Introducing corporate accounts with a difference

Businesses that operate internationally often feel they get a poor deal from their multi-currency business accounts.

The accounts can be inflexible, involve high fixed fees, and whenever money is transferred between currencies they often involve an uncompetitive exchange rate and yet more fees.

Henderson Morgan, a new international finance house, aims to change all that.

Ashley Morgan, Director, explains:

‘We felt it was time that small to medium businesses who trade abroad got a better option. So we created two corporate accounts that are highly competitive with anything else in the marketplace. They are both based on what business owners told us they wanted.’

HM BUSINESS VALUE

This account is an honestly-sold, honestly-priced package including key benefits that you will struggle to find elsewhere at this price.

Henderson Morgan describe it as ‘an asset, not an overhead’.

Clients can bank in sterling, euros or US dollars. But in addition, according to the business’s need, funds can be held in one of 15 currencies around the world. Moving money between the currencies is done at excellent exchange rates.

International payment and receipt transactions are also carried out with refreshingly low fees, employing a rapid, secure payments system.

A company MasterCard is supplied as standard, in a currency nominated by the client company.

LInked savings accounts are available.

The account is operated online and by phone: this permits the lower overheads that allow Henderson Morgan to offer such good value.

The opening fee for HM Business Value is £250, and the monthly fee is just £15. For the array of services on offer, it is a bargain.

HM BUSINESS FIRST

In this account, all of the benefits of the Value account are available but in addition to them, Henderson Morgan have added value in three key ways.

HM Business First clients enjoy a personal contact with a named manager who will supply business banking support whenever required.

They get the highest savings interest rates that Henderson Morgan can offer.

And as a welcome addition for the weary corporate traveller, the HM Business First account includes a Priority Pass that allows free access to a range of airport lounges around the globe.

This is truly an account that opens doors, worldwide.

The opening fee for Business First is £500, and the monthly fee is £25.

OTHER BUSINESS SERVICES

The new Corporate Accounts are being joined by a range of other added-value services for businesses and businesspeople. These include –

• offshore company formation
• an offshore stock and forex trading platform;
• merchant services;
• savings accounts without tax deduction;
• wealth management for principals.



The Henderson Morgan Group includes companies registered in the UK, New Zealand and Belize.

The Group has a policy of social responsibility. As such its principals have founded the Florence Ellen Trust, a registered charity. Henderson Morgan Group has pledged to give 10% of its profits every year to the Trust to fund its work in assisting disadvantaged women and children in the poorest regions of Central Asia. Contributions from client companies are warmly welcomed.
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You’ve made it – we’ll help you develop it

If you are wealthy, you know the value of money.

You also appreciate the value of good advice and the strategic management of your funds.

Every person’s situation is different; so Henderson Morgan’s assistance is as individual as you are.

We will give you personal attention and professional advice with:

• Creation of a diversified investment portfolio

• Cash management

• International funds transfers

• Tax planning

• Offshore finance

• Brokerage for your own trading

• Trust creation and management

• Retirement and inheritance planning

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Do you own one or more properties?

If you do, there is a chance that you will have to pay a large Capital Gains Tax bill when you come to sell your property.

If the property is your main residence, you won’t have to pay tax as long as:

• The property was your only home throughout the period you owned it (ignoring the last three years of ownership)
• You bought the property
• Expenditure incurred on the property was incurred primarily to use it as your home
• You did use the property as your home throughout the time that you owned it
• You didn’t use the property for any other purpose than as a home for you and your family (and no more than one lodger)
• The garden of the property do not exceed 5,000 square meters (approximately 1.25 acres)

You may still be entitled to tax relief even if you don’t meet every one of the conditions outlined above.

Please remember that if you are married or in a civil partnership, you and your spouse or civil partner can have only one such residence between you and

However, if the property is not your main residence and you sell the property for more than you paid for it worth there will normally be tax to pay on the profit your made. The first £10,100 (2010/2011) year allowance is tax free.

When working out whether any Capital Gains Tax is payable, you can:

• Deduct the costs of buying, selling and improving the property
• Offset any losses made on the property against other gains
Remember that you can also transfer the property to your spouse or civil partner (if you are living together) without paying CGT.


There are a number of documents that HMRC suggest that you retain when you buy or sell a property, these include:

• Copies of valuations which you are using to work out profits or losses
• Contracts for exchange or purchase of the property
• Evidence of payments for costs you are claiming for the purchase, improvement or sale of the property (solicitors invoices, bank statements showing fees etc


Henderson Morgan’s wealth management team can help you with all elements of tax due. The team can assist you to plan your tax effectively whilst protecting and growing your wealth.

Are you about to become a higher rate tax payer?

The coalition Government, in an attempt to trim the UK’s deficit have taken bold steps to increase the money coming into the Treasury. The tax thresholds are altered annually in line with inflation and generally announced in autumn’s Pre Budget Report. With the proposed changes, the number of people who pay higher rate tax is estimated to rise by nearly three quarters of a million, from 3 million to almost 3.7 million.

Recent changes in the structure of the tax system have been the reason for this huge increase in higher rate taxpayers. When the Government increased the tax free allowance to drag a million low paid workers out of paying any tax at all, they simultaneously reduced the threshold at which top rate tax became payable in order that the middle classes did not benefit. This tax year (2010/11) all earnings above £43,875 are taxed at 40 per cent. However, from April 2011 this threshold will be lowered to £42,475, the Treasury has confirmed.

There is a double whammy because, in addition to the lowering of the tax threshold, National Insurance (NI) rates for higher rate taxpayers will also rise in April 2011. The rate of NI will rise from 11 per cent to 12 per cent.The result people earning between £40,000 to £50,000 and upwards will be significantly worse off than before, anyone earning £50,000 will be £747 worse off next year.If you have children you will face another blow in April 2013 as higher-rate taxpayers with children will lose out on child benefit, costing a family with two children an additional £1,750 per year.

Now is a good time to think about both your immediate tax calculations and long term tax planning, Henderson Morgan’s wealth management team can review your current situation and help you and your family grow and protect your wealth for the future.

Should we move our business offshore

A hot topic around UK boardrooms right now is ‘Do we move offshore?’
Many high-profile UK Companies including HSBC’s CEO moving to Hong Kong, WPP’s board heading to Ireland, Ineos moving its HQ to Switzerland and Regus migrating to Luxembourg. And Wolseley has just announced plans to move to Switzerland, citing tax savings of around £27 million.
But this is not just restricted to the large multinationals; many smaller AIM-listed or privately held businesses are also relocating. In reality it is far easier for SMEs to move as they are more flexible and moving offshore can offer substantial commercial, administrative and tax advantages for a business.

• Better proximity to markets-with emerging markets still growing fast, prospects in Asia are particularly strong at the moment and Singapore and Hong Kong are favoured hubs for trading in the region.
• Accessing local talent pools- many offshore locations offer large pools of expertise, for example, Switzerland and Ireland for pharmaceutical companies.
• Reducing the burden of compliance-compared to company administration in the UK, countries such as Luxembourg or the Netherlands may offer greater simplicity, transparency and certainty.
• Improve cash flow-There are some very favourable tax incentives on offer, with effective tax rates potentially around or below 10%. into the commercial, tax and legal issues to consider in each jurisdiction.

One thing is certain, there will need to be real business substance in the chosen location, both to obtain the commercial benefits and to ensure that the structure is tax-effective. Determining the right location is about piecing together your businesses needs like a complex jigsaw and there are many key factors that need to be taken into consideration,
• proximity to markets, suppliers and labour
• operational benefits
• compliance savings
• taxation
• impact on business culture
• costs of relocation
• willingness of relevant personnel to relocate
• short-term operational disruption.

The options are endless, from simple relocation of a single business unit to full migration of the group.
As a first step, it is important to map the components of the supply chain and identify the key value drivers in the business. Each component should then be considered in isolation to determine its optimal location before bringing the whole together. Some of the options to consider include:
• Centralised hubs-these can be set up for support services, such as a centralised buying hub to generate purchasing synergies. Transfers of this nature should be achievable with limited disruption to the wider business, and while savings are primarily operational, there may also be tax benefits. Centralised sales hubs (such as regional hubs in Dubai or Singapore) can offer more significant commercial and tax benefits, although the impact on the business is much greater.
• Intellectual property centres-for many businesses, much of the value lies with their intellectual property; from patents and trademarks to customer relationships and technical know-how. Some companies have transferred their research functions to locations to benefit from tax reliefs or incentives. Others are managing their intellectual property from a centralised global hub. Tax and legal benefits can be very significant. However, care is needed not to fall foul of tax anti-avoidance rules, especially when transferring intellectual property abroad.
• Full migration -various high-profile cases in the press have involved migration. This typically entails ‘inverting’ – setting up a new overall holding company in a favourable jurisdiction – and relocating the board and key decision-makers offshore. This offers maximum flexibility and potential benefits, but there needs to be a strong appetite for change at board level and a good commercial reason.

There is no magical juridcition where to locate depends on business requirements, locations include:
• Ireland
• Switzerland
• Luxembourg
• Netherlands
• Malta
• Cyprus
• United Arab Emirates
• Singapore
• Hong Kong
You next step to consult a specialist team who can guide you through the maze of offshore jurisdiction and work with you to find the solution right for your business. Contact the team at Henderson Morgan who can guide you through the maze advisor@henderson-morgan.com

2011-2012 HMRC Tax Rates

HM Revenue & Customs has published the Income Tax allowances, rates and thresholds, NIC rates, Tax Credit rates and thresholds, and the Individual Savings Account (ISA) subscription limit, to be used from 6 April 2011.

Details can be found at: HMRC Tables Confirming Tax and Tax Credit Rates and Thresholds for 2011-12

As expected, there's been a significant rise in the National Insurance Contributions threshold, (i.e., the earnings level at which NICs start to be due), broadly to match the rise in Income Tax Personal Allowance previously announced. However, the 1%rise in both Employees' and Employers' NICs will mean many will suffer from an overall reduction in net income, despite the increase in tax/NI-free thresholds.

If you need help with any aspect of UK Tax or tax planning to reduce your tax liability, please contact our wealth management team at advisor@henderson-morgan.com

VAT Advice from HMRC

Are you ready for the change in VAT? HM Revenue & Customs warns that the standard rate of VAT goes up to 20 per cent on 4 January 2011 – so it’s worth getting your business ready now.

Introduction
From Tuesday 4 January, you will need to charge the new 20 per cent VAT rate on all standard-rated sales you make from that day onwards.

If you’re in retail, you must use the new 20 per cent rate for all standard-rated takings you receive on or after 4 January. The new VAT fraction for the 20 per cent rate is 1/6 (used to calculate the VAT element of standard-rated gross takings).

If your business issues VAT invoices, you must use the new 20 per cent rate for all VAT invoices you issue on or after 4 January, which are issued within 14 days (or longer period that has been agreed with HMRC) of your providing the goods or services.

Supplies that Span the Rate Change
If you supply goods or services before 4 January 2011, but issue a VAT invoice on or after that date, you can choose to charge VAT at 17.5 per cent.

Continuous Supplies of Services
For a contract that started before 4 January you can choose to charge the old rate, 17.5 per cent, on services actually performed before 4 January, and the new rate of 20 per cent on the value of services actually performed after.

Reclaiming VAT
From 4 January 2011, you may receive VAT invoices with the new 20 per cent rate, as well as VAT invoices with the old 17.5 per cent rate for goods or services you bought before the rate changed. In such cases, you should claim back VAT at the rate shown on the invoice.

Completing a VAT Return
The deadlines for submitting VAT returns remain the same, so you should continue to submit VAT returns in the usual way – whether you send them monthly, quarterly or annually. For returns that span the change in rate, you will need to add together both the VAT on sales charged at 17.5 per cent and those charged at 20 per cent. You then put this total in box 1 of your VAT return.

Countering Arrangements Designed to Take Advantage of the VAT Rate Change
In order to counter businesses taking advantage of the VAT rate change by making arrangements that aim to apply the 17.5 per cent VAT rate to goods or services to be delivered or performed on or after 4 January 2011, anti-forestalling legislation has been introduced. Further details of this can be found in the web link VAT - Change of the Standard Rate to 20 per cent: Anti-Forestalling Legislation

Further Information
HMRC has published detailed guidance on the rate change, which can be found at Increase in the Standard Rate of VAT to 20 per cent.

For further information on other VAT and Excise matters, you can also contact the National Advice Service on 0845 010 9000.

Henderson Morgans wealth management team can help you plan your tax contact us for a a free discussion of your requirements advisor@henderson-morgan