. Once fully-licenced, the ‘bricks, clicks and flicks’ bank plans to provide about 60 high- tech and staffed branches throughout the North West. They will be complemented by mobile and online bank- ing, providing retail and small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) customers with a full range of financial products and services. Its target market is about 7.4 million people and 494,395 small and medium-sized busi- nesses (SMEs) in the region employing more than 1.65 million people and generating turnover in excess of £239bil- lion in 2024. A highly experienced finan- cial services executive with an extensive background in launching, building and man- aging regulated businesses, Dave has held senior roles at high street banks and retailers while also providing strategic consultancy services to major organisations seek- ing to enter financial services. Following a decade in Lon- don, Dave returned to his native North West as chief commercial officer of financial services with The Very Group before co-founding financial services consultancyCallemott. He said: “It’s an enormous privilege to be charged with sharing the prosperity and power that a bank creates with the people who create it. “Our market research, sup- ported by a large body of pub- lic research and information, shows that there’s a real need and demand for a bank that is trustworthy, democratic, ethical, deeply rooted in the North West and that enough people and businesses in the region would use to make it a great success.” Dave added: “The North West is more than capable and large enough to create and sustain a prosperous bank. When we achieve our goals, our mutual bank will recycle more than £900mil- lion of money from the North West back into the region. “This is serious money and it’s already here but it’s not. We want to stop it leaking out and heading south, north or east.” Having already regis- tered NW Mutual with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), regulator of financial services firms and markets in the UK, David is preparing a banking licence application to submit to the Bank of Eng- land in late 2025. If the licence is granted by the Bank of England, the first bricks and mortar branch is planned to open in the third quarter of 2026, with a full roll-out proposed for the first quarter of 2027. David explained that about £1m of investment has been made to build the systems and financial model of NW Mutual, prepare the banking license application and ana- lysing its market. individual needs to complete a tax return. However, those who may need to register for self assessment and pay tax, include those who: • buy goods for resale or make goods with the intention of sell- ing them for a profit • offer a service through a digital platform – such as being a deliv- ery driver or letting out a holiday home through a website • AND generate a total income from trading or providing ser- vices online of more than £1,000 before deducting expenses in any tax year HMRC says it is working along- side online platforms to ensure sellers receive clear guidance on their tax responsibilities. Anyone who is unsure if their additional income could be taxable can search ‘online platform income’ on GOV.UK. No tax changes for online sellers Serious goals: Dave Burke Dave banks on a new mutual PEOPLE selling unwanted items online can continue to do so “with confidence” and without any new tax obligations, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has confirmed. Its reminder came as online plat- forms started sharing sales data with HMRC from January – a new process that, when announced last year, gener- ated inaccurate claims that a new tax was being introduced. But whether sell- ing last year’s festive jumper, getting some money back for a child’s outgrown baby clothes, or quietly offloading an unwanted Christmas present or two – absolutely nothing has changed for online sellers. Angela MacDonald, HMRC’s second permanent secretary and deputy chief executive officer, said: “We cannot be clearer – if you are not trading and just occasionally sell unwanted items online – there is no tax due. “As has always been the case, some people who are trading through websites or selling services online may need to be paying tax and registering for self assessment.” The new reporting require- ments for digital platforms came into effect at the start of 2024. It is not a new tax and whether people are selling personal items on eBay, renting homes out on Airbnb or delivering takeaways through Just Eat – no tax rules have changed. Those who sold at least 30 items or earned roughly £1,700 (equiv- alent to € 2,000), or provided a paid-for service, on a website or app in 2024 were contacted by the digital platform in January to say their sales data and some personal information will be sent to HMRC due to new legal obligations. The sharing of sales data does not automatically mean the