December 9, 2008CLAIMS AGAINST UNINSURED MOTORISTS

Until the 8th November 2008, if your vehicle was damaged by an uninsured motorist and you made a claim against the Motor Insurers Bureau, a £300.00 "deductible" applied against non-injury related losses.

This meant that in real terms, you could not recover the first £300.00 of your loss so if you were a claiming only a policy excess of £500.00, you would receive £200.00 and if your claim was worth less than £300.00, this fell below the threshhold so you were unable to apply to the Bureau at all.

This had the effect that many Claimants could not preserve their No Claims Discount as their uninsured losses were not recoverable other than directly against the uninsured driver who frequently would not have had the means to pay.

The good news is that the deductible has been been abolished but only in regard to accidents occurring after the 7th November 2008.

The MIB Uninsured Driver scheme consequently now places such Claimants to a very large extent in exactly the same position as those who have had accidents with insured motorists.

Story from: Recovery First

December 5, 2008Bookkeeping and accountancy services

We can relieve you and your business of a significant burden by taking care of all your bookkeeping and accounting needs. This ranges from making use of our in-house bookkeeping bureau to the preparation of your annual accounts. We will treat every business individually so that we can tailor our approach to your requirements.

Besides the core bookkeeping, we can also maintain your VAT records, prepare your payroll and take on ad hoc projects to free up valuable time for your staff.

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To receive a quote for any of our services in Berkshire, Surrey, Staines, Slough, Windsor, Maidenhead and Reading, please return the brief questionnaire to get the process started.

December 3, 2008Tax havens inquisitor appointed

Financial services to head examination of transparency, regulations and taxation in offshore tax havens

The government had announced that Michael Foot, the current chairman of the Promontory Financial Group in the UK, is to head up the review of offshore tax havens announced in the pre Budget report.

The review comes after increasing criticism of offshore havens, such as Jersey and Guernsey, and will look at transparency, regulation and taxation issues. Some observers have repdicted the review could spell the end of offshore tax havens as we know them.

Paul Myners, the financial services secretary said on the appointment: ‘Offshore financial centre must play a responsible role in the global financial system. This review will take a serious and constructive look at the the challenges these centres face in the current economic climate, and how they can best respond to these.’

The tax haves included in the review are Jersey, Guernsey, Isle of Man, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Gibraltar, Turks and Caicos Islands, British Virgin Islands, Anguilla.

The government hopes to produce a preliminary report before the Budget next year and will work to draw firm conclusions before the end of 2009.

Promontory is a consulting business advising financial services companies on regulation, risk controls, liquidity needs and, among others, conducting internal investigations.

Foot said: ‘After working as a financial regulator in the UK and overseas, I have direct experience of the achievements of the Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories. I am looking forward to working with them to see how best the important contribution of their financial sectors can be underpinned and strengthened for the future in these challenging economic times.’
Story from: Accountancy Age

December 1, 2008Mandelson chides banks for being ‘too conservative’

Banks risk more damage to their balance sheets by their conservative lending practices, Mandelson warns

British Business Secretary Peter Mandelson has chided the banks for having adopted too conservative lending policies in the liquidity crisis, risking further damage to their balance sheets and profits by failing to provide cash to small business.

There was a ‘disjunction’ between what he was hearing from firms around the country and bankers in London, Reuters reports. ‘The banks have experienced a sharp liquidity crisis,’ he told the Guardian newspaper. ‘They have lent too much at too cheap a price for too long. But they are now overreacting to that, in my opinion, in too conservative and restrictive a way.

‘They are in danger of substituting one set of problems for another, and in the process doing themselves further damage by underlending and not strengthening their balance sheets and profits in the longer term. They are close to cutting off their noses to spite their faces.’

Mandelson put no-one’s mind at ease, seeming to contradicting official government forecasts of last week that the economy would start to recover in the second half of 2009, by saying he did not know how long the recession would last.

Story from: Accountancy Age