Author: Martin Evans

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Are you aware of the new UK Government’s sneaky way to attack your pension pot?

Back in 2006, there was a major shake up of the UK pension market. A-Day as it was called, was set to make the new world of pensions in the UK ‘simple’. A-Day was the brainchild of the current Labour government and was announced in 2004, and its primary aim was to make things ‘simple’ going forward. Now if you know anything about UK pensions, nothing is ‘simple’.

There were many changes that A-Day brought to the market, but the biggest was undoubtedly the introduction of a lifetime limit on the size of your pension pot. When introduced, this Lifetime Allowance (LTA) was set at £1.5m and was subsequently increased to £1.8m, in an attempt to get more of us saving towards their retirement.

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Gulf States Urged To Raise Income And Property Taxes

Expats face higher tax bills as Gulf States need to shore up government revenues as oil prices keep falling.
Christine Lagarde, head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) told a forum of oil exporting country politicians and business leaders that their governments need to cut spending and diversify how they raise revenue as oil prices are predicted to stay low for years to come.
Speaking Abu Dhabi, she cautioned against waiting too long to impose taxes on income and property while finally agreeing to charge VAT on goods and services.

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Sevens Tips For Negotiating A Salary

Negotiating to make sure you are paid what you are worth is an important skill for expats working overseas.

You need to find a deal that suits both sides or your time with your new employer will be short-lived because one or both of you will have to part company because you feel underappreciated or the boss considers he is overpaying you.

Experienced job seekers have some tips for negotiating the best salary – and listed here are some of their secrets:
Always tell the truth about what you earn – If you don’t there’s always a chance someone knows someone who does or your new employer can glean the details when taking up a reference. Getting caught telling lies is not a good way to start any working relationship.

Know your worth – Make some inquiries and benchmark your salary so you know what to expect for your skills and experience. Don’t go into an interview blind about your pay expectations.

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Oil Prices Plunge To 11 Year Low

Stock markets have sunk with the oil price as the cost of a barrel of crude plunged to an 11 year low.

The bottom price was $36.35 for Brent crude and $34.30 for Wes Texas Intermediate.

In June 2014, the price was around $115 a barrel.

Such low oil prices have not been seen since 2004.

Few are expecting the price to increase as drivers in some parts of the UK have seen fuel prices on garage forecourts fall to less than £1 a litre.

The main problem is in-fighting between OPEC countries which are pumping oil out of the ground despite a glut on the market.

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The Day The World Changed For Tax

New Year’s Day2016 is an important date in the calendar for taxpayers with offshore bank accounts and investments.

The date is when the international tax landscape changes forever as a new era of compliance and co-operation between almost 100 countries starts.

Global FATCA or the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) starts around the world and basically extends the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) worldwide.

FATCA has been in place for a decade but has only recently started to automatically swap tax and financial data between the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and foreign tax authorities.

The idea is non-US financial institutions managing accounts or investments that are controlled by US taxpayers report the details to the IRS.

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Market Volatility

Over the last few trading sessions we have continued to see volatility spike, culminating in major declines for most equity indices on Wednesday. There has been a clear shift in investor sentiment, with market participants focusing on bad news and giving limited attention to the good. For example, some of the positive earnings releases emanating from the US over the last week would have normally garnered greater attention.
The fall in the oil price from around $30 per barrel three days ago to around $27 (the result of an Energy Administration Agency warning of persistent oversupply) was the key driver of the decline in sentiment. However, there have also been other negative headlines such as reports from the World Economic Forum in Davos focusing on the risk of market liquidity drying up, a further downgrade of global growth projections from the IMF and poor corporate earnings reports from the likes of Royal Dutch Shell.

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Iran’s Shopping List Runs Into Billions

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani is dragging a bulging wallet around Europe with a smile like the cat who’s got the cream after economic sanctions were lifted against his country.

In a shopping binge, Rouhani has bought more than 100 Airbus passenger jets in France, while signing deals worth billions more for vans and buses with Fiat, the Italian car maker.

Iran is outspending rival Middle East oil power Saudi Arabia after the West unlocked assets worth billions of dollars frozen in bank accounts under the sanctions imposed on his country for allegedly trying to develop nuclear weapons.

After years of tense negotiations, inspections and accusations, Iran finally stepped back into the light of world trade with Rouhani’s trip.

Besides filling the Fiat and Airbus order books, he has also signed a $2 billion deal for steel furnaces and rolling mills and $5 billion on oil pipeline equipment.