PCG Newsletter 09/05 - 19 May 2005

IN THIS ISSUE

• PCG Consultative Council 2005-2006

• S660 seminars

• PCG welcomes Chancellor's tax assurance

• Annual membership survey

• Honorary life membership

• Practicus contract approved

• Barclays package offers free automated transactions

• Sandwich student seeks freelance views for dissertation

• Contract opportunities for members

• Regional meetings

• Other events

PCG CONSULTATIVE COUNCIL 2005-2006

PCG's annual elections for the Consultative Council (CC) closed on 10 May 2005, and the following 16 members were elected:

• Simon Juden

• Ian Durrant

• Geoff Jones (new)

• David Ramsden (new)

• David A. McKelvie

• Philip Down

• Gurdial Rai

• Ajmal Zia

• Neil Mcclements (new)

• Mark Handford (new)

• Alan Watts

• Stuart Mealing (new)

• Clive Palmer (new)

• Christopher Bryce

• Court Guinness (new)

• George Randle (new)

With the following CC members who were not required, under the Articles, to stand down this year, they make up the full complement of 30 CC members:

• Jon Axtell

• Andrew Banks

• Paul Chapman

• Pamela Edwards

• Simon Griffiths

• Alexander Heney

• Andrew Humphreys

• Leigh Mount

• Mark Powell

• Stuart Ritchie

• Richard Robson

• Steve Sowerby

• Julie Stewart

• Chris Woollacott

Extending his commiserations to those who had stood but were not elected, Simon Juden said, "I would strongly encourage all of you to stay involved and consider running again next year. You can achieve a lot without being on the CC."

The first meeting of the new CC will take place on Saturday 21 May 2005 and will include the election of chairman and board. Simon Juden is standing for chairman again.

S660 SEMINARS

There are only a few places left for the evening S660 seminar taking place in London on Wednesday 25 May 2005. The main speaker at the seminar will be David Smith LLB FTII, founding director of Accountax Consulting and former Inland Revenue inspector, who will cover the following topics:

• What action you MUST take following the Arctic judgment

• Are you still at RISK following the Arctic judgment?

• How to MAXIMISE tax saving strategies after Arctic

• What all family companies must do NOW

You can book your place online and non-members are very welcome. You can also register your interest in attending an S660 seminar elsewhere in the UK.

SARA

Members who are concerned about S660A can find out their likely risk using SARA, an online "Self Assessment Risk Analysis" tool developed by PCG and Accountax Consulting. There are two versions of SARA to account for the difference between the cases where shares were gifted from one partner to another, and the case where both partners owned shares from the outset. Each version contains a series of about 35 questions.

Members are also covered by PCG's PEI insurance policy for defence by leading experts against S660A investigations.

PCG WELCOMES CHANCELLOR'S TAX ASSURANCE

PCG has welcomed Gordon Brown's assurance to business leaders that the Government shares their objective of a competitive tax regime for Britain. Speaking at the CBI's annual dinner on Tuesday, the Chancellor said, "We will continue to look with you at the business tax regime so that we provide incentives for investment in wealth creation and rewards for success."

CBI president John Sunderland said that business had a responsibility to make profits, and was the major source of wealth creation in our society. It provided most of the jobs and most of the taxes funding public services, and it was therefore an essential responsibility of Government to nurture business and the profits it generates. On taxation, he said, "You have assured business that you have no intention of adding further to the significant taxation burdens which have already been imposed on business over the last eight years - a cumulative £43 billion. Be certain, we'll hold you to that assurance."

PCG chairman Simon Juden said, "Freelance businesses represent a valuable sector of the economy, generating wealth and employment and providing industry with a flexible workforce. There is an urgent need for simplicity, clarity, transparency and certainty in their taxation. We hope that the current consultation being conducted by the Treasury will lead to a reform of the taxation of small businesses, and we welcome the Chancellor's commitment to streamline regulatory structures and make it simpler to remove outdated or unnecessary legislation."

ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP SURVEY

PCG's annual membership survey was sent to members with election ballot papers in April, and although the elections are over, members may still continue to send in their survey responses.

One of PCG's key strengths is that it is very strongly member-led, and the annual survey represents a critical part of this, giving you, as business owners, the valuable opportunity to convey your opinions and express your concerns. PCG strongly urges all members to complete and return this survey, as it will help drive the organisation's activity and set its direction for the coming year.

Errata. Question 1 should have included a traditional partnership as an option; please use the "Other" option for this purpose if appropriate. Question 9 should read: "What is your view on business prospects for 2005?" (not 2004).

HONORARY LIFE MEMBERSHIP

The PCG board has unanimously decided to appoint Gareth Williams, Jane Akshar, Simon Griffiths and David Ramsden Honorary Life Members for their contrubutions to PCG.

PRACTICUS CONTRACT APPROVED

PCG Affiliate member Practicus has signed up for the Approved Contract scheme and has passed its stringent tests. Practicus is a specialist resourcing company dedicated to the provision of high quality interim management and technical practitioners within IT.

Boyd Kershaw, a director at Practicus, said, “Having PCG validate our contract as IR35-friendly and offering it as an insurable entity helps give our contractors confidence that they are making the right decision to work through our organisation. The PCG Approved Contract is a must for any contractor, whether they’re a member of PCG or not. PCG’s scheme provides both the employment business and the service provider with confidence at a time of considerable change within our industry.”

BARCLAYS PACKAGE OFFERS FREE AUTOMATED TRANSACTIONS

The Barclays Bank package, launched in April specifically for PCG members, offers free automated transactions, provided that no more than 20 credits or 20 debits are made per month. Online banking is free, and the savings account which complements the current account offers a competitve rate of interest. The business debit card is free, and the company charge card is provided free of fees for the first 12 months. In addition to these benefits, PCG members have access to a relationship manager who understands the financial needs of contractors and freelancers.

SANDWICH STUDENT SEEKS FREELANCE VIEWS FOR DISSERTATION

Laura Bolton was taken on by PCG last summer on a one-year work placement as part of her Business Studies degree at Brighton University. As marketing assistant, she has been involved in a number of activities, including the organisation of various PCG events, distributing press releases and helping Mandie Bell look after new and existing Affiliate members.

Laura is writing her dissertation on various aspects of freelancing and to help her collate data as part of her primary research, she would be extremely grateful if PCG members and other freelancers could complete a short online questionnaire.

CONTRACT OPPORTUNITIES FOR MEMBERS

For information about the latest job, project, contract and work opportunities, see PCG's Commercial forum, and Members' Commercial forum. The Commercial forum may be accessed by Affiliate members, and PCG welcomes postings by agencies. If you are willing to have your commercial post published in the weekly newsletter, please include the words "newsletter OK".

Current opportunities include:

Java developer - London/home-based

VB.Net, .ASP, C# and Oracle - North West

Application packaging - London

MOM consultants - several locations

REGIONAL MEETINGS

Regional meetings - traditionally known on the forums as "RLMs" - encourage members to socialise, network and discuss PCG issues. These meetings are open to all members, and in many cases non-members are welcome to come along too.

London - Saturday 21 May 2005 18:00
Green Man, Great Portland Street, London, after the first meeting of the new Consultative Council.

Farnborough - Tuesday 24 May 2005 19:00
Prince of Wales, Farnborough. Email enquiries to farnborough@pcg.org.uk

Swindon - Thursday 26 May 2005 19:00
Savoy, town centre, Swindon

Sheffield - Thursday 23 June 2005 19:30
The Old Queen's Head, by the bus station. Email enquiries to sheffield@pcg.org.uk

Various members have also posted in the RLM forum about potential meetings in other areas. If you would like to attend regional meetings in any of these locations, please register your interest by posting to the relevant thread.

OTHER EVENTS

AICS: "Networks - How They Work" - Tuesday 24 May 2005 18:45
British Computer Society, Davidson Building, Southampton Street, London (opposite the Savoy Hotel)

Business Breakfast - Glasgow, Friday 3 June 2005 08:00
The second Scottish Franchise Week (SFW) - sponsored by Business Gateway - will be held from 1 to 7 June 2005. A Business Breakfast on Friday 3 June, for key Scottish business intermediaries, is the main event during Scottish Franchise Week. It will be held at the Glasgow Moat House between 8am and 9.30am, next to the SECC where the British Franchise Exhibition will run from 10am.

Disclaimer - caveat emptor - PCG carries very limited advertising only from known and reputable Affiliates and complementary organisations. Even so, publication of any advertisement carries no implicit or explicit endorsement by PCG.

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