Our newsletter this month highlights the deferral of plans to extend paternity leave, changes to the HMRC bank accounts, changes to company car advisory fuel rates and heads up on the Government's activity to clamp down on the use of overseas tax havens.

The next newsletter will be published Thursday 6 August 2009.

Client spot is part of our newsletter where you, our clients, can tell other clients and contacts about what you do!  This month, Janet Watts of JLW Recovery Solutions.  If you'ld like to be featured here let us have three or four paragraphs by email.

Ex PricewaterhouseCoopers Executive Janet Watts is the figurehead of the unique Island Company JLW Recovery Solutions. The company offers tailor made Receivables Management solutions for businesses, bespoke packages include credit control, debt recovery dispute resolution and consultancy services.

As well as catering for both new and well established Island businesses, JLW Recovery Solutions offers a UK and multilingual European service.

Debt recovery is normally carried out on a risk free ‘No Collection No Fee’ basis. If you are spending too much time chasing overdue payments, have a one-off troublesome debtor or your entire ledger needs an overhaul, JLW Recovery Solutions can help, this will free up your valuable time allowing you to focus on what you’re good at and build your business for the future.

For more information please visit www.jlwrecoverysolutions.com or contact Janet on 01983 558 602 for a no obligation business discussion.

Contributed by Janet Watts

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‘Shareholder’ or ‘partnership protection’ enables company directors to purchase business shares from a fellow director’s family in the event that he or she dies or suffers a critical illness which prevents them working on. This is available to individuals who are in business with others in a limited company or a partnership and, combined with a good shareholder agreement, can help ensure the policyholders retain control of their firm should the worst happen.

Upon death, the shareholder agreement ensures that shareholders get first refusal on the deceased’s shares, then the insurance provides funds to buy them at a fair price. Without such funds, the remaining directors or partners could see part of their company sold onto competitors or other unwanted third parties without their consent.

There are a number of ways to go about taking out the insurance. It can either be written on a ‘life of another’ basis, common when there are just two partners as each principal simply takes out a policy on the other. However, for more than two this gets complicated – and if the age difference is great, the costs for each can be significantly different. Another option is therefore for each principal to take out insurance on their own life and then place it in trust for the benefit of the company. As with all forms of insurance, however, it is wise to seek professional advice to make sure you cover all the options.

To arrange a meeting with your Garbetts’ Financial Strategies adviser, call on 01983 527111 or e-mail gfs@heritage-financial.co.uk

Article contributed by Matt Jones of GFS

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Don't forget to keep an eye on garbetts.com, our www site, where you can find a selection of tools and briefings to help you with your accounts and taxes.

For clients running personal service companies (PSCs), our PSC microsite at www.garbetts.com/psc is an invaluable source of information. 

For other clients our downloads sections has all sorts of briefings on useful topics.  You can also find out more about our tax enquiry insurance schemes at www.garbetts.com/insurance, and find out more about the firm and its staff at www.garbetts.com/corporate.

Also our blog, with up to date news and comment is at: http://www.garbetts.blogspot.com/

If your business has a www site then let us know the URL and we can provide a link from our site to help your search engine rankings - a reciprocal link is appreciated.

Click on www.garbetts.com today!

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The UK Government had planned to give fathers the right to claim up to 6 months paternity leave from April 2010.  Because of the economic slowdown, they have decided not to bring the changes in that soon.  As a result fathers are still only entitled to two weeks leave which is usually taken immediately after the baby is born.
 
The legislation is already in place to give the extra leave but it will not be implemented until the economy can cope.
 
Mothers and adopters were also going to have the right to additional statutory pay (up from 9 to 12 months) but it looks as though this is also on hold.

The legislation in more detail:

The Work and Families Act 2006 already allows regulations to be made that would permit working fathers to take up to 26 weeks of paternity leave, some of which can be paid, if the mother returns to work before the end of the one-year maternity leave period to which she is entitled. 

The new provision would be available during the second six months of the child’s life, so in effect, fathers would be able to ‘share’ some of the maternity leave which is currently only preserved for the mother. The entitlement would also extend to couples who are adopting and to partners and civil partners of mothers. 

A Government spokesman has now said that the Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform is continuing to review the appropriateness of all new regulations due to come into force in the current economic climate and as a result, a date has not yet been announced for extending paternity rights.

At the same time, the Government had proposed to extend statutory maternity pay and statutory adoption pay from nine to 12 months (to coincide with the period of maternity and adoption leave) and it looks as if this is also on hold.

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Taxpayers who currently make bank payments direct to the Accounts Office at Shipley and Cumbernauld should note the following bank account change.

The new bank account details are:

Accounts Office Shipley

Account Name: HMRC Shipley
Sort Code: 08 32 10
Account Number: 12001020

Accounts Office Cumbernauld

Account Name: HMRC Cumbernauld
Sort Code: 08 32 10
Account Number 12001039

If you use online banking and have stored templates to make payments to Shipley or Cumbernauld, make sure you change them to include the new account details set out above.

Full details of the change can be found on the HMRC website www.hmrc.gov.uk/payinghmrc.

There is also a cryptic one step forwards, one step back note on the HMRC web site; it reads:

 "HMRC is aware that some customers are experiencing problems making payments from their banks to the new HMRC bank accounts. We are working to resolve this with the banks involved as quickly as possible. If this affects you, you can continue to use the old HMRC account details to make your payments. We apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused you."

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Changes have been announced to the company car advisory fuel rates with effect from 1 July 2009.

These are the rates you would use to calculate the petrol cost of your private motoring, if you pay this back to your employer to avoid the fuel based benefit in kind charge. Employers can also use the figure to isolate the petrol cost of car mileage claims in order to recover an appropriate amount of VAT - businesses still need to retain fuel receipts.

Some of the rates have been reduced in light of slightly lower fuel prices at the pumps. The figures are arranged as engine size first, followed by three rates (pence per mile), for Petrol, Diesel and LPG.

1400cc or less: 10p, 10p, 7p

1401cc to 2000cc: 12p, 10p, 8p

Over 2000cc: 18p, 13p, 12p

Petrol hybrid cars are treated as petrol cars for this purpose.

The fuel rates are usually reviewed twice a year effective 1 January and 1 July although may change more often where there is significant fluctuation in fuel prices

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As evidence that our Government are serious about clamping down on the use of overseas tax havens to avoid UK tax, readers may be interested in the following information regarding the Cayman Islands.

A new Double Taxation Arrangement (DTA) between the UK and the Cayman Islands was recently signed in London. 

The new DTA has been drafted to deal with the avoidance of double taxation and the exchange of information necessary to prevent fraud.  The arrangement will apply to taxpayers who are resident in either the UK, Cayman Islands or both jurisdictions.  In the UK the agreement will apply to income tax, corporation tax, capital gains tax (in relation to the exchange of information), inheritance tax and VAT. 

The exchange of information provisions meets the OECD standards and it is expected this new DTA will help combat tax avoidance and money laundering involving both countries.

The DTA will take effect once both countries have finalised the legislative procedures needed to give the arrangement the force of law in both countries.

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1 July 2009 - Due date for corporation tax due for the year ended 30 September 2008.

6 July 2009 - Complete and submit forms P11D return of benefits and expenses and P11D(b) return of Class 1A NIC's.

6 July 2009 - Deadline for submission of new Tax Credit application for 2009-2010, if you want to secure a full years claim.

19 July 2009 - Pay Class 1A NIC's (by the 22 July 2009 if paid electronically).

19 July 2009 - PAYE and NIC deductions due for month ended 5 July 2009. (If you pay your tax electronically the due date is 22 July 2009)

19 July 2009 - Filing deadline for the CIS300 monthly return for the month ended 5 July 2009.

19 July 2009 - CIS tax deducted for the month ended 5 July 2009 is payable by today.

1 August 2009 - Due date for corporation tax due for the year ended 31 October 2008.

19 August 2009 - PAYE and NIC deductions due for month ended 5 August 2009. (If you pay your tax electronically the due date is 22 August 2009)

19 August 2009 - Filing deadline for the CIS300 monthly return for the month ended 5 August 2009.

19 August 2009 - CIS tax deducted for the month ended 5 August 2009 is payable by today.

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DISCLAIMER - PLEASE NOTE: The ideas shared with you in this email are intended to inform rather than advise. Taxpayers circumstances do vary and if you feel that tax strategies we have outlined may be beneficial it is important that you contact us before implementation. If you do or do not take action as a result of reading this newsletter, before receiving our written endorsement, we will accept no responsibility for any financial loss incurred.

Garbetts,

Arnold House, 2-6 New Road, Brading, Sandown, Isle of Wight, PO36 0DT.

Tel: 01983 400350  Fax: 01983 404016.

Web: www.garbetts.com

Garbetts is a limited company, registered in England & Wales with number 02988424.