Bluebell House Consultants LLP
The
following is an up to date list of the tax training topics currently offered to
tax and accounting professionals, solicitors, bankers financial advisers and
any other interested parties. All course can be tailored to suit your
particular requirements. If the list does not cover a particular topic in which
you are interested please let us know as we will always consider designing bespoke
courses to suit the individual client.
Shorter
versions of all these courses can also be offered as in-house or public, client marketing seminars. Administrative details are summarised
at the bottom of this page.
Practical
Tax Planning Points Tax Aspects Of The Company
Car Farmers & Landowners
A Year-End Tax Update Tax For The Hotelier Capital Gains Tax - with
planning points.
Tax planning for the new client. Tax incentives for investment? Inland Revenue Enquiries
Contentious Tax Issues The Taxation Of Doctors And
Dentists An Annual Tax Update
Corporation Tax Update Fiscal share valuations. A Framework For The Taxation
Of Disposals
Paye & Schedule E control visits. Marketing
The Tax Department
Taxation For Solicitors Tax Errors—The Accountants'
Top Forty Maximising capital allowances
Tax Aspects Of The Leisure Industry Contentious Tax Areas Compliance Danger Zones
Tax Forms: Getting Them Right Optimising Capital Gains Tax Special Compliance Office Enquiries
Tax Planning for the Entrepreneur. Tax Planning For Owner Managed
And Family Businesses.
Wills And Inheritance Tax Planning Tax for the Company Secretary Trusts and Tax a basic
framework
Designing Tax Efficient Remuneration Packages Capital Taxes Planning For
Family Limited Companies
Offshore Tax Planning And Residence Revenue Interviews And Appeals
Practical Tax
Planning Points
Objectives
To outline 20 ideas
for tax planning possibilities available to the business client. This course
attempts to cover some of the more adventurous tax planning ideas currently in
vogue as well as dealing with straightforward planning options.
The approach is
checklist based with the emphasis on taking statutory provisions and applying
them to real life situations.
Contents.
The course is divided
into various different sections:
»
Income
tax planning.
»
Capital
gains planning.
»
Family
company possibilities.
»
New
business planning.
»
Planning
business car purchases?
»
Inheritance
tax planning.
Summary
This lecture is
deliberately controversial at times and contains some tax planning ideas not
for the faint-hearted as well as other more mainstream ideas.
The overall intention
is to stimulate thought and discussion and to consider just where the
boundaries of tax planning stand.
Top
Tax Aspects Of The
Company Car
Objectives
To summarise the
current tax legislation on the provision of cars as benefits for employees and
to consider and analyse the alternatives available in the modern tax climate.
Methods of financing purchases and their tax advantages are considered as are
other topical issues concerned with cars.
Aimed at
All staff and
partners who are involved in any way with clients' who purchase vehicles either
for their employees or for themselves for business or private use.
Summary of contents.
·
History of the
·
What is a car?
·
Capital allowances for employers &
employees.
·
Taxation benefits legislation.
·
Methods of car purchases.
·
Purchased by employer or employee?
·
Changes to the Mileage Allowance system.
·
Case
law on car benefits etc.
·
Cars
as golden handshakes?
Summary
The course aims to provide a thorough review
of all the main contemporary issues on cars and car benefits. It concentrates
on a tax planning approach and attempts to suggest areas where there may be
scope for minimising benefits charges and maximising tax relief in certain
circumstances. Considerable emphasis is placed on worked examples of the
computations needed to assist with decision-making in various situations.
Duration: half day.
Top
Tax Planning For Farmers & Landowners
Course Objectives.
To provide an update on recent developments
in the world of farm taxation and to review the chief areas to which tax
practitioners and accountants should have regard when dealing with the affairs
of farming and landowning clients.
Current taxation.
»
What
is farming/husbandry?
»
Types
of income; farm diversification and tax.
»
Farming
losses; contentious disputes, eg. fish farms & smallholdings.
»
Farm
accommodation adjustments, Employee benefits and PAYE issues.
»
Farmers
averaging:.
»
Farming
partnerships: advantages and disadvantages.
»
The
Herd basis: summary and review of special situations.
»
Capital
Allowances, Agricultural Buildings allowances.
»
Subsidies,
Set-Aside & The Single farm Payment Scheme.
»
Compensation
Issues, grants and similar receipts
»
Miscellaneous
income, woodlands, turf sales,
»
Grazing
rents, holiday lettings and similar receipts.
»
Share
farming arrangements.
»
Tax
aspects of Foot & Mouth and Other Serious Diseases
Medium/longer term tax issues.
»
Selling
up or bringing in the next generation?
»
Reliefs
and exemptions: Roll-Over-relief, Taper Relief.
¨ Agricultural and/or
Business Property Relief?
¨ Farmhouses, Farm
Cottages
¨ Tenancy Issues
¨ Caravan Sites
¨
Quotas
and capital taxation.
¨
Tax
cases of relevance: Partnerships, Wife’s wages, grants.
The Potential for Revenue Enquiry
¨ Revenue techniques
and selection criteria.
¨ Attitudes to stock
valuation errors.
¨ Stock valuations and
BEN 19 problems.
¨ Own goods and private
use adjustments.
¨ Record keeping and
stock reconciliation’s.
Who should attend.
Anyone dealing with farming or
landowners’ taxation on a regular basis
and especially those preparing farmers accounts and/or tax returns.
Top
A Year-End Tax Update
Objectives:
A year-end review of
the chief developments in taxation and related topics over the previous twelve
months and an outline of practical applications and changes in tax planning
opportunities and problems.
PART 1. GENERAL TAXATION UPDATE.
* Recent IR Press releases
of note.
* Recent tax cases of
note.
* Current
developments in taxation.
PART 2. YEAR END TAX
PLANNING.
* Income tax ideas.
* Company and
business tax.
* Capital gains and
Inheritance tax.
* Checklists for
client meetings.
PART 3. PRACTICAL TAX
POINTS.
* Tax saving ideas
for small businesses?
* Planning business
disposals?
* Tax planning in the
current political climate?
Aimed at:
Primarily intended
for tax partners and managers who are personally involved with clients during
face to face tax planning meetings at or close to year ends. The idea is to
equip these individuals with a broad framework to adapt to most clients'
circumstances.
Top
Tax Planning And Compliance For The Hotelier
Objectives
To review the tax
planning opportunities and compliance problems of particular relevance to the
Hotel and related tourist trades. The course attempts to highlight the
particular planning points of relevance to an industry which is property based
and very labour intensive.
Aimed at:
This lecture is aimed
chiefly at tax staff and partners who have frequent dealings with clients in
this industry and will be of particular interest to those likely to have to
deal with Capital Gains tax planning and Income Tax and PAYE compliance
matters.
Contents.
The course is divided
into various sections:
»
Capital tax planning.
»
Early years income tax planning.
»
Capital investment & tax reliefs.
»
Tax treatment of lettings incomes.
»
PAYE compliance: casuals etc.
»
Planning for seasonal trades.
»
Review of specific tourism trades.
»
Tax cases on tourism.
»
Case studies.
Summary.
This is a
wide ranging course covering all the issues likely to be of general interest to
the tax practitioner dealing with clients in the hotel and tourism
industries.
Top
Capital gains tax - with planning points.
This course is
intended to provide a comprehensive outline of the statutory provisions for
those who are new to Capital gains Tax as well as a review of the chief
planning points which arise when disposals are in prospect. The course is aimed
chiefly at sales of businesses and business assets and concentrates on the
computation of and planning for, capital gains tax liabilities arising on such
disposals. The programme should be of interest to anyone dealing with capital
disposals whether on the computational or planning side.
Programme.
»
Basis
of the charge and calculation of the tax.
»
Chargeable
occasions and persons.
»
Chargeable
and exempt assets.
»
Basic
reliefs and exemptions
»
Calculation
of chargeable gains and losses.
»
Rebasing
to 1982: FA 1988 rules.
»
Structuring
disposals.
- timing.
- pre-sale actions.
- using reliefs.
- alternative sale methods.
- reducing the tax rate.
- obtaining reliefs.
»
Planning
where and when gains and losses arise.
»
Taper
Relief 1998 to the present tday.
Maximising the
business relief.
»
Roll-over
Relief
»
Taper
Relief.
»
Enterprise
Investment Scheme shares.
»
Incorporation
Relief
»
Hold-Over-Relief.
Top
Tax planning for the new
client, a framework for analysis.
Objectives
This course sets out
to provide practitioners with a method of analysing and planning the tax
affairs of a new client, or a new business venture for an existing client. The
adviser is often well equipped to provide accounting and financial services;
this course aims to supply a framework within
which the tax affairs of a new client or new business venture can be
objectively analysed from the outset.
Aimed at.
The course is
primarily of interest to partners and staff who have first contact with a new
client especially those involved in the preparation of business plans and
raising finance.
Contents.
The course covers a
wide range of topics including:
·When does a trade start?
·Early years planning.
·Capital tax reliefs.
·Structure and asset ownership?
·Loss reliefs.
·Accounting dates.
·Incorporation?
·Tax and business planning.
·Buying a business.
·Tax relief for borrowings.
Summary
The course's overall
aim is to give the adviser and his staff a series of checklists within which
new businesses' and new clients' tax affairs can be examined.
Top
Tax incentives for investment?
Objectives.
To review the
Revenue's current approach to
Capital expenditures.
What tax reliefs are
available, where does the boundary between capital and revenue expenditure lie
today, and what is the latest available guidance on interpretation of case law
on Plant and Machinery and the other Capital Allowances?
Course contents.-
·
Capital
v Revenue expenditure? (FRS12 & Provisions)
·
Plant
and Machinery or not?
·
Short
life assets/long life assets?
·
Industrial
Buildings allowances.
·
Interaction
of capital allowances and CGT?
·
Fixtures
in buildings.
·
Computer
software allowances.
·
Research
and Development tax Credits
·
ECA
allowances
·
Relief
for Intellectual Property since FA 2002
·
Benchmarking
of claims.
·
Negotiating
with the Revenue.
Summary.
This lecture is
generally case law based but is intended to show how precedents are applied in
practice and to highlight those areas to which careful attention at the
planning stage of any large capital expenditure project will pay dividends.
Aimed at.
All tax staff,
managers and partners involved in claiming tax relief for capital expenditures
and advising on the availability of tax reliefs.
Top
Inland Revenue Enquiries
Objectives.
To outline the various reasons why taxpayers
accounts and returns are selected for Revenue Enquiry and to provide guidelines
on pitfalls to avoid and procedures for prevention.
Course contents.
The course is based
around real life practical examples. It describes the progress of actual cases
and follows the history of several specific investigations from start to
finish, and identifies key stages and danger areas.
Part 1: Managing an
Enquiry
·
Reasons
for selection.
·
Know
your inspectors.
·
Opening
gambits.
·
Opportunities
to forestall.
·
The
appropriate responses?
·
Interview
pointers.
·
Systems
for prevention.
·
A
practitioners checklist.
Part 2: Enquiries -
the Statutory Framework
·Random Audit under Self-Assessment.
·Dealing with the current climate.
·Protecting the client.
·Using the Commissioners?
·The client’s
statutory rights and obligations.
·Disclosure problems and requirements.
·Record-keeping requirements.
·Risk Assessment Procedures
·Taxpayer Segmentation
Summary.
The course offers an
ex-inspector's overview of the enquiry regime for business accounts. It concentrates on the practical side of the
topic rather than the academic and should appeal to all involved in this often
controversial subject.
Who should attend.
The lecture should be
of interest to all involved in the preparation and submission of business Tax
Returns to the Revenue and to those who have to deal with the Revenue's queries
when they are received. Its emphasis is on prevention not cure.
Top
Contentious Tax Issues
Objectives.
1.
To
provide a summary of those areas of Cases I and
II which are traditionally the most common causes of dispute with the
Inland Revenue.
1.
To
review case law precedents and the current law and practice on these areas and
to suggest practical negotiating points when such problems are experienced with
clients' affairs.
Course contents.
·
The
difference between capital and revenue.
·
What
is a "trading transaction"?
·
What
is plant and machinery?
·
What
is an industrial building?
·
Which
expenses are allowable against profits?
·
When
does a business start and finish?
·
What
is “succession”?
·
Financing
business vehicles?
Summary.
The course is
essentially case law based but with the emphasis on applying precedents to
actual examples of problems which have arisen in practice.
Also included will be
some tax planning ideas currently being put forward, some of which may be
deliberately controversial and are intended to stimulate discussion, including
Tax avoidance possibilities.
Aimed at.
The course is
intended to be of interest to tax staff and partners in general practice,
especially those who have to deal frequently with the Inspectors of Taxes who
examine clients'' accounts.
Duration; half day.
Top
The Taxation Of Doctors And Dentists
Objectives.
To outline the tax
law and practices of particular relevance to these two professions and to
discuss the commercial and regulatory environment within which doctors and
dentists are obliged to operate and to consider its impact on their tax status.
To consider what tax
planning strategies are of particular application to doctors and dentists.
Course contents.
Ø Principles of partnership taxation.
Ø Offices and employments?
Ø Partnership agreements.
Ø Allowable expenses.
Ø Partners expenses and capital all'ces.
Ø Rental income for premises.
Ø Deduction of interest paid.
Ø Capital accounts and interest.
Ø Tax on partnership changes.
Ø Employment of spouses?
Ø Foreign appointments?
Ø Superannuation schemes.
Ø Allocations of profit shares?
Ø Pensionable income?
Ø Private incomes.
Ø Aspects of tax enquiries?
Ø Record keeping & computer systems.
Ø Staff benefits & compliance problems.
Summary
The course is
intended to provide an overall review of the taxation aspects of doctors and
dentists together with some suggestions of tax planning points of particular
application to these professions.
Aimed at.
Any tax staff and
partners who have a frequent involvement with the tax affairs of medical
practitioners
Top
The Annual Tax Update
Objectives.
This course is aimed
at general practitioners and their staff and is intended to bring together all
the main developments in personal and business taxation occurring over the
previous twelve months.
Contents.
Ø Part 1: The Annual Finance
Act session.
Ø Income tax changes.
Ø Capital tax changes.
Ø Business &
Corporate tax changes.
Ø VAT changes.
Ø Administrative
changes.
Part 2: Developments in
Tax Case Law.
Ø Summaries of recent
cases.
Ø How decisions apply
in practice.
Ø Planning points &
pitfalls.
Part 3: Recent Developments.
·
Inland
Revenue Press releases.
·
Statements
of practice.
·
Items
in the news.
Summary
Many people offer an
Annual Finance Act lecture. Unfortunately these can often turn out to be fairly
sterile and rather academic affairs. Our approach is to provide a quality set
of guidance notes on the act and then to lecture on only those points likely to
have significant impact day to day. Other matters of topical interest from
taxation news are given equal weight where appropriate.
Top
Corporation Tax Update
Objectives.
To provide a detailed
review of recent developments in the world of Corporation tax with the emphasis
on matters of specific interst to owner-managed companies and business dealt
with by the small and medium sized accountancy practice.
Contents.
Ø Recent statutory
changes
Ø Family company Tax
planning – current issues
Ø Recent Tax Cases
Ø Revenue Statements of
Practice
Ø Contentious issues
Ø Settlement issues
Ø IR35 Issues?
Summary
The course gives an
overview of current UK Corporation tax
issue swith the emphasis on highlighting planning opportunities for
director/shareholders and their spouses.
Aimed at:
This course is aimed
at all tax staff and managers dealing with the affairs of family companies. it
will also be of interest to anyone who has to advise on CT planning at all
levels.
Top
An introduction to the
principles of Fiscal Share Valuation.
Objectives.
To introduce
participants to the subject of share valuation and to outline the major
principles involved. To discuss the history of the subject and the Revenue's
approach to the topic.
Course
contents.
Ø What is "share
Valuation"?
Ø History of Shares
Valuation Division.
Ø Valuation and local
tax offices.
Ø The SVD approach to
negotiation.
Ø Occasions for
valuation.
Ø Preparing a
valuation.
Ø Negotiating with SVD.
Ø Methods of
valuations.
Ø What is "Open
Market Value"?
Ø Review of relevant
case law.
Ø Some basic planning
opportunities.
Summary
The course is
intended to provide a beginners guide to the subject and includes a worked case
study plus references to actual real life examples where appropriate.
This is not meant to
be a highly technical lecture but rather to make tax staff aware of the manner
in which share valuations are carried out, how share valuation can affect tax
liabilities and how important it is to recognise factors and transactions which
may have an important bearing on share valuation matters.
Aimed at:-
The course should
appeal to anyone who deals with the tax affairs of family companies on a day to
day basis and should be of particular relevance to the tax manager who is
involved in medium term capital tax planning for such companies and their
shareholders.
Top
A
Framework For The Taxation Of Disposals
Objectives.
To review the capital tax laws on disposals
of business and personal assets within the
Course contents:
· Occasions of charge:
»
Capital
gains tax.
»
Inheritance
tax.
· Methods of
computation.
»
Consideration.
»
Deductions.
»
Indexation.
· The available
reliefs:
»
Roll-over-relief.
»
Taper
Relief
»
Hold-over
reliefs
»
Reinvestment
relief under the E.I.S.
· Planning for business
assets:
»
Ownership
structure.
»
Property
development deals.
»
Shares
or assets?
»
Timing
of disposals?
»
Use
of pension reliefs?
»
Spreading
wealth within families?
· Personal assets:
»
Investment
assets eg land.
»
Stocks
and shares.
»
The
main residence?
»
Foreign
property.
»
Second
homes.
Summary:-
A
varied and broadly based course which covers several tax planning scenarios and
looks at most of the major types of capital asset which can cause capital tax problems for clients in their
lifetimes.
Top
PAYE Audit and Employer Compliance visits..
Objectives.
To discuss and
outline the reasons why PAYE investigations take place and to suggest the
appropriate methods of dealing with the PAYE audit visit and/or a district
Schedule E investigation.
Contents.
The course includes
several case studies from real life situations and reviews the progress of
actual PAYE audit visits and settlements.
Ø
Historical
context on PAYE investigations.
Ø Preparing for the audit
visit.
Ø Who are the
investigators?
Ø Content of the audit
visit.
Ø Schedule E principles
reviewed.
Ø Payments subject to
PAYE?
Ø Is there an
employment?
Ø Categorisation
problems?
Ø The "assessable
amount"?
Ø Case studies.
Ø Tips and Troncs.
Ø Casuals and PAYE.
Ø PAYE: interest &
penalties.
Ø Problem industries
and trades.
Summary.
The course is
intended to take a practical approach to the question of PAYE visits and to
outline the specific steps the advisor should take when preparing himself and
his client for the inspection of business records and district Schedule E
reviews.
Aimed at:
The course should be
of interest to all tax staff partners and managers and indeed anyone involved
with the taxation of employees and directors benefits, especially those who are
involved with the preparation of PAYE returns and P11D's.
Top
Introduction
to UK Group Relief .
Objectives.
To provide a thorough
grounding in the law and practice relevant to the taxation of groups of
companies within the
Course content:
Ø What is a group?
Ø Outline of tax
reliefs for groups.
Ø Why are groups
formed?
Ø What is a consortium?
Ø Group relief for
trading losses.
Ø Surrenders of ACT.
Ø Group income
elections.
Ø Capital gains tax for
groups.
Ø Company trading
losses post FA 1991.
Ø Recent case law on
group taxation.
Ø The impact of CT
self-assessment?
Ø Anti-avoidance
legislation and tax planning?
Ø When to form groups?
Aimed at:
The course will be of
particular interest to tax managers and staff who are getting to grips with the
group tax system for the first time. PE2 students should find it of particular
relevance and the course content should also appeal to all tax partners and
staff who enjoy a back to basics worked example type of approach.
Summary:
This is not a course
for the expert but is intended to give a good practical and technical
foundation and refresher on the subject at a level which most general
practitioners should find relevant.
Duration: half day.
Top
Managing And Marketing The
Tax Department
Objectives
To help practitioners
to get the most out of their tax resources both internally by maximising their
technical capabilities and externally by selling their services to existing and
new clients.
Outline
The tax department is
probably one of the most expensive human resource areas of almost any
accountancy or professional advisory practice yet it is often one of the most
undersold and therefore may fail to realise its full fee potential.
This course is an
attempt to highlight areas to which attention should be paid when trying to get
the most out of a tax department.
Contents:
Ø What resources are
needed?
Ø What level of
technical ability?
Ø What to expect from ex-Revenue
staff?
Ø Who should do what?
Ø Methods of
controlling work flow?
Ø Post management in
practice?
Ø Planning the tax
diary.
Ø Critical times of the
year?
Ø Overlap with
accounting functions?
Ø What tax services are
marketable?
Ø What tax services do
clients expect?
Ø Tax educating the
client base?
Summary:
This course is not
intended to lay down specific guidelines on how things should be done but
instead suggests a few ideas which have worked in practice for different firms.
It considers the critical tax functions within a firm with a few ways of
improving overall control of workflow and therefore achieving better quality
output from the tax department.
Top
Taxation
For Solicitors
Objectives
To outline tax law
and practice relevant to solicitors and other legal professionals and to
discuss the commercial and regulatory environment within which they are obliged
to operate.
to consider what tax
planning strategies are of particular application, and to offer solicitors a
framework for dealing with taxation and identifying where it impacts on their
own clients affairs.
PART I: Taxation
principles.
¯ Principles of partnership taxation.
¯ Partnership agreements.
¯ Partners' expense claims etc.
¯ Rental income and interest payments.
¯ Partnership changes.
¯ Tax and "salaried" partners.
PART II: The
commercial environment.
¯ The work of solicitors.
¯ How solicitors are organised
¯ The regulatory framework
PART II: Taxation for
solicitors' clients
¯ Property transactions
¯ Matrimonial disputes.
¯ Wills & Estates.
¯ Commercial disputes
¯ Partnership dissolutions.
¯ Employment law.
Summary:
The course reviews
the tax affairs of solicitors together with some suggestions of tax planning
points of particular relevance.
Aimed at:
The course should be
of use to anyone dealing with the tax affairs of solicitors; either as a
solicitor themselves or as an adviser to a solicitor client.
Top
Tax
Errors—The Accountants' Top Forty
Objectives.
To outline and
discuss how and why errors arise in tax computations on submission to the
Revenue and to identify 40 specific examples of common errors and to suggest protective measures to avoid them.
Contents
Ø Accounts submission errors
Ø Tax return errors.
Ø Capital Gains Tax errors.
Ø Inheritance tax errors.
Ø Errors in correspondence?
Ø Errors over the phone?
Ø Errors in interviews?
Summary:
The course concentrates
on the practical approach and uses real life examples wherever possible to
illustrate the mistakes which arise most frequently. Tax departments can be one
of the most profitable part of an accountants practice but they can also expose
him to the most risk of client disapproval when errors occur. This course
should help minimise those risks.
Aimed at:
The course should be
of interest to all tax staff and managers (even partners) who are involved on a
day to day basis in the submission of information to tax offices. Anyone who
thinks they can never make a mistake should not attend!
Top
Maximising capital
allowances:
This course will provide an introduction to
some of the more unusual areas of capital allowances law and practice and will
complement and extend Capital Allowances - The Current regime. The course
covers those areas not commonly encountered but which[may cause difficulty because
of their unusual nature. Delegates will be given the opportunity to notify in
advance areas of special interest.
Heavy industries.
Ø
Agricultural
Buildings
Ø
Enterprise
Zones and
Ø
Mineral
extraction & waste disposal.
Ø
Dredging
and sea walls.
Modern technologies.
Ø
Patents
and Know-how.
Ø
Scientific
research allowances.
Ø
Computer
Software Allowances
Unusual Businesses
Ø
Cemeteries
and Crematoria.
Ø
Sports
grounds and Stadia.
Ø
Shipping
allowances and balancing charges.
Ø
Allowances
for Rented Property.
Other Areas.
Ø
Claims
by employees?
Ø
Individual
Partners Capital Allowances claims.
Ø
Interaction
of CGT and Capital Allowances
Ø
Problem
areas and difficult situations
Top
Tax Aspects Of The Leisure
Industry
Objectives
To review the tax
planning opportunities and compliance problems of particular relevance to
businesses operating in the leisure market. The course highlights the
particular planning points of relevance to an industry which is property based,
fast growing and very labour intensive.
Aimed at:
This lecture is aimed
chiefly at Accounting and tax staff and partners who have frequent dealings
with clients in this industry and will be of particular interest to those
likely to have to deal with Capital Gains tax planning and Income Tax and PAYE
compliance matters.
Contents.
Ø Capital tax planning.
Ø Early years income
tax planning.
Ø Capital investment
& tax reliefs.
Ø Sports complexes,
leisure and health clubs.
Ø Tax treatment of
lettings incomes.
Ø PAYE compliance:
casuals etc.
Ø
Ø Planning for seasonal
trades.
Ø Review of specific
tourism trades.
Ø Members sports clubs
etc.
Ø Tax cases on tourist
business.
Ø Case studies.
Summary.
This is a wide
ranging course covering issues of interest to the tax practitioner dealing with
clients in leisure and tourist industries such as hotels, restaurants resort
franchisees and similar activities.
Top
A Non-Specialist Guide To
Contentious Tax Areas
Objectives
To help the non-tax member of staff identify
and deal correctly with the most common tax problems likely to arise on any
client's accounts or tax returns during the audit and accounts preparation
process.
Outline:
Accounts staff have
extensive contact with the information which will form the basis of the tax
computations, and in many cases are responsible for preparing those
computations themselves. This course highlights those areas to which careful attention
should be paid when accounts are being prepared, discusses the commonest causes
of technical disputes with the Revenue, and gives hints on the presentation of information to the Inspector.
Contents
Ø
What
is a tax computation?
Ø
What happens to it in the tax office?
Ø
What information do clients' records contain?
Ø
What should the technician look for?
Ø
The basics of the Schedule D1 computation.
Ø
Capital Versus Revenue expenditure?
Ø
Private and dual purpose expenses?
Ø
Schedule D Versus Schedule E expenses?
Ø
Provisions and reserves?
Ø
Methods of stock valuations.
Ø
Plant and machinery allowances?
Ø
Industrial/Agricultural buildings allowances?
Ø
The Self-Assessment new review procedures.
Summary:
This course is not
intended for the tax manager or partner
but will probably be of interest to many of their staff. It should appeal to
the tax or accounting technician or trainee and starts from first principles.
The emphasis is however very much on practical examples and the course
includes several real life case
studies.
Top
Compliance Danger Zones
Objectives
To provide accounting and tax staff with
guidance about the danger areas in tax compliance work and to suggest ways in
which preventative measures can be designed into their working procedures.
Outline:
The course is intended to show which areas of
the small and medium sized business clients' affairs are the commonest source
of compliance failures and to suggest ways in which these danger zones can be
identified and avoided as an integral part of every day working procedures.
Content:
Ø
PAYE
compliance
Ø
VAT
compliance
Ø
NIC
compliance
Ø
Accounts
investigations.
Ø
Capital
taxes.
Ø
Checklists
for prevention.
Ø
Case
studies in failure.
Summary:
Nobody can design a completely secure
compliance prevention system and there is no protection against the foolhardy
client who thinks he can beat the system. This course should however provide
the technician and staff member with some checklists to work to and also
highlight some of the danger signs which can often identify potential problems
early on before it is to late.
Top
Tax Forms: Getting Them Right
Objectives
The junior members of staff are often given
the task of completing large number of tax forms in bulk. other more detailed
cases are given to more senior members of staff. Whoever completes tax forms
should find this course of interest. It aims to review all the principle tax
forms and discusses the particular problems they present.
Outline:
The course discusses the occasions on which
various tax forms have to be submitted, highlights the problems and
difficulties each form can cause, and discusses practical examples in
particular situations for each case.
Content:
Ø
Straightforward
Tax returns?
Ø
Corporation
Tax returns; CTSA?
Ø
Forms
P11D
Ø
PAYE
Year End returns.
Ø
Notification
forms: 41G etc.
Ø
Tax
Appeals and determinations?.
Ø
Forms
CT61.
Ø
Herd
basis elections?
Ø
Non-residency
forms?
Ø
Pension
relief forms.
Ø
Forms
15 and 17: (Independent taxation).
Ø
R185's.
Ø
Continuation
elections and revocations.
Ø
Rebasing
elections.
Summary:
The course is aimed at anyone who has to fill
in tax forms on a regular basis and will therefore probably be of interest to
all tax and accounts staff.
Top
A Non-Specialist Guide To
Contentious Tax Areas
Objectives
To help the non-tax member of staff identify
and deal correctly with the most common tax problems likely to arise on any
client's accounts or tax returns during the audit and accounts preparation
process.
Outline:
Accounts staff have
extensive contact with the information which will form the basis of the tax
computations, and in many cases are responsible for preparing those
computations themselves. This course highlights those areas to which careful
attention should be paid when accounts are being prepared, discusses the
commonest causes of technical disputes with the Revenue, and gives hints on
the presentation of information to the
Inspector.
Contents
Ø
What
is a tax computation?
Ø
What happens to it in the tax office?
Ø
What information do clients' records contain?
Ø
What should the technician look for?
Ø
The basics of the Schedule D1 computation.
Ø
Capital Versus Revenue expenditure?
Ø
Private and dual purpose expenses?
Ø
Schedule D Versus Schedule E expenses?
Ø
Provisions and reserves?
Ø
Methods of stock valuations.
Ø
Plant and machinery allowances?
Ø
Industrial/Agricultural buildings allowances?
Ø
The Self-Assessment new review procedures.
Summary:
This course is not
intended for the tax manager or partner
but will probably be of interest to many of their staff. It should appeal to
the tax or accounting technician or trainee and starts from first principles.
The emphasis is however very much on practical examples and the course includes several real life case studies.
Top
Compliance Danger Zones
Objectives
To provide accounting and tax staff with
guidance about the danger areas in tax compliance work and to suggest ways in
which preventative measures can be designed into their working procedures.
Outline:
The course is intended to show which areas of
the small and medium sized business clients' affairs are the commonest source
of compliance failures and to suggest ways in which these danger zones can be
identified and avoided as an integral part of every day working procedures.
Content:
Ø
PAYE
compliance
Ø
VAT
compliance
Ø
NIC
compliance
Ø
Accounts
investigations.
Ø
Capital
taxes.
Ø
Checklists
for prevention.
Ø
Case
studies in failure.
Summary:
Nobody can design a completely secure
compliance prevention system and there is no protection against the foolhardy
client who thinks he can beat the system. This course should however provide
the technician and staff member with some checklists to work to and also
highlight some of the danger signs which can often identify potential problems
early on before it is to late.
Top
Tax Forms: Getting Them Right
Objectives
The junior members of staff are often given
the task of completing large number of tax forms in bulk. other more detailed
cases are given to more senior members of staff. Whoever completes tax forms
should find this course of interest. It aims to review all the principle tax
forms and discusses the particular problems they present.
Outline:
The course discusses the occasions on which
various tax forms have to be submitted, highlights the problems and
difficulties each form can cause, and discusses practical examples in
particular situations for each case.
Content:
Ø
Straightforward
Tax returns?
Ø
Corporation
Tax returns; Pay & File?
Ø
Forms
P11D
Ø
PAYE
Year End returns.
Ø
Notification
forms: 41G etc.
Ø
Tax
Appeals and Postponement notices.
Ø
Forms
CT61Z
Ø
Herd
basis elections?
Ø
Non-residency
forms?
Ø
Pension
relief forms.
Ø
Forms
15 and 17: (Independent taxation).
Ø
R185's.
Ø
Ill
health Retirement Relief forms?
Ø
Continuation
elections and revocations.
Ø
Rebasing
elections.
Summary:
The course is aimed at anyone who has to fill
in tax forms on a regular basis and will therefore probably be of interest to
all tax and accounts staff.
Duration: 2-3 hours as required.
Top
IR35: -
Dealing With The Issues For Clients
To
Provide Practitioners With:
A detailed review of the legislation in
Schedule 12 FA 2000 and its implications
for the client using a “personal service Company”.
A suggested strategy for advising clients on
minimising their exposure to
the IR35 problem and hints on suitable contract clauses.
A summary of recent developments in the
contracting tax field.
A review of the case law precedents and an
introduction to the advisable contract
clauses to offer protection from IR35 exposure.
The
Course Will Cover
Ø
Legislation
on “personal service companies”
Ø
The
latest developments on IR35.
Ø
The
Revenue’s approach to the problem.
Ø
The
employed-self-employed review?
Ø
Suitable
and non-suitable contract clauses.
Ø
Particular
problem professions and industries.
Top
Optimising
Capital Gains Tax
Who
Should Attend.
This course
will be relevant to all tax managers and partners involved with the strategic
planning of their clients tax affairs, particularly those dealing with the
capital taxation aspects of owner managed business and family run companies.
What
you can gain.
Ø A detailed understanding of the taper
relief CGT regime.
Ø Examples of how businesses can
optimise CGT reliefs.
Ø Knowledge of the interaction of Taper
Relief and other reliefs
Ø Ways of advising clients about
planning for the future.
Course
contents.
Ø The CGT legislation reviewed in depth.
Ø The availability of indexation
allowance
Ø The availability of Taper Relief
Ø The current forms of Reinvestment Relief.
Ø The changes to Venture Capital and
Enterprise Investment Relief.
Ø Strategies to crystallise valuable CGT
reliefs
Ø Opportunities and threats of the
current regime
Ø The current rules for share disposals.
Top
Special Compliance Office
Objectives
To outline in detail
the roles of the various specialist investigative and technical offices of the
Inland Revenue, the reasons for their existence and the sorts of cases they
normally deal with.
Outline:
The course discusses
the roles of all the specialist offices, the sorts of officials they employ,
their backgrounds and training, likely expertise, specialisations and
experience and their general approach to casework .
Content:
Ø
The
Revenue's Section 20 TMA 1970 powers.
Ø
The
Board's Investigation Office
Ø
Enquiry
Branch cases.
Ø
Special
Office cases.
Ø
Special
Investigations Section.
Ø
The
Revenue Accountancy Unit.
Ø
Shares
Valuation Division.
Ø
The
Capital Taxes Office.
Ø
The
District Valuer.
Ø
Claims
Branch specialists.
Ø
Technical
divisions.
Summary
The course is aimed at anyone who may have to
advise clients on how to deal with
"Hansard" interviews or interviews under caution and what the likely
progress of a serious tax investigation may be. It also covers the non-investigative
technical specialisms within the Revenue.
Top
Tax planning for the
Entrepreneur.
Objectives
A review of the principal tax planning areas
which are likely to be of particular application to the wealthier business
client particularly those looking towards a business disposal or takeover at
some stage.
Outline:
The course discusses the place of all the
major tax reliefs and exemptions in capital tax planning and also reviews the
various tax effective (or otherwise) types of investment vehicle available
currently.
Content:
Ø
Independent
taxation and the family.
Ø
The
strategic uses of trusts.
Ø
A
tax effective Investment vehicle?
Ø
The
chief capital gains tax charges and reliefs.
Ø
The
chief Inheritance tax reliefs and charges.
Ø
EIS/VCT
Deferral Reliefs.
Ø
Tax
effective business structures.
Ø
The
role of pensions in tax planning.
Ø
Benefits
in kind for director shareholders.
Ø
Optimising
Taper Relief and Hold-Over reliefs.
Summary:
The
course is a thorough review of the tax planning
and mitigation opportunities currently available to those clients who
are traditionally perhaps at the more adventurous end of the tax avoidance
spectrum.
Top
Tax Planning For Owner
Managed And Family Businesses.
Who
Should Attend.
This
course will be relevant to all tax managers and partners involved with the
strategic planning of business clients’ day to day tax affairs. It will appeal
particularly to those dealing with the annual tax liabilities of growing
family-run businesses and companies and especially those who have to submit tax
computations to the Inland Revenue.
What
you can gain.
Ø
A
framework for planning clients’ tax affairs.
Ø
Ideas
for advising clients about tax mitigation.
Ø
Strategies
for planning capital taxation for business clients.
Ø
Ways
of planning family tax liabilities for the business client.
Course
contents.
Ø
Tax
planning strategies for the new business client.
- Asset ownership
issues
- Fax and business
financing issues
- Efficient use of
losses and capital allowances.
Ø
Tax
efficient extraction of value from the owner managed business
Ø
Tax
efficient Incorporation’s.
Ø
Succession
planning for the owner managed business
Ø
Tax
efficient plans for the sale of the family business
Top
Wills And Inheritance Tax
Planning
Objectives:
To
identify the chief components of a tax effective will, and to provide a
framework for the strategic planning of a client’s capital tax affairs.
Content:
Ø
The
need for a will
Ø
Intestacy
rules.
Ø
Providing
for the spouse.
Ø
Dealing
with the main residence
Ø
First
death bequests.
Ø
using
the lifetime thresholds.
Ø
Maximising
Business Property Relief.
Ø
Tax
effective property ownership.
Ø
Survivorship
claims.
Ø
Using
family trusts.
Ø
Powers
of appointment.
Ø
Revenue
attitudes to capital tax planning.
Ø
Using
insurance products
Summary:
The
course aims to take a practical approach to minimising the clients overall
exposure to capital taxation. It considers the current law and practice on
capital tax planning and attempts to suggest a framework for advising clients.
Aimed
at:
All
staff and partners who are involved in the medium and long term management of a
clients capital taxes.
Top
Tax for the Company Secretary:
A Guide To The Essential Facts
Course objective
To provide a one stop seminar session for the
company secretary as a means of highlighting the significant tax issues a
medium sized (large owner-managed and small public) company can expect to face
in a financial year.
Who should Attend?
Company secretaries working in the businesses
mentioned above and who are involved in giving advice and guidance on taxation
or who come into contact with tax issues and compliance problems during their
working life.
Contents.
The essential areas of Corporation
tax:
Ø Principles of
corporation tax
Ø Computing the
liability
Ø Planning for the
liability
Ø Recent developments
and topical issues
Ø Problem areas and
chief compliance danger points.
Ø Transactions which
will involve CT issues.
The essential areas of Employee
taxation.
Ø The PAYE obligation
and compliance rules
Ø Danger Areas on
status and benefits.
Ø Recent developments
and topical tax issues.
Ø Current areas of
controversy and planning
Summary:
A
practical course with a novel approach. The aim is to present the subject as if the
Top
Trusts and taxation a basic
frame work.
Designed
For:
All
partners managers and tax staff who have involvement with the planning,
administration and compliance aspects of the taxation of
To
Provide You With:
Ø
An
understanding of the principle types of
trust and their uses.
Ø
A
thorough grounding in the current law and practice on trust taxation.
Ø
Detailed
knowledge of the main compliance issues for trusts.
Ø
A
review of the planning points and pitfalls with trust taxation.
The
Course Will Cover:
Ø
What
sorts of trust are there?
Ø
How
are trusts’ income and gains taxed?
Ø
How
are beneficiaries taxed?
Ø
Why
are trusts used in tax planning?
Ø
What
planning options do trusts offer?
Ø
Avoidance
provisions and recent developments.
Ø
A
& M trusts & FA 2006 changes
Ø
IHT
& FA 206 changes generally
Ø
Offshore
trusts and
Top
Designing Tax Efficient
Remuneration Packages
Objectives
To provide an update on current thinking on
the world of remuneration planning and to identify the opportunities for the
reduction of PAYE/NIC liabilities together with a review of current
Revenue/NICO practice and the approach of the authorities to tax planning in
this increasingly sensitive area.
Course outline.
Ø
NIC
and PAYE planning
Ø
Meeting
Employees Pecuniary Liabilities
Ø
Joining
and leaving payments
Ø
Employment
status - personal service companies?
Ø
P11D
benefits checklists
Ø
Staff
Incentives and share schemes after PRP
Ø
PAYE
Settlement Agreements
Ø
Company
cars - minimising the tax take?
Ø
The
Schedule E compliance environment
Ø
Exempt
Benefits
Ø
Miscellaneous
points
Ø
Working
overseas.
Who should attend
Anyone
involved with the affairs of schedule E employees and particular the
director/shareholder of owner managed businesses
Top
Capital Taxes Planning For
Family Limited Companies
Objectives
To
provide delegates with a detailed update on current legislation and practice on
the capital taxes which are of relevant to the family company shareholder
director
What you will gain?
A thorough review of the current capital taxes
of relevance to the family company shareholder director and a summary of the
planning opportunities and pitfalls which can arise.
Contents
A General
Strategy For Capital Tax Planning
The
Preliminary Planning Review
The Current Structure of Capital taxation.
Ø Hold-Over-Relief for gifts of business
assets.
Ø Relief on The Incorporation of a
Business.
Ø Roll-Over-Relief
Ø Company planning considerations
Ø Shareholder planning considerations.
Ø Selling out: Checklists for buyers and
vendors.
Ø What will a buyer want to achieve?
Ø What will a seller want to achieve?
Ø Closing down - the main options?
Ø Disincorporation
Ø A Company Purchase of Own Shares.
Ø The
Ø Passing ownership on?
Ø Inheritance tax, (IHT).
Ø Capital gains tax, (CGT).
Ø The CGT and IHT reliefs
Ø Means of passing on the family
company?
Ø Incorporation?
Ø The Main Tax Considerations.
Ø The Main Non-Tax Considerations
Ø Reorganising Company Ownership
Ø Why reorganise?
Ø Tax issues:
Ø Company Law considerations
Top
Offshore
Tax Planning And Residence
Objectives
To provide a detailed
introduction to the subject of offshore tax planning and to review the
important tax concepts which have a bearing on this topic.
Course outline.
This course reviews
the main areas of residence, ordinary residence and domicile as they affect
liability to
Course Contents
Ø Definitions of
residence ordinary residence and domicile
Ø Emigration and
planning concepts.
Ø Inheritance tax and
capital gains tax planning
Ø Using tax havens
Ø Self-assessment
issues.
Ø Documentation and
evidence of residence status
Ø Relevant case law
Ø Employment and self
employment abroad
Ø Revenue guidance and
practices
Ø Company residence
issues
Ø E-commerce issues
Top
Revenue Interviews And Appeals
Objectives
To provide tax
practitioners and accountants with practical guidance on dealing with meetings
with the Revenue, advising and assisting clients throughout meetings and also
preparing for and dealing with appearances before the Tax Commissioners on
behalf of clients.
Course outline.
A meeting with
the Inspector of taxes, for whatever reason, can be a stressful and sometimes
traumatic experience for even the most self-confident taxpayer. This course
aims to provide the adviser with a comprehensive set of guidelines and
practical pointers on dealing with these situations, helping clients to survive
them and getting the best out such meetings.
Self-assessment is
also gradually seeing an increase in the number of occasions on which
practitioners are taking recourse to the Tax Tribunal on behalf of their
clients, particularly in Enquiry situations and this course aims to cover the
legislation and practices relevant to dealing with these hearings to equip
practitioners to perform well at them.
Course
contents
PART
1:
REVENUE
INTERVIEWS
Ø Preparing the client
Ø Objectives of the
meeting & the legal background
Ø Inspector’s powers
Ø Interview techniques
Ø Danger areas and
pressure points
Ø The role of the
meeting in the enquiry process
Ø Stress reduction techniques.
Ø
Taking
control and surviving the ordeal
PART
2:
COMMISSIONERS
APPEALS
Ø Legal background
Ø Commissioners’ powers
Ø Taxpayers’ rights and
responsibilities
Ø What can be appealed
Ø Order and procedures
of hearings
Ø Roles of the
participants
Ø Using the Clerk
Ø Presenting evidence
Ø Use of witnesses
Ø General conduct and
effectiveness hints
Top
Administrative
arrangements.
FEES:
A fee will always be
quoted on request. The current rate for a half day lecture, (normally three
complete lecturing hours) is £675 plus VAT. Fees can however be negotiated on
an individual basis for any occasion. If a full day's course presentation is
required the fee is normally £1100 plus VAT.
The above fees
include all preparation time but do not generally include travel and
accommodation expenses although fixed fees will be quoted if this is preferred.
Travel expenses are
normally charged in addition to the above fees at the rate of 40p per mile plus
the cost of overnight accommodation if this proves to be necessary. Again
expenses can be dealt with as part of an all inclusive fee quote if this is
preferred.
The above rates will
be held until 31 December 2007
Rates for 2008 course
will be held at 2007 rates until 30th June 2008.
COURSE NOTES.
A Master copy of all
course material is provided usually two weeks in advance of the date of the
presentation as part of the fee quoted. For the annual Tax Update and Finance
Act lectures professionally printed and bound notes can be provided if required
at a price to be agreed in advance.
FOLLOW UP.
Course delegates are
welcome to contact Russell for taxation
consultancy advice after a lecture has been presented. Where a specific course
has been developed for a particular organisation subsequent follow up training
sessions and workshop can also be arranged to suit your own requirements.
Full paper or disk
copies of the slides which Russell uses
for most of his presentations can be made available on request after a course
for a small additional fee of £150 plus VAT.
If you have any further queries or would like
to hear more please telephone Russell on 01900-824542 (Tel) Fax
to 0870-706-6376
E-Mail
russ@bluebellhouse.co.uk