Pharmacy Accountancy


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News & Articles


A Festive Tax Break
As Christmas approaches thoughts turns to office parties. So what view does the tax man take when an employer arranges a Christmas party for their staff?
Self Assessment Penalties
The self-assessment system was introduced in 1996 and at present HM Revenue & Customs require about 10 million individuals to file returns each year.
Should I Incorporate?
This is a question we are frequently asked by locums. The answer is “it all depends”.
The 1000% Tax Trap - And How To Avoid It
Imagine getting a pay rise of £1,000 per annum and then finding your tax liability increasing by £1,055, that’s over 100% tax. Now imagine your pay rise is just £100 but your extra tax liability is still £1,055. That’s a tax rate of over 1000%!
Pharmacy Locum Tax Planning
At what point should a sole trader pharmacy locum consider operating via a limited company? The answer to this depends on a number of factors, which are specific to the individual.
2010/2011 Tax Year End Planning
February is a good time for individuals to have a think if there are any simple steps they can take to minimise their tax liabilities.
New Pension Regime - Government Announcement 9th December 2010
We detailed the key points arising from the Government's announcement on 9th December 2010 regarding the future direction of pension provision in the UK.

 

 

Is it Safe to Buy Medicines at Any Pharmacy

When we get sick, instinct tells us to scramble for the drugstore that can provide us with the needed medicine for fast relief. Sometimes we fail to check if we are buying the right medicine from a reliable pharmacy. Aside from the traditional and big drugstores, the pharmaceutical industry has recently grown to include community, locum and online pharmacies. While not bad in itself, this development has posed some issues and challenges - notably, that some of these pharmacies are not licensed to distribute medicines.

Indeed, it means that we have to be extra careful when buying medicines and check if a given pharmacy is certified to operate and if its medicines are approved by health authorities. When in a drugstore, double check the name of the medicine especially if you are not sure whether the doctor specified for a particular brand or a generic one. Ask the pharmacist what the drug is for and how often you should take it. These measures are meant to get assurance that community and locum pharmacies are following standard procedures and are only offering safe medications.

For online pharmacies, a strong gauge is to check whether the drugs are approved by your local health authorities especially if you are trying to purchase medicines that are manufactured abroad. In addition, to determine legitimacy, find out if the online pharmacies have privacy policies. Indeed, we must be very careful in choosing the pharmacy where we will buy our medicines. After all, we are talking about our health and our own bodies here, so the proper attention must be given to the matter.