Expanding Your Small Business into Malta
Posted: 14/05/2011 Filed under: Malta Taxation, Small Business | Tags: Expansion, Malta, Small Business, Tax credit Leave a comment »
Planning to expand your current small business overseas? Before you make up your mind, you should consider Malta. With its stable government, low cost real estate and tax incentives, Malta should top your list of potential expansion sites.
Malta was given entry to the European Union in 2004 after meeting the acceptance criteria. Malta then became one of the most open economies in the region, a welcome sign for incoming investors and businesses. Companies looking for a positive foreign investment will find Malta’s attitude toward commerce refreshing. The government is pro-business, welcoming incoming new ventures and investors in order to see their economy continue to flourish. With a solid market, and open government your business can expand without worry.
In addition to laws set in place to keep businesses from being double taxed, Malta also keeps its international tax rulings in place for five years. This ensures no sudden tax changes or issues. They also offer tax incentives to small businesses looking to invest or expand. One of these tax incentives is called the MicroInvest Scheme. If your business meets the eligibility criteria you could receive a tax credit of up to 40% of your eligible expenditure with a cap of €25,000 for the duration of the incentive. Malta based businesses are eligible for up to 60% of their eligible expenditure with the same €25,000 cap.
The criteria are:
- Your business must not employ more than 9 full time employees.
- Your annual financial turnover may not exceed €2 million.
- Your business must be registered with the VAT department and have all of the applicable licenses and permits.
- You must pay all VAT, income tax and social security dues if there are any.
Qualifying costs include:
- Investments in refurbishing and upgrading of business premises.
- Investment in machinery, technology, apparatus and plant to enhance operations, reduce energy expenditure.
- Investment required for compliance of Health and Safety regulations.
- Investment in one motor vehicle used for the carrying of goods.
- Wages covering a 12 month period.
This tax credit is available until March 31st 2012 and can be extremely beneficial to a business, helping to offset the costs associated with expanding to a foreign country. With this tax incentive available as well as the current stability and low cost real-estate Malta is a top contender in the business market. Do your research, maybe even visit Malta with its near perfect climate and friendly English speaking populace. You are sure to find that it is an excitingly promising place to expand a small business.
Construction Rescues Britain
Posted: 23/08/2010 Filed under: Small Business | Tags: business concerns, Small Business Leave a comment »Britain’s economic recovery is booming according to latest reports due to the construction industry.
Our economic growth between April and June could be revised up to 1.2pc after construction output expanded even faster than expected. Revised construction output of 8.6pc – compared with an initial estimate of 6.6pc – would add 0.1 percentage points to earlier forecasts of 1.1pc GDP growth, other things being equal, a spokesman for the Office for National Statistics said.
The ONS said that the construction output growth was the strongest since the second quarter of 1963, and like then was driven by a sharp rebound following an unusually harsh winter.
“It does look incredibly strong, but there were good reasons for construction to be strong in the second quarter,” said Alan Clarke, UK economist at BNP Paribas.
“The snow had melted and the government was spending in a final fling before the election. Will it last? I doubt it. It was a one-off snow melt boost,” he added.
The initial GDP estimate of 1.1pc growth in the second quarter was the strongest in four years. Most economists expect it to represent a peak in the rate of recovery before growth slows later this year and in 2011 due to slowing overseas demand and impending budget tightening.
This is fantastic news for the UK economy, showing we are going from strength to strength in a lot of areas of industry.Small businesses across the nation will be benefiting from this too, make no mistake, even if they are not primarily in construction the improvement in the economy benefits all business.
UK Rich Lose More than The Poor
Posted: 11/08/2010 Filed under: Investment, Moving to London, UK Company Set Up, VAT, VAT Registration | Tags: business concerns, corporation tax, Small Business, VAT Leave a comment »In latest polls, it has come to light that the recession is costing the wealthiest house holds more than that of less ‘well off’ ones. This is something that should please most people as it is a favorite hobby horse of many that conservative governments take money out of the pockets of the poorer members of society. It seems this time they are taking money from everyone’s pockets with rises in VAT and such like.
Which is, of course, as it should be.
The ‘best off’ group, usually headed by someone aged between 55 and 74, with a degree, have took a blow recently losing £25,000 of their total wealth between 2007 and the autumn of 2009.
Whereas the less well off house holds, headed by people under the age of 35 with no qualifications, have felt a smaller blow of just £2,000, during the same period. Of course it does need to be pointed out that it is all relative and the percentage of income earned is probably the relevant figure here.
Clearly the lower earning households felt less of a blow when it came to the recession due to the fact they had less wealth to begin with. It is also being said that the fact that they had stored their assets in more stable places such as banks and building societies (we are talking comparatively here). As opposed to the wealthier households who invest their wealth in places with more uncertain stability such as the stock market.
This study was held by the Institute of Fiscal Studies, or the IFS and commissioned by the Department for Work and Pensions. The study was held to aid research into how households lack of confidence could shake the already fragile economy, not aid its recovery.
There is no doubt, however, that as focused as we may be on pulling the UK up by its bootstraps we must never lose sight of the fact that we are all in it together. Any society that neglects its more vulnerable members risks losing something much more valuable than cash. It risks losing its humanity.
OK I will jump off my soapbox now.
Inflation Up But Interests Stay Down In the UK
Posted: 09/08/2010 Filed under: UK Taxation, Uncategorized, VAT, VAT Registration | Tags: business, business concerns, corporate tax, corporation tax, Small Business, UK tax, VAT Leave a comment »Inflation has been a hot topic in the media these past six months and I believe it can be strongly linked to the VAT rise from 17.5pc to 20pc in January. This may not be rocket science and perhaps it is something we may have to live with but it bears pointing out.
Tensions within the Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee will be “excruciating” for the next 18 months as strong economic data raises the pressure on policy-makers to raise interest rates, according to Peter Spencer, chairman of the Ernst & Young ITEM Club.
Inflation has grown faster than the Bank’s 2pc goal for 41 of the past 50 months and has averaged higher than 3pc for two years, prompting several letters of explanation to the Chancellor from Mervyn King, the Bank’s Governor. ITEM today says that inflation will remain above target until the end of 2011, largely as a result of the planned increase in VAT.
From May until June the GDP, gross domestic product (the measure of the countries overall economic output) growth was 1.1pc, the strongest in four years and far higher than expectations. This has added to pressure on policy-makers to raise rates from their historic low of 0.5pc, Bank policy-maker Andrew Sentance has already called for a rate rise for the past two months.
However, ITEM warns that rates will have to stay on hold until the start of 2014 if the economy is to be given a chance to recover. “The problem is that on the surface the economy looks to be inflating but once you delve deeper, you can see that the situation is very disinflationary,” Mr Spencer said.
So Britain are to hold out on the inflation rise. Staying at 0.5pc will help to build a stronger economy, even though the effects of the VAT rise are said to be felt shortly.
We’ll hang on in there and get through this tough time, coming out stronger and more prepared on the other side. Lower interest rates will help with this process and it will be a great relief to many households and small businesses that they are not set to rise. In my opinion a rise in VAT may turn out to be a small price to pay.
Small Business to Prosper In The UK
Posted: 08/08/2010 Filed under: Small Business | Tags: business, business concerns, moving to the UK, moving to UK, Non Dom, Small Business, UK tax Leave a comment »I have always been confident that Britain is going to pull itself out of the recession and it is great to see the Bank of England have stepped up to lend a hand to small and large businesses alike.
They have done this by purchasing more corporate bonds in May and June under their qualitative easing programme in order to push cash into the economy, for businesses who have been struggling with the sovereign debt crisis.
Bank holdings of corporate debt rose from £1.36bn to £1.6bn in the three months leading up to June, its quarterly Asset Purchase Facility report showed. The Bank has bought £198bn of gilts from companies under the programme and continues to buy and sell around £2bn of corporate debt.
The Banks facilities have been made use of by Corporate’s in the past quarter as concerns about sovereign debts fed through to fears about companies, pushing the price of bond issuance higher and reducing demand.
“Increased concerns about the fiscal adjustment of some euro-area member states and banks’ exposure to sovereign debt fed through into other risky asset prices, such as corporate bonds,” the Bank said. “The resulting increase in uncertainty and volatility saw conditions in UK corporate debt markets deteriorate marginally during May and early June.”
The cost of raising debt through bond issuance, compared with Government gilts, increased by 0.3 percentage points. “Issuance was lower than in 2009 but broadly in line with historical averages. Market contacts suggested that some firms had delayed issuance as a result of market conditions,” the bank said.
This is all good news for Britain and the both large and small businesses that reside here. In times of austerity it is important, in my opinion, that we highlight the positives and at the moment I must say I do not have to search very far to find them.
Small business may well prosper under this government. Time will tell.
Broadly Good News For British Economy
Posted: 22/07/2010 Filed under: Investment, Moving to London, Small Business | Tags: moving to the UK, Small Business Leave a comment »Maybe I am just a glass half full kind of guy but I see a lot to be positive about in the latest figures concerning the economy.
The Office for National Statistics have disclosed new information that the Consumer Price Index rate of inflation has dropped from 3.4pc in May to 3.2pc.
Although, to the nation this drop is a positive sign, the drop failed to meet its economists target of 3.1pc.
Inflation has been stubborn to move and the CPI has now been above 3pc for the last seven consecutive months. It now means that unless it falls below 3pc in July Mervyn King, Bank of England Governor, will have to write another letter to Chancellor explaining why targets are not being met.
However, in other areas of the economy, there is showing promise. Sterling jumped as the prospective rate rise came closer. The pound bounced back after an earlier slide, up from 0.96 cents to 1.5170.
The stock market is not showing concern about higher borrowing costs which are set to rise for a sixth consecutive time, by 2pc to 5271.02, due to the growing optimism about the UK’s banking stability.
The Consumer Price Index rate has continued to fall since its 17 month high of 3.7pc back in April. This event caused Vicky Redwood of Capital Economics to state “The further fall in headline inflation in June suggests that there is still little pressing need for an interest rate rise. But with core price pressures remaining stubborn, inflation nerves will remain for a while yet.”
I agree that caution will remain for a while within the British economy but with the correct treatment, we should continue to see inflation drop and the economy pick itself up once more.
UK Immigration Balances Workforce.
Posted: 19/07/2010 Filed under: Non Dom, Small Business, UK Taxation | Tags: business, business concerns, Immigration, Small Business Leave a comment »Theresa May, the Home Secretary, has been defending the coalition governments immigration cap today, claiming it will not be damaging for the British economy.
The restriction will be taking place immediately, reducing the number of immigrants travelling from outside the European Union to 21,100. The temporary restriction has been put in place to ensure large volumes of people don’t try to rush into the UK before the permanent policy is put into place next year.
The cap on immigration was one of the Conservative parties flagship policies during the election campaign, and it is their aim to reduce numbers entering the country from hundreds of thousands to tens of thousands.
I believe this is dangerous for the British economy. So do many others but May has completely rejected this idea, she has argued that the cap has not been harmful to business and the competitiveness of other economies.
“I don’t think that anybody would ever suggest that Australia or the United States or New Zealand, in operating an annual limit, weren’t able to get into the country the skilled people that they need and that their economies were somehow suffering from that annual limit” she said.
In fact my information is that Australia as a minimum has indeed suffered from large skilled labor shortages and continues to do so. I don’t know enough about the Australian economy to state that this is a direct result of their immigration policy but I know many who claim it is.
If I know that then why doesn’t May?
If we want to put the ‘Great’, back in Great Britain, we do need skilled people to come into our country; limiting their numbers will not do anything for our prosperity.
2010 remains a consistent year for small business in the UK.
Posted: 15/07/2010 Filed under: Investment, Moving to London, UK Investment | Tags: business concerns, Small Business, uk investments Leave a comment »Data has been released from the British Banking Association that the total value for around 10,000 new term loans to small businesses in the May was £523 million. This, apparently, is a drop from May 2009 where this figure was around £600 million.
Banks who have been releasing loans in accordance with BBA’s statistics are The Co-operative Bank, Santander UK (including Alliance & Leicester), Barclays, Clydesdale (including Yorkshire Bank), HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group (including HBOS) and Royal Bank of Scotland (including NatWest).
On average, the new loan is approximately £50,000 and usually more than ten years duration, with varied interest rates.
Small business loans hold a large chunk of the banking industry, with total term lending standing at £46 billion and this is supplemented by over £8 billion of over draft borrowing.
All of these facts and figures may show a small loss in the small business economy but as the British Banking Director Dooks said “New term lending to small businesses is stable and continuing at more than £500m a month.”
Dooks also went on to say “Higher repayments from businesses looking to contain their operating costs are countering new lending, so negative net changes in the banks’ lending portfolio are a consequence. Until an improvement in economic trading conditions looks more certain, small businesses’ borrowing will remain subdued.”
I believe the Director has a valid point, there is an encouraging stability in the British small business market; the figures speak for themselves.
Entrepreneurs Want Stimulation For Small Business
Posted: 23/06/2010 Filed under: Moving to London, Small Business, UK Company Set Up | Tags: business concerns, Small Business Leave a comment »I have always said that Britain is a great place for the establishment of a small business. At most times in our history we have fostered a winning entrepreneurial mans set and it has really worked for us as a nation. I am hoping that this idea of Britain as a place to start up a company and enjoy huge success continues. And I am not the only one who has these hopes.
Leading entrepreneurs in Britain have come out this week ahead of the emergency budget to call for the continuance of policies that will allow people to start and grow businesses on our shores. In this way tax receipts will be increased for the good of the nation as a whole.
Keith Curran, a serial entrepreneur who has had great success with setting up companies that make money in Britain had this to say on the topic. “It does not just have to be about massive cuts. What about increasing the top line? I really want to see some change,” He is referring to the fact that the government (and to be fair both parties seemed fairly set on this idea) is determined to cut spending and increase taxation to bring in more funds rather than increasing the stimulation for the public sector.
I am not a doom monger as those of you who are familiar with my blog are aware, so I am going to be an optimist and predict that there will be government policies aimed at growing the public sector.
UK Business Stabilises: Small Business Will Save Unemployed
Posted: 27/05/2010 Filed under: Small Business, Uncategorized | Tags: business, business concerns, Small Business, uk companies Leave a comment »It is a bit of a revelation to me how determined UK journalists seem to be at the moment to paint a negative picture of everything. I was reading an article this week in a publication that shall remain nameless on the state of unemployment and UK business. The headline was something like ‘Economic Recovery May Miss Unemployed’. I was struck by it because it seemed to be managing to put a negative spin on even economic recovery. As I read further I was more astounded.
The article had quotes like this in it “Our survey shows businesses want tomorrow’s workforce to be at the top of the new Government’s policy agenda. As we move further into recovery and businesses plan for growth, the demand for people with high-quality skills and qualifications will intensify.” This from Richard Lambert, DirectorGeneral of the CBI.
Mmm that seems a fairly positive statement, doesn’t it? Or am I missing something?
I really don’t think I am. Other places in the article talked of the UK business sector stabilising and actually if you take away the headline then one could be mistaken for thinking this was fairly positive story on UK business growth. We couldn’t have that now could we?
So I have taken the liberty of re writing the headline as you see it on top of this blog. I think mine has a better feel to it and is no less representation of what was reported in the article.
