Oury Clark Blog

DNA Electronics – ION Torrent Systems – Life Technologies

James Oury — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 10:18:28 +0000

I am very proud that the firm has been involved in DNA Electronics, a spin out company from Imperial College that recently announced a non-exclusive licensing arrangement with ION Torrent Systems which this week has agreed terms to be acquired by a NASDAQ listed company, Life Technologies. It is a privileged position to be in, in being associated with excellence in UK Research and Development being commercialised in a highly competitive global market.

Go Goodman Go

James Oury — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 09:21:48 +0000

I have just visited the senior management team of our client’s Headquarters in Minneapolis, the Goodman Group (http://www.thegoodmangroup.com/), who have developed a highly professional assisted living business. They have mature UK market entry plans. The communities are beautifully built, staffed by highly trained professionals and bring a much needed dimension to senior living healthcare.

I wanted to book in there and then but was told I needed to be 85, Dan Peterka (CEO) said he would take an early reservation!

I am excited at the prospect of elderly care being delivered in the UK in a highly sophisticated, dignified and humane fashion – go Goodman go I say.

It’s good to talk

Ian Friend — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 13:03:36 +0000

An employer provided mobile phone (contract in employer’s name) is tax free, including all calls and line rental. One per employee only!

Money paid towards the employee’s own mobile phone is taxable.

On your bike?

Ian Friend — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 12:56:20 +0000

You can loan, without a taxable benefit arising, a bicycle and/or cyclist’s safety equipment so long such bicycles and equipment are available generally to employees and the main use of the bicycle is for journeys between home and work or between workplaces.

You can even celebrate and offer a meal or refreshments on a designated “cycle to work” day.

Suggestions please

Ian Friend — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 12:49:49 +0000

Would you dare ask your staff for suggestions?

You can reward, without a taxable benefit arising, those making sensible suggestions. HMRC provide tax exemption for two types of award:

Encouragement awards – made for a suggestion which has some special merit or reflects priaseworthy effort on the part of the person making the suggestion. The permitted tax free maximum for an encouragement award is £25. Financial Benefit Awards – can only be made following a decision to implement the suggestion, awards must be based upon improvement in efficiency or effectiveness to be achieved and, subject to some financial restrictions, the tax free award cannot exceed £5000.

By the way the sun doesn’t generally shine as much as any of us would like!

Been here long?

Ian Friend — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 20:11:05 +0000

Long service awards to directors and employees as testamonials to mark long service awards where service is not less than 20 years (and no similar award has been made within the previous 10 years!) are exempt so long as they are:

Tangible articles of reasonable cost, or shares in an employing company (or group company)

Reasonable, in this context, means that it does not exceed £50 for each year of service.

“But Liz, I hear that Tandems are all the rage…”

Having your crispy pancakes and eating them

Ian Friend — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 19:51:36 +0000

then best to do so abroad!

The cost of necessary medical treatment abroad paid by you as employer, or reimbursed to your staff, is exempt so long as the employee did fall ill or suffer injury whilst away from the United Kingdom in the performance of their duties.

Chop stick injury?

Getting Indigestion?

Ian Friend — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 19:45:49 +0000

Why not send your employees for a Health Screening Assessment or a medical check-up?

There is no benefit, …..cough Mr Orborne…so long as you only provide a maximum of one health screening assessment and one medical check-up in any year.

This exemption does not cover medical treatment.

So you do want Crispy Duck?

Ian Friend — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 19:34:06 +0000

Ok so £2 a week won’t pay the bills.

How about £5 per night?

Yes you can pay your staff £5 a night for each night they have to stay away during business journeys anywhere in the UK (no not at their neighbours’!). You can pay £10 for each night away during overseas business journeys.

But don’t be saucey (plum or otherwise) as if you exceed these limits the whole amount becomes taxable!

When Pennies become Pounds!

Ian Friend — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 19:18:11 +0000

2 is plural isn’t it?

So we are really beginning to take advantage of those concessions now.

So if you require your staff to work from home on a regular basis (not just taking work home in the evenings, sorry!) you can pay them as much as £2 per week tax free without needing your staff to provide evidence of the additional cost. Now you are winning them over!

Those following the earlier posts will now be equating this to as many as 5 family Chinese takeaways per annum now – ok perhaps 4 if you want crispy duck!

In truth you can pay more if there is supporting evidence but you cannot include costs which are already sunk costs – you will be paying your mortgage, domestic rates [...]

I did say Pennies!

Ian Friend — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 18:55:54 +0000

Just in case you have missed this “opportunity” over the past 40 years or more, Meal vouchers can also be tax free. Must be non-transfereable, only used for meals (makes sense) and again available to all. So reward those staff – oh did I mention that the tax free limit is 15 pence per working day! Perhaps “meal” voucher is a bit strong nowadays but I do recall being given my father’s allocation as a child and being able to buy a bag of chips from the local chippy! We sometime saved them up for a family Chinese Take away evening – not sure how many days that would now take?

Perhaps you can submit ideas for a nourishing meal within the 15 pence limit – [...]

Look after the pennies!

Ian Friend — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 18:42:52 +0000

Or perhaps you were of the Many a Mickle makes a Muckle faith?

Whichever you were weaned on, the message is the same – there are apparent benefits out there that are tax free! Yes, it is true but don’t rub youur hands together too glibly as they will not make you instant millionaires or employer of the year but some times it is still the thought that counts..

One or two perhaps more practical to start with:

Free or Subsidised Meals – so long as the meals are reasonable, avaialble to all staff and made available on the employer’s business premises, or in any canteen where meals are provided for staff generally, then there should be no taxable benefit. One of my own clients, based on an [...]

Liquidator’s entitlement to accountant’s files

Elliot Green — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 22:48:38 +0000

It never ceases to amaze me the number of professional qualified accountants who believe that the files that they create are their own property.

A company accountant is usually employed under a contract for services to enable the directors to comply with their statutory duties, to maintain proper books and records (Section 386 of the Companies Act 2006 – formerly Section 221 of the Companies Act 1985), prepare financial statements, for tax advice and compliance purposes such as for Part III if Schedule 18 of the Finance Act 1998. It may also be the case that a company accountant is also contracted as agent to be the company’s registered office and therefore receive all Companies House documentation and service of any legal documents upon the company.

The [...]

Mond and another v MBNA Europe Bank Ltd [2010] EWHC 1710 (Ch)

Elliot Green — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 07:57:41 +0000

This case highlights that the IVA Protocol which applies to the vast majority of consumer orientated IVAs, is a voluntary code of best practice without legal enforceability over creditors.

The IVA Protocol has been widely taken up and endorsed by many organisations, including the British Bankers Association, whose members are usually representative of the largest block of creditors in many consumer IVAs.

In this case the Court declined to exercise its discretion to grant declaratory relief in the terms sought; that MBNA had to give a good reason as to the basis of its rejection of the debtor’s proposed IVA. The Court submitted that creditors who are inclined to be bound by the IVA Protocol might need more guidance from the Protocol itself on what was a [...]

POSSESSION IS NINE TENTHS OF THE LAW, ISN’T IT?

Elliot Green — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 11:30:01 +0000

Well possession could indeed be said often to be 9/10s of the law because recovery from the possessor is no easy business, notwithstanding any legal remedies that are available, including those in statute such as the Torts (Interference with Goods) Act 1977 and common law.

For example only, professionally I frequently seek files as Liquidator from both solicitors and accountants who have historically been retained by the insolvent company, to assist my investigations into a company’s demise. Such fellow professionals have usually entered into contracts for services with the company and the files in relation to the same (in which they will often have acted as an agent) will usually contain documents to which a liquidator is legally entitled. However, it is not uncommon to meet [...]

Oury Clark – admission to Panel of Advisers

James Oury — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 14:45:52 +0000

I am pleased that as part of the firm’s increasing involvement in overseas and domestic technology and innovation that we are now part of a panel of advisers endorsed by Imperial College offering assistance to companies embarking upon the commercialisation process. This builds upon a number of companies we have assisted including DNA Electronics Ltd (www.dnae.co.uk).

BritWeek UKTI Business Innovation Awards

James Oury — Wed, 05 May 2010 10:11:11 +0000

I am excited to be attending and for Oury Clark to be one of the sponsors of the first-ever BritWeek UKTI Business Innovation Awards this evening (4th May 2010). The event will bring together and celebrate the diverse UK-California business community.

Awards recognizing outstanding innovations in Design, Technology and Service Provision will be presented during the special dinner in Los Angeles.

British television icon and American Idol judge Simon Cowell will be honoured at the event. A special recognition award for Simon’s contributions to television and entertainment in the UK and US will be presented by BritWeek President, Nigel Lythgoe.

It looks to be a very enjoyable evening in the good company of some of our valued US clients.

Welcome to the Oury Clark Blog

Website Administrator — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 12:27:03 +0000

Welcome to the Oury Clark Blog.

As well as feeding directly to www.ouryclark.com you can browse all the available blogs at www.ouryclarkblog.com.

The are RSS feeds available for the blog as a whole, as well as individual feeds for each Oury Clark business. Comment feeds are also available for each story published along with a specific feed for each partner.

Commenting on stories is enthusiastically encouraged, but please note that your first few comments will be moderated to make sure their content is appropriate, and therefore may take a few hours to appear on the site; but after a few successful comments you will become a trusted contributor and your wise words will be published instantly. Please note that this system of trust may change without notice if [...]

The new insolvency rules – modernisation or just more bureacracy?

Elliot Green — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 14:23:58 +0000

The new insolvency rules seem to make a few changes to the Insolvency Rules 1986 but I wonder if they really provide value or even will afford creditors the alleged c.£48million in costs savings. I rather think not.

For those practitioners for example who specialise in court work (compulsory liquidations and bankruptcies), costs will rise with having to do annual progress reports which previously were not a requirement.

For example further, Rule 12A.12 is a rule which essentially is unlikely I think to be taken up by many smaller firms in its current construction. This is a pity as a practical construction of such a rule would be hugely beneficial to creditors and save costs.

For those of us who predominantly do court work and wanted to utilise [...]

Are you a company director?

Elliot Green — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 14:23:26 +0000

It is a widespread belief, that if you are not listed and registered as a Director at Companies House, that you are not a Director of a UK company.

This is simply wrong. In UK law there are essentially three types of director:

1. Registered Director

2. Shadow Director

3. De facto Director

In the Companies Acts “shadow director”, in relation to a company, means a person in accordance with whose directions or instructions the directors of the company are accustomed to act.

A de facto director is someone who holds themselves out as a director without being registered and who undertakes duties that should be undertaken by a person who is a director.

With any type of director, the question often is [...]