All over the world millions of people fall into debt. Although there are many ways of escaping bankruptcy, at times it seems to be the only solution. It could be desperation or ignorance on the part of the consumer; however the good news is that one does not always have to take such a final and drastic step. Here are some effective ways to avoid bankruptcy and get back your peace of mind.
Archive for the ‘Business Tips’ category
Practical Ways to Avoid Bankruptcy
April 14th, 20105 Tips to Start Investing in Stock Market
January 21st, 2010
Many new investors have read up on the theories of stock market investing but are still unsure as to the actual steps involved in the investing process. How to start investing in the stock market is a question faced by many beginner investors. This article offers you some basic steps that you can start with today.
Why are you investing? Ask yourself your reason for stock investment – is it to get a fixed income every few months? Is it to save up for your retirement? Is it to generate profit over the long term? Is it part of your get rich quick scheme? The latter is called speculating and investors usually do this on a short-term basis; however speculating in the market is not advised for beginner investors. More commonly, investors invest for income (in the form of dividends) or growth (in the form of rising stock prices whose stock can be later sold for a handsome profit).
Figure out how much risk is associated with share market investing and what your risk threshold is. Yes everyone’s is different; yours will depend on many factors including your financial situation, your nature, your psychological needs, etc. There are many different kinds of risks that you must consider before investing in the stock market – everything from financial risk to interest rate risk to personal risk. Once you have understood each type of risk, you must evaluate how risk-averse you are and then set about minimizing your risk and maximizing your profits in the stock market. Some strategies for minimizing risk are market research, diversification and sound financial management and planning. Once you have covered this, then you can begin to understand how to start investing in the stock market.
Tax Tips For Foreign Property Owners
January 21st, 2010
1. Don’t Forget You Still Have UK Tax To Pay!
Arguably, this is more of a warning than a tip, but it is vital to remember that any UK resident individual buying property abroad is still exposed to UK tax on that property. This may include UK Income Tax on rental income, UK Capital Gains Tax on property sales and UK Inheritance Tax on any foreign properties you leave to your children.
The UK tax burden is often greater than any foreign tax liabilities, so it makes sense to undertake UK tax planning for your foreign property. Many of the same planning techniques that work well on UK property can be used equally on foreign property, although the overseas angle adds an extra dimension and brings both additional opportunities and additional pitfalls to be wary of.
2. Main Residence Relief for Foreign Holiday Homes
There is nothing in the UK tax legislation to say that a foreign holiday home cannot be a UK resident individual’s main residence for Capital Gains Tax purposes.
A holiday home can be treated as your main residence by making an election to that effect, generally within two years of buying the property.
The foreign property must be your own holiday home for at least part of the time but, by making the election, you will be able to exempt some or all of the capital gain on your foreign home from UK Capital Gains Tax.
Beware, however, that you’re only allowed one main residence and, if you’re married or in a civil partnership, you’re only allowed one between you, so electing to treat your holiday home as your main residence could backfire if you sell your main house back in the UK.
You can get the best of both worlds though, if you only elect to treat your foreign property as your main residence for a short period, say a week. How does this help? Well, since every main residence is also exempt for the last three years of ownership, that week buys you three years. In other words, you lose one week’s worth of exemption on your main house but gain three years (and a week) of exemption on your foreign holiday home.
Incoming search terms:
- do you have to report foreign property
- currency gain on mortgage of foreign rental property
- do you have to use exchange rates to report foreign gains on gold bullion
- how to report foreign property
- report on foreign properties
- tax tricks on foreign rental property