As for VAT, I never went anywhere near it since I was only dealing within the EU and was miles below the (then) £55,000 VAT threshhold.
I wish this was the same in sweden, you need to be VAT reg. if you sell anything to the EU on a regular basis (which is good in a way b'cos i get all my 'buisiness' stuff vat free :)I wish it was more like the Uk tho'. Welcome to the United states of Europe :/
As for income tax (and he does my VAT), i have an accountant i pay about 40 quid a month who does all the books (worth his weight!)