CIS contractors reminded of changes to penalties
Posted on August 27th, 2011
Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) contractors have been reminded of changes to the penalty system from October.
Newly-registered CIS contractors will face an upper limit to some of the penalties for late monthly returns, while other penalties are less than what is charged under the current system.
What CIS contractors should be aware of is that if they have been charged penalties for filing a late return before October, they may ask HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) to work out how much the penalties would be under the new rules.
If it is less than the amount charged then they can agree that their penalties should be reduced to this amount.
The penalty could also be lower if contractors have been charged for more than one penalty, if they are charged more than £100 for one monthly return, and if new contractors have been charged penalties for more than one late monthly return.
However, penalties will not be lower in every case, HMRC warns.
STOCKS GO NOWHERE AHEAD OF HUGE VOTE: Here’s What You Need To Know (SPY, TLT)
Posted on July 28th, 2011
Calm before the storm. Today was one of the quietest days in a long time. That being said, stocks were notably higher earlier in the day, but then fizzled.
But first, the scoreboard:
Dow: -59.33NASDAQ: +1.96S&P 500: -3.99
Tags: Stocks, Stocks Nowhere
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Contracts to buy homes up in June for second month
Posted on July 28th, 2011
The National Association of Realtors reported Wednesday that its index of sales agreements for previously occupied homes rose 2.4 percent in June to a reading of 90.9. A reading of 100 is considered healthy by economists. The last time the index reached that level was in April 2010, the final month when buyers could qualify for a federal tax credit.
Pending sales in Sarasota County were down from May and a year ago while rising substantially in Manatee County.
In the territory covered by the Sarasota Association of Realtors, homes under contract totaled 754 during June, down 10.3 percent from the previous month and about 1.7 percent from a year ago. The measure had topped 1,000 during March, February and January. Read full article…
Tags: June, June Second
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Key member of Coast Bank fraud gets 3-month sentence
Posted on July 20th, 2011
John Robert Miller, a co-conspirator of former Coast banker Philip W. Coon, received a reduced sentence for helping the U.S. Attorney’s Office prosecute the case.
Miller, 65, pleaded guilty in 2008 to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud in the loan-skimming scheme that netted more than $1 million. He must forfeit assets, including homes, brokerage accounts and jewelry, to come up with $1.5 million in restitution.
After serving his sentence, Miller will have three years of supervised release, starting with three months of home detention. He also cannot work in the mortgage industry without permission from his probation officer, and can incur no new credit charges, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
He faced up to five years in prison, but federal prosecutors recommended a significant sentence reduction for his “substantial” cooperation.
Miller’s attorney, Eddie Suarez, argued for a period of probation instead of prison time.
Suarez asked U.S.
Tags: Coast Bank, Sentence
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Tech firms’ layoffs could hit a new low
Posted on July 19th, 2011
CHICAGO, July 20 (UPI) — U.S. outplacement consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas said Wednesday that job cuts in the technology sector were headed toward a record low for 2011.
In the first half of 2011, job cuts among electronics, computer and telecommunications firms reached 14,308, a drop of 60 percent from January through June in 2010, when 35,375 technology jobs were lost, the firm said.
In the first two quarters of the year, job cuts in technology were up slightly from the final six months of 2010. However, “the overall health of the technology sector remains very strong,” said Chief Executive Officer John Challenger in a statement.
“It is highly unlikely that planned layoffs in the second half of the year will be heavy enough for the year-end total to surpass last year’s record low 46,825 job cuts,” Challenger said.
In the first half of the year, computer firms led technology with a drop of 81 percent in job cuts.
Tags: Low
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Europe Update: Next Key Meeting This Thursday
Posted on July 18th, 2011
The next emergency EU summit is scheduled for this coming Thursday. Wolfgang Münchau is very concerned, from the Financial Times: Plan D stands for default and death of euro
The biggest single danger in the eurozone crisis now is that events are moving too fast … It was a huge mistake to postpone an emergency EU summit until Thursday this week.
This is a key meeting. If there is no agreement on how to proceed, the markets could really panic. Also many people were disappointed with the stress tests released Friday. From the WSJ: Euro Stress Tests Tell Only Half the Story
Here is what the official stress tests results didn’t tell you: 27 European banks would need to raise a combined €82 billion ($155 billion) in new capital … That is well above the €2.5 billion shortfall, spread across eight banks, announced Friday. The
Tags: Thursday
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$ 13 M to Go to Small Businesses of New Hampshire
Posted on July 18th, 2011
The State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) is going to aid to businesses in Granite state as they are going to receive $ 13 millions as loans. SSBCI, the new program, is going to draw in Federal funds of $ 13 billion to New Hampshire, in-order, to help small businesses find access to credit and create new jobs.
SSBCI is a new $1.5 billion initiative that has been included in the Small Business Jobs Act of President Barack Obama. The Small Business Jobs Act got singed into law in October. The fund makes state programs very leveraging in itself and it helps to intensify private lending to small businesses and manufacturers considered credit worthy. It is meant to help businesses that cannot find loans for expansion or creation of new jobs.
For states to qualify for grant, they have to make it evident that each dollar of federal funding would result in leveraging at-least $10 in lending to small businesses.
Tags: 13 M, New
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