PCG Newsletter 01/06 - 05 January 2006

IN THIS ISSUE

• New Year, new newsletter

• Reminder about 31 January self-assessment deadline

• Implications of the Arctic judgment

• PEI cover from Abbey Tax

• Contract opportunities for members

• Regional meetings

• Advertisement

NEW YEAR, NEW NEWSLETTER

Here's wishing all our members and readers a very happy New Year. We're delighted to bring you the first PCG newsletter of 2006 in a completely new format, designed to reflect the new website launched just before Christmas. We hope you like it.

In case you didn't receive the last newsletter or haven't had a chance to look at the new website, we encourage you to check out some of the new features and content, such as:

·     A full library containing PCG guides, publications, draft contracts, articles and position papers

·     A site map, search facility and Quick links drop-down

·     A new suite of draft contracts which have just been updated to reflect current legal thinking and continue offering protection from IR35. This includes a new standard set of terms and conditions to complement the direct contract template. Please note that all the agency contracts and notes are freely available for use by any agency or freelance contractor and are not restricted to members.

·     A new section on all the types of insurance that are relevant to freelance businesses

REMINDER ABOUT 31 JANUARY SELF-ASSESSMENT DEADLINE

The deadline for submission of self-assessment tax returns, and full payment of any tax due, is 31 January 2006. HM Revenue & Customs has published the following diary information: 

      Tuesday 31 January. Tax returns received up to midnight are on time. This includes returns received in Office letter boxes that are opened first thing on Wednesday morning.

·     Wednesday 1 February. Tax returns received up to midnight are late but incur no late-filing penalty. This includes tax returns received in Office letter boxes that are opened first thing on Thursday morning.

·     Thursday 2 February. Returns received from the morning post and onwards are late and incur a late-filing penalty.

Late filing may have negative consequences other than the HMRC penalty. Some professional fee protection policies may, for example, exclude returns which are filed late.

IMPLICATIONS OF THE ARCTIC JUDGMENT

Until we know whether HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) intends to seek leave from the House of Lords to appeal the Jones v Garnett case, a degree of uncertainty remains for the thousands of family business owners who have not yet submitted their tax returns. PCG has issued some advice for those whose circumstances are very similar to those outlined in Geoff Jones's case.

Meanwhile, in an article for AccountingWeb, Simon Sweetman congratulates Geoff and Diana Jones for sticking to their guns and PCG for pursuing and funding the Arctic Systems case. He believes that any decision by HMRC to take the appeal to the House of Lords would make their insistence that "this is not a test case" look a little thin. 

For a list of recent articles featuring PCG and the Arctic case, please visit the PCG in the news page.

PEI COVER FROM ABBEY TAX

PCG has renewed its professional expenses insurance (PEI) policy with Abbey Tax. The current policy runs from 1 January to 31 December 2006 and covers all members, paying up to £75,000 per member per membership year, to cover professional fees relating to tax investigations covering:

•  Income tax self-assessment full enquiries

• Corporation tax self-assessment full and aspect enquiries

• Employer compliance disputes in respect of PAYE, P11D and NIC

• VAT and IR35 disputes, S660A enquiries

The policy covers the fees of the appointed specialist tax consultants, but may, at the discretion of the Insurer, also include any necessary costs of your accountant. Such costs will include the gathering of necessary information to answer HMRC’s queries and representing you at a hearing with the Commissioners. It does not cover any taxes or fines levied if your appeal is unsuccessful, but you can buy such insurance cover separately from companies such as Accountax and Lawspeed.

• Summary of cover

• Insurance certificate

Please note that the PEI policy has no grace period. Once your PCG membership renewal date has passed, cover under the policy will cease. If you then renew your membership you will not be covered for any investigations which commenced during the interim period. For this reason, it is essential that you renew your PCG membership promptly when you receive the reminder.

CONTRACT OPPORTUNITIES FOR MEMBERS

For information about the latest job, project, contract and work opportunities, see PCG's Commercial and Members' Commercial forums. 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 fortnightly newsletter, please include the words "newsletter OK". Current opportunities include:

·                                 SOX testers - six month contracts in Scotland 

·                                 SAN project manager - London Docklands

·                                 Help desk team leaders - Glasgow

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.

If you would like to attend or propose regional meetings, please post to the relevant thread on the RLM forum, or email the local co-ordinator.

ADVERTISEMENT

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We are offering courses in key professional skills that are increasingly being demanded by the market place. We’re developing training packages targeted at freelancers that will get you to the following foundation level over weekends:

• ISEB IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL)

• APM Group Managing Successful Programmes

• APM Group Prince2

Weekend courses will be run at family-friendly locations so that while you’re learning at the weekend, your family can also have a treat too.

If you are part of a network, why not ask us to sort something specific out for your colleagues as a weekend or midweek event.

Alternatively we will be happy to see you at one of our scheduled courses, and offer you a 12.5 per cent discount off the list price. 

For more information on the courses, schedule and costs please look online or contact Claire.Rookes@aspireeurope.com

Disclaimer. PCG carries very limited advertising only from known and reputable Affiliate members and complementary organisationss. Even so, publication of any advertisement carries no implicit or explicit endorsement by PCG.

Professional Contractors Group Limited
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635 Sipson Road
West Drayton
Middlesex
UB7 0JE

Telephone: +44 (0845) 125 9899
Fax: +44 (0845) 644 4105