Anyone heard of Aston Mae?

[Vallah]

This name rings a bell and am sure I had seen a post about this but trawling through the search I can't find it. The only reference is Aston Management who are offering an 80+% return.

Link to the post is here --> Linky

Not the same people is it?

Nope. Aston Mae are based in Geneva. AM Limited are based in the IOM.

[pastalista]

Don't think so

Hi

I don't think AML and Aston Mae are the same outfit. Aston Mae is based in Geneva (although I recognise that there is a difference between actually being based somewhere and appearing to be) and AML are based in the Isle of Man.

Their offerings are similar sounding except I can't find anything about a "we pay your tax" guarantee on AML's website.

With any offering you need to think about "aggressive avoidance" according to Hector's rules, where legal or not, if you're caught in the headlights it could get expensive.

I checked out SJD Accountancy again - they used to offer 83% of contract value as take home using a straight up and down limited company but they seem to not be offering it any longer. When I entered my rate into their calculator, it showed me taking home 73%.

Does make you wonder whether it's worth the risk for an extra 10% doesn't it? It's making me wonder anyway.

Pastalista

[Flubster]

Got this from Aston Mae today after they rang again and I asked for more information...

Quote removed - information was provided in confidence to the poster.

So, it's a loan scheme....

[Flubster]

And this...

Quote removed - information was provided in confidence to the poster.

.

I post this here for further comment by 'those in the know' so that if anyone else crosses paths with Aston Mae, all information is found here.

Personally, I'll be sticking my own ltdco with SJD as my accountants.

[frontenddeveloper]

I got a call promising 81% of contract value.

I asked them if the warranty was ever challenged in court.

This was in the email back

Quote removed - information was provided in confidence to the poster..

is it worth the risk for the extra 10% vs the umbrella/Ltd

[cojak]

Yeah, get a print out of the email and present it to HMRC if and when they come knocking.

That's all the defense you'll need.

[mikesecurity]

the crux of the matter

I too have been contacted by Aston Mae and I am considering what to do. Most of your pay will come in the form of a "corporate loan", for which you will pay the going rate of interest (e.g. 4.5%) to the umbrella company. That is how you avoid paying tax or NI on the majority of your earnings. Of course, you will never repay the loan. The crux of the matter is how you will get away without ever repaying the loan without HMRC deciding that it wasn't a loan at all. This is achieved by some way that Aston Mae has of writing off the loan at the end of each year. I don't really know how they do that (they haven't told me exactly how it works. You have to wonder just how dodgy or kosher that really is. If HMRC successfully challenge it, we are screwed.

[mikesecurity]

the crux of the matter #2

of course, Aston Mae offers a warranty against an investigation by HMRC. This covers "senior clients" against all costs, fines and penalties. They do not say what a "senior client" is. But I don't know what happens if there is a change in the law which puts a stop to this whole thing. After all, UK Gov't announced not so long ago that it was going to put the screws on tax avoidance and tax evasion. To me, this seems to be on the borderline between the two.

[LisaContractorUmbrella]

I too have been contacted by Aston Mae and I am considering what to do. Most of your pay will come in the form of a "corporate loan", for which you will pay the going rate of interest (e.g. 4.5%) to the umbrella company. That is how you avoid paying tax or NI on the majority of your earnings. Of course, you will never repay the loan. The crux of the matter is how you will get away without ever repaying the loan without HMRC deciding that it wasn't a loan at all. This is achieved by some way that Aston Mae has of writing off the loan at the end of each year. I don't really know how they do that (they haven't told me exactly how it works. You have to wonder just how dodgy or kosher that really is. If HMRC successfully challenge it, we are screwed.

If the loan is written off it becomes taxable in full so it certainly cannot be 'written off at the end of each year' without tax implications for the individual.

[Steven@Parasol]

[QUOTE=LisaContractorUmbrella;1200385]If the loan is written off it becomes taxable in full so it certainly cannot be 'written off at the end of each year' without tax implications for the individual.

Lisa is spot on and this thread might make an interesting read.

http://forums.contractoruk.com/accou...an-scheme.html