Companies often say that they are swamped by regulatory burden, struggling to find the time and staff resources to meet all the demands placed upon them as rules change.

Keeping up with the latest maternity rules or changes to the tax system can be a minefield, especially for the small business owner without an army of staff to cover all bases.

However, an update is published twice yearly, under the title of the Common Commencement Dates, making it easy for businesses to see the latest rules and regulations.

One of the main changes in the latest update published on April 6 is to PAYE rates. There are now only two rates in force, 20% for the basic rate and 40% for earnings over £36,000.

The VAT registration threshold has increased from £64,000 to £67,000 and other changes to tax thresholds and the filing dates for tax returns have been introduced.

Small company charities will now be governed by charity law rather than company law and those which are over a certain size will have to prepare accounts.

Changes have been brought in to corporation tax, research and development credits and capital allowances and a new annual investment allowance has been introduced to replace the first year allowance for SMEs.