Like most people you probably insure your possessions - replacing them could be extremely expensive. Your personal belongings, the contents of your home, your car, your house, are probably all insured. But what about your most valuable asset?
The source of our income is probably the most important asset that we all possess. Without it, our entire lifestyle is at risk. And one of the biggest threats to our ability to work is our health – something that most of us take for granted.
Yet the likelihood of suffering from a long term illness or injury is more likely than you might imagine, and could have serious consequences for your Business – and the security of those who depend on you.
As a business and personal protection specialist I believe it’s vitally important that for individuals that run their own businesses that they look to protect their earning ability through income protection.
In most cases income protection is setup by the individual however you can get your company to take out the cover for you and make the contributions, setting it up this way will achieve the following benefits.
Premiums can be offset against corporation tax; benefits are taxed as a trading receipt
Cover can be arranged for up to 80% of the employee’s gross earnings, including an average of dividends paid in the last three years, where directly linked to the employee’s own performance
Benefit is paid direct to the employer. It can then be passed on to the employee through PAYE or retained to support the business
If anyone wishes to get more knowledge on protecting their income then I would be more than happy to email across a Consumer Guide to Income Protection or simply answer any further questions.
michael.cooke@themoneyhelper.co.uk
If you’re still not convinced then here are some facts and figures.
Over 2.4 million people are currently claiming State Incapacity Benefit *1
Over 2.1 million claimants have been claiming for over 6 months and 81% of those claimants have been claiming for over 2 years *1
Claimants between the ages of 35 and 44 account for the greatest number of claimants and new claimants *1
Musculoskeletal disorders and stress were the most commonly reported illness type in these cases *2
According to the Health and Safety Executive an average of 3,000 people per week begin a period of sickness that will last at least 6 months *2
According to the Office of National Statistics the average family spends £456 per week *3
Most claimants on the new Employment and Support Allowance will be expected to receive £89.80 per week *4
*1/ Department of Work and Pensions – February 2008
*2/ Health and Safety Executive – 2005
*3/ Office of National Statistics – Family Spending Survey 2007
*4/ Department of Work and Pensions – November 2008
read more....
Tuesday, 30 March 2010
It's Not Just First Time Buyers Who Can Save on SDLT costs...
In his 2010 Budget, Mr. Darling announced a temporary holiday for 2 years in respect of Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) on homes purchased by First Time Buyers (FTB's) up to the value of £250,000. Great news for this sub-set of property buyers, but not of much use or interest to any other buyers. However, a little known tax planning method regularly used by the wealthy exists to save on SDLT for properties above £250k and not only for FTBs...
Through a properly constructed and legal SDLT Mitigation Scheme, all buyers of all types of property above £250k can save a significant amount of money. Provided the right type of scheme is used, this is perfectly legal and legitimate Tax Planning; after all, Lord Tomlin stated in the case of IRC vs Duke of Westminster (1936) 19 TC 490 - every man is entitled, if he can, to order his affairs so that the tax attaching under the appropriate Acts is less than it otherwise would be.
There are of course always going to be schemes 'out there' which are not legitimate, and which are likely to get you into trouble with HMRC if you use them, usually involving offshore companies and the like, but how can you know if a scheme is legitimate or not?
It's difficult I know, but I suggest you bear in mind that if it sounds or feels to you like it may be dodgy then listen to your instincts.
At The Money Helper, we use schemes with confidence for our clients' tax planning in this area, and the aspects that deliver this confidence are just the sort of things any prospective purchaser considering using a SDLT Mitigation Scheme should be looking for from a scheme arranger, such as:
The Scheme should have the support of Counsel's opinion. The Counsel must be an experienced tax Barrister of Queen's Counsel - Our Schemes have the support of the Counsel's opinion at the highest level Reg Nock (leading UK stamp duty authority and author of ‘stamp duty land tax’), Patrick Cannon (author of ‘Tolley's Stamp Taxes’ and ‘Tolley's Disclosure of Tax and VAT Avoidance Schemes’) & Rory Mullan, specialist SDLT lawyer at Tax Chambers, London.
The Scheme should be unlikely to attract negative attention from HMRC - Our Schemes are all pre-approved by HMRC and have a disclosure number which is quoted on the SDLT 5 forms submitted to HMRC with every completion.
The Scheme should be low risk and non-aggressive - Our Schemes do not need either the vendor or the lender’s involvement in the transaction or affect either their title to the asset or ability to realise funds from the sale of their property.
The Scheme should not be a 'punt' on the part of the purchaser - Our Schemes are all (except one rarely used and particularly complex one) on a no-win-no-fee basis and require no upfront payment whatsoever, fees are only payable at the point that the SDLT savings are taken by the purchaser.
Tax Planning strategies such as SDLT Mitigation are traditionally viewed as the preserve of the ultra-wealthy only, and it is true that those who have the greatest potential benefit are surely the most likely to use these to do so; however the same proportional savings can be and are enjoyed by any of our clients buying property from £250k upwards with a minimum saving at this level of £3,681.
The savings on higher priced purchases know no limits, for example The Labour Party saved £210,000 in SDLT when purchasing their London HQ building through the use of one of the Schemes we utilise, if you're interested in this story you can read more at http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/labours-tax-dodge-on-sale-of-hq-saved-163210000-stamp-duty-427849.html
Useful Links:
SDLT Calculator - calculate the Stamp Duty Land Tax payable on any UK property Purchase
SDLT Rates - Information on the current Stamp Duty Land Tax rates & Thresholds
SDLT Mitigation Schemes - Information on Stamp Duty Land Tax Mitigation Schemes read more....
Through a properly constructed and legal SDLT Mitigation Scheme, all buyers of all types of property above £250k can save a significant amount of money. Provided the right type of scheme is used, this is perfectly legal and legitimate Tax Planning; after all, Lord Tomlin stated in the case of IRC vs Duke of Westminster (1936) 19 TC 490 - every man is entitled, if he can, to order his affairs so that the tax attaching under the appropriate Acts is less than it otherwise would be.
There are of course always going to be schemes 'out there' which are not legitimate, and which are likely to get you into trouble with HMRC if you use them, usually involving offshore companies and the like, but how can you know if a scheme is legitimate or not?
It's difficult I know, but I suggest you bear in mind that if it sounds or feels to you like it may be dodgy then listen to your instincts.
At The Money Helper, we use schemes with confidence for our clients' tax planning in this area, and the aspects that deliver this confidence are just the sort of things any prospective purchaser considering using a SDLT Mitigation Scheme should be looking for from a scheme arranger, such as:
The Scheme should have the support of Counsel's opinion. The Counsel must be an experienced tax Barrister of Queen's Counsel - Our Schemes have the support of the Counsel's opinion at the highest level Reg Nock (leading UK stamp duty authority and author of ‘stamp duty land tax’), Patrick Cannon (author of ‘Tolley's Stamp Taxes’ and ‘Tolley's Disclosure of Tax and VAT Avoidance Schemes’) & Rory Mullan, specialist SDLT lawyer at Tax Chambers, London.
The Scheme should be unlikely to attract negative attention from HMRC - Our Schemes are all pre-approved by HMRC and have a disclosure number which is quoted on the SDLT 5 forms submitted to HMRC with every completion.
The Scheme should be low risk and non-aggressive - Our Schemes do not need either the vendor or the lender’s involvement in the transaction or affect either their title to the asset or ability to realise funds from the sale of their property.
The Scheme should not be a 'punt' on the part of the purchaser - Our Schemes are all (except one rarely used and particularly complex one) on a no-win-no-fee basis and require no upfront payment whatsoever, fees are only payable at the point that the SDLT savings are taken by the purchaser.
Tax Planning strategies such as SDLT Mitigation are traditionally viewed as the preserve of the ultra-wealthy only, and it is true that those who have the greatest potential benefit are surely the most likely to use these to do so; however the same proportional savings can be and are enjoyed by any of our clients buying property from £250k upwards with a minimum saving at this level of £3,681.
The savings on higher priced purchases know no limits, for example The Labour Party saved £210,000 in SDLT when purchasing their London HQ building through the use of one of the Schemes we utilise, if you're interested in this story you can read more at http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/labours-tax-dodge-on-sale-of-hq-saved-163210000-stamp-duty-427849.html
Useful Links:
SDLT Calculator - calculate the Stamp Duty Land Tax payable on any UK property Purchase
SDLT Rates - Information on the current Stamp Duty Land Tax rates & Thresholds
SDLT Mitigation Schemes - Information on Stamp Duty Land Tax Mitigation Schemes read more....
Tuesday, 23 March 2010
The Need For Business Protection
The statistics speak for themselves:
The business protection gap now includes:
* Corporate debt gap of just under £300bn
* Shareholder protection gap of over £400bn
* Key person protection gap of over £400bn
In order to calculate these figures, we conducted research amongst 1000 members of the British Chamber of Commerce in April 2009. The study showed that 45% of business owners say that their business would fold within 12 months of the death or critical illness of a key person. However, only 4% of business owners questioned said they have shareholder protection in place and one in two (48%) do not have any formal agreement to establish what would happen in the event of the death of a business owner.
51% of the businesses surveyed have corporate debt yet just 38% of these businesses have life or critical illness policies in place to cover that money owed.
With these figures in mind we at The Money Helper have launched an independent Business Protection Solution. I will be posting various solutions to these problems that business owners face in the coming weeks. read more....
The business protection gap now includes:
* Corporate debt gap of just under £300bn
* Shareholder protection gap of over £400bn
* Key person protection gap of over £400bn
In order to calculate these figures, we conducted research amongst 1000 members of the British Chamber of Commerce in April 2009. The study showed that 45% of business owners say that their business would fold within 12 months of the death or critical illness of a key person. However, only 4% of business owners questioned said they have shareholder protection in place and one in two (48%) do not have any formal agreement to establish what would happen in the event of the death of a business owner.
51% of the businesses surveyed have corporate debt yet just 38% of these businesses have life or critical illness policies in place to cover that money owed.
With these figures in mind we at The Money Helper have launched an independent Business Protection Solution. I will be posting various solutions to these problems that business owners face in the coming weeks. read more....
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