Client Spotlight - Vocality: Learning to sit on your hands

What is a CEO? Look up online and you’ll see a plethora of descriptions. When I was learning how to transition into being an effective CEO, I looked at them all, but really, the one that gelled with me was this one: http://www.paladinandassociates.com/articles/what-does-a-ceo-do/. There are key words that ring out for me. Facilitating. Care. Problem solving. Objectives. Strategy...

Click here to read the full article: http://www.wardwilliams.co.uk/documents/Client_Spotlight_-_Vocality.pdf

Pension Law Reform - Auto Enrolment

The London Olympics has finally come and gone. Pension auto enrolment follows hot on its heels and comes into force on 1 October 2012.  

The date by which employers must comply with the auto enrolment regulations is called the ‘staging date’. Staging dates are being phased in over the next 5½ years. The largest employers are leading the way with a staging date of 1 October 2012, followed by medium-sized employers and finally small and micro employers.

All ‘eligible jobholders’ must be auto enrolled no later than 3 months after the staging date.

Why auto enrolment?

The government is on a mission to make sure employees have access to a workplace pension. However, unlike Stakeholder pensions, employer pension contributions will be compulsory under this new legislation, which is designed to encourage a retirement savings culture in the UK.

Fines

The government has introduced a scale of fines for employers who fail to meet their staging dates, or fail to comply with their auto enrolment obligations. Dependent upon the size of employer and extent of non-compliance, these fines could be as much as £10,000 a day.

Furthermore, whilst employees will be permitted to ‘opt out’ of auto enrolment, there will also be heavy fines for employers found guilty of inducing employees to ‘opt out’.

So it is clear to see that the government means business this time and is fully committed to seeing auto enrolment become a success.

The Workforce

As well as identifying your ‘eligible jobholders’, you will also need to identify your ‘non-eligible jobholders’ and ‘entitled workers’. All three categories of worker will need to be informed of their different pension rights.

Non-eligible jobholders and entitled workers will have to be continually monitored to make sure they are auto enrolled as and when they become eligible jobholders...

To read more visit http://www.wardwilliams.co.uk/documents/Pension_Law_Reform.pdf

Holiday Homes in France

Earlier this year tax was once again in the news with newspaper headlines such as “French tax grab on holiday homes” (The Telegraph) or “Holiday homes in France hit with massive tax hikes” (Daily Mail). 

In fact these headlines may be misleading and those who have holiday homes in France may be interested to know that the outcome of these changes, included in the French Budget announcement made on July 4^th 2012, is more likely to change the balance of tax paid between France and the UK rather than adding to the total.

This is because it is likely that the new tax which is now being charged to, among others, UK residents on their letting income from French property, will be eligible for credit against their UK tax liability. The French rate of tax on rental income was announced to be 35.5% so if you are a 40% UK tax payer you will effectively pay 4.5% to the UK Revenue and 35.5% to the French. Where the French property is not let, the new tax will not apply.

French tax on gains from the sale of property in France was announced to be 34.5% which nominally is in excess of the top UK rate of capital Gains tax of 28%. However, the amount subject to French Tax is normally reduced where the property has been owned for three years or more and not charged at all where the property has been owned for more than 22 years. So it is possible that the effective French tax rate could be similar to or lower than the UK rate and provided that credit is given for French tax paid, there would be little or no UK tax due.

All owners of French property should review their position and, with the help of their accountants and tax advisers, see just how much these new provisions will affect them. It may not be quite as bad as they think.

For further information/advice on this topic please contact Ward Williams: 

01932 830664, www.wardwilliams.co.uk

Ward Williams are moving!

Our Weybridge office will be closed from 12 noon on Friday 28 September 2012 to 9.00 am on Monday 1 October 2012. From Monday 1 October 2012 our new address will be:

Belgrave House

39-43 Monument Hill

Weybridge

Surrey

KT13 8RN

Our telephone and fax numbers will remain the same:

T: +44(0)1932 830664                             

F: +44(0)1932 830733

enquiries@wardwilliams.co.uk

www.wardwilliams.co.uk

If you use our registered office facility we will arrange for Companies House to be notified of the change. When you re-order stationery you must show the new Registered Office address as shown above. If you have any queries regarding this matter please contact Cathy Pinn on 01932 830664, or email: cathy@wardwilliams.co.uk

Great news for Sunninghill!

Ward Williams are pleased to announce the opening of our new office in Sunninghill near Ascot.  The new office is in addition to our offices in Bracknell, Uxbridge and Weybridge and re-enforces our commitment to service the area to the South and West of London.

The office is located at 9 Crossways, London Road, Sunninghill SL5 0PY on the A329.

The office was previously occupied by a local firm, Weavers Accountants. We have merged with the Weavers team and will now operate as Ward Williams from this office from 10 September.

Katherine van Eyken will be the main client contact at the new office. You are more than welcome to drop by and meet Kath and the team.

If you wish to arrange a more formal meeting at our Sunninghill office or drop off your accounting records because this location is more convenient for you, then please arrange this with your usual Ward Williams contact.

01932 830664, www.wardwilliams.co.uk

Paying for life insurance? - let the taxman help with the cost of premiums

Are you paying life insurance premiums to protect a mortgage, your family’s financial security, or perhaps your children’s education fees?

As a company director, you may be able to achieve significant savings on the cost of cover. Dependent upon individual circumstances, we have been able to help cut the cost of premiums by as much as 50%. 

A ‘Relevant Life’ policy is a highly tax efficient method of paying for life cover because it is paid for by the company. It is effectively a single life ‘Death in Service’ policy.

Two distinct benefits are:

·        premiums are corporation tax relievable as a business expense

·        premiums payable by the company are not treated as a benefit-in-kind by the taxman

This means there is:

·        no national insurance liability for employer or employee on the premiums

·        no income tax liability for the employee on the premiums

Furthermore, the proceeds of a death claim are payable to the nominated beneficiaries free of inheritance tax as payment is made via a discretionary trust. 

‘Relevant Life’ cover can also be particularly useful in the following circumstances:

·        Smaller companies where it is not possible to establish Group Death in Service because the number of employees is too low

·        *Members of a Group Death in Service scheme who require life cover over and above the scheme’s maximum benefit level

·        An individual whose pension funds are valued close to the Pension Lifetime Allowance (currently £1.5m), as 55% tax is paid on any excess. Death in Service cover counts towards this allowance. Relevant Life Cover does not.

*Death in Service benefits are normally restricted to a multiple of salary. Relevant Life Cover multiples can importantly include dividends. This can be extremely useful where, on the advice of their accountant, a director’s income is heavily biased in favour of dividends.

Case Study

A director personally pays £200 per month for life cover. This is paid out of income that has suffered income tax at 40% and National Insurance at 2% on the top part of income. The ‘gross’ cost is £313.93 per month after 20% corporation tax relief.

Alternatively, the company pays the £200 per month premium. Corporation tax relief at 20% (£40) brings the ‘net’ cost down to £160 per month. A SAVING OF 49%. It has been assumed that the company pays the smaller companies rate of corporation tax, and national insurance at the contracted-in rate of 13.80%.

Qualifying criteria: Must be single life, level cover; provide only life cover, and must end before age 75

If you would like to arrange a ‘no cost, no obligation’ consultation with one of our financial advisers, please call us on 01895 236335 or visit www.wardwilliamsfs.co.uk