Reply to: Bedouin

[TooGoodToBeTrue]

BN66 seems relevant to Bedouin EBT "model"

Bedouin advertise all over various sites but they seem to deliberately avoid posting on forum's such as this, why?
So that only people with a several hours () to spend trawling a dozen google sites can find the bad press.

Type Bedouin Review into Google and you'll see what I mean...

As other's have said before, it seems to me that the BN66 cases are revlevant to this "miracle" that Bedouin tries to slick sell you :
http://forums.contractoruk.com/accou...rt-appeal.html

So it's the old saying, about death & taxes...

[BlasterBates]

One thing about any scheme. HMRC WILL INVESTIGATE. YOU WILL RECEIVE A BROWN LETTER. EVEN IF YOUR SCHEME IS LEGAL; IT WILL TAKE YEARS AND SEVERAL COURT CASES TO ESTABLISH.

Unless you have a few good friends (top tax lawyers) who will be prepared to fight your case through the courts then don´t touch it.

City traders have millions in their offshore schemes, and access to the best legal representation. These are the only ones that sometimes get away with it.

These schemes are not suitable for someone who struggles to pay a mortgage on a terraced house.

[cojak]

Found this in my email today....

Noticed the "No mention of any measures to be taken or under consideration against EBT’s. Great news for Bedouin customers, but not so good for those continuing to go down the less and less lucrative Umbrella route." quote.

and how about the Ltd route?

[cojak]

Bedouin posted this little missive:

These are clearly interesting and turbulent financial times, where every penny counts and contractors are understandably exploring all possibilities – including ‘too good to be true’ or ‘offshore’ schemes they might not have previously been willing to consider. Bedouin pays the employment taxes required as a UK registered employer for all our UK based employees (and in other countries for those working there), so 85% is the maximum we can return to our employee contractors. The independent Trustees of our EBT do not write-off or sell loans however, there is a legitimate mechanism that stops the forever roll-up. Offshore financial solutions are used by the wealthy and financially astute for years for a very good reason – they are highly tax efficient. Providing one uses a well legislated jurisdiction and reputable company they are no less safe than anywhere else. What Bedouin have done is make tax planning cheaper and more widely available. You are obviously doing your research to find out more – I’m sure one of our own contractors would be happy to comment on the service they receive from us. Bedouin simply acts to give you another way and more choices in what you do and how you work and earn.

TaZman immediately asked:

Bedouin - have you registered the scheme with HMRC?

Bedouin responded with:

Nothing. Rien. Nada. Ništa. ничего. إطلاقا

And so it goes...

[cojak]

I've just had an email from a company called the bediouin group. They advertise not as an umbrella or MSC but maintain through reward schemes etc hey can pay you 85% of your pay. Now I know there are peope out there working hard to discover loopholes in the tax system but I'd be interested to know if it's legit or anyone knows anything about them.

RUN FOR THE HILLS!!!!!!!!

HTH.

[MPwannadecentincome]

Well they think the 2009 budget has got them off the hook...

Found this in my email today....

BUDGET 2009

Chancellor confirms that Umbrella Companies will continue to be kept under scrutiny.

No mention of any measures to be taken or under consideration against EBT’s. Great news for Bedouin customers, but not so good for those continuing to go down the less and less lucrative Umbrella route.

Those with a good memory will recall that at Budget 2008 it was initially announced that HMRC would begin monitoring Umbrella Companies, and since then many previously used expense-claim groups have been prohibited or restricted – leaving some of you with as little as 69% in your pockets – might as well be PAYE!
BUT you might have thought this was the route of lesser risk. Wrong!

At Budget 2009 just announced the Chancellor has stated that Umbrella Companies will continue to be kept under scrutiny. Small wonder, when all their efforts over the past two years have effectively sought to coral contractors like lambs to the slaughter into this working style. Not odd at all when it is considered that this is the route where change can be effected most easily by the simple amendment of UK legislation.

So, the line of least resistance and least risk, and the only remaining compliant, fully tax paid solution out there where you can rest easy with peace of mind is that provided by Bedouin.


Sign-up now at www.bedouingroup.com
or call 0870 803 2 888 to speak to a representative

[pedroPM]

I'm assuming you mean non domiciled in Ireland. This happened a while ago IIRC when the republic changed it taxation laws for artists, so the richer ones "moved" to The Netherlands.

Yes indeed, sorry i'm mixing nations a bit here but same principle...super rich avoiding supporting the country that they live in. The tax wasn't even a large one due to them being artists.

[NickNick]

Another interesting fact from the podcasts is that both Bob Geldof and Bono are registered as non-domiciles to avoid paying tax...cheeky barstewards!!!

I'm assuming you mean non domiciled in Ireland. This happened a while ago IIRC when the republic changed it taxation laws for artists, so the richer ones "moved" to The Netherlands.

[nevergoingtopay]

I've been listening to them recently too (find them on itunes), very interesting stuff and just highlights what a piss-take of a society we live in where the average folk are working their nuts off to support the country while the super rich and corporations syphen money out of the country. What makes it all worse is that the government seem to encourage this behaviour nevermind stopping it!!

Another interesting fact from the podcasts is that both Bob Geldof and Bono are registered as non-domiciles to avoid paying tax...cheeky barstewards!!!

They are both Irish! so can't blame them for that!

[pedroPM]

Agree with post above...

I was listening to a Mark Thomas podcast, and apparently some of the buildings HMRC are in, are rented from a company, which is based in one of these tax havens and part of a tax avoidance scheme.

So why dont HMRC go after them? lol

I've been listening to them recently too (find them on itunes), very interesting stuff and just highlights what a piss-take of a society we live in where the average folk are working their nuts off to support the country while the super rich and corporations syphen money out of the country. What makes it all worse is that the government seem to encourage this behaviour nevermind stopping it!!

Another interesting fact from the podcasts is that both Bob Geldof and Bono are registered as non-domiciles to avoid paying tax...cheeky barstewards!!!

[ASB]

This is true, the landlord of some of the HMRC and RCPO buildings lives in a tax haven. They keep this very quite as the pay millions to rent the buildings and it goes straight to this guy in his tax haven! Double Standards anyone!

It was actually HMRC who did the sale and leaseback!

[Ardesco]

I love the way that it has gone from average 85% to maximum 85% in two posts......

How low do you think it's going to go.....

[nevergoingtopay]

Agree with post above...

I was listening to a Mark Thomas podcast, and apparently some of the buildings HMRC are in, are rented from a company, which is based in one of these tax havens and part of a tax avoidance scheme.

So why dont HMRC go after them? lol

This is true, the landlord of some of the HMRC and RCPO buildings lives in a tax haven. They keep this very quite as the pay millions to rent the buildings and it goes straight to this guy in his tax haven! Double Standards anyone!

[sal626]

Agree with post above...

I was listening to a Mark Thomas podcast, and apparently some of the buildings HMRC are in, are rented from a company, which is based in one of these tax havens and part of a tax avoidance scheme.

So why dont HMRC go after them? lol

[phileds]

Tax avoidance is not dead, far from it.

Lest you forget, plenty of Parliamentarians all the way to ministerial level were using such schemes for decades. It is only relatively recently (1999?) that the ministerial code of conduct was changed and required ministers (if they wanted to be ministers) to 'fess up and liquidate their "offshore funds".

Here's a relatively recent example - and it's not, let's face it, as though he really needed the cash.....just a case of pure greed at work.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk...en-490784.html

It's certainly more difficult to escape HMRCs greasy touch now - partly because of forums like this publicising schemes which, pre-Internet blogosphere, would only have been known by certain very well connected people - MPs, ministers, tax lawyers and their friends. Ah for the good old days, now long gone.

As for HMRC being able to retrospectively change law, that's not quite what they are purporting to have done - they claim it's a clarification, a risible attempt at trying to fool us into thinking the law hasn't actually changed, just that we needed some help to understand it more fully.....21 years after it was written, and 7 years after HMRC became aware of the loophole being used!

To anyone trying to avoid tax, good luck. My dreamy naive days of believing tax was the price we pay for civilised society have long gone up in smoke.

Billionaire hotelier Leona Helmsley once infamously said (as the US justice system banged her up) that "We don't pay taxes - only the little people pay taxes". When I first read this I spat venom.

Now I'm older and wiser, I realise, unfortunately, she was just telling the truth.

If Western governments wanted to get rid of tax havens and offshoring I'm sure they could do it in a trice, but it somehow suits them (and their corporate friends) not to.

The US is currently embroiled in trying to extract the names of some 50,000 suspected tax dodgers from the Swiss, who are refusing to hand the names over, citing local confidentiality and secrecy laws.

The US has a list of blacklisted banks (any bank they suspect of laundering drug or terrorist money will appear on it, for example) - they could if they wanted cite UBS for aiding money laundering or US tax evasion, for example - but since Switzerland (I read) is the fourth largest foreign investor in the US, the likelihood of the US pissing off the Swiss in such a manner is a tad below negligible.

But why Jersey, IoM, Antigua etc are allowed to set up brass plate companies which do nothing but flush money through their accounts to avoid tax (something masses of British companies do), I cannot explain. Wasn't Lloyds in the press a few days back for using such offshoring to avoid paying its full taxes here, whilst being supported by the British taxpayer??!

It would be funny were it not true.