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ETOA Emergency Budget Briefing Highlights Concerns for Tour Operators
ETOA held a special Emergency Budget Briefing on the 30th June in conjunction with travel industry accountants and financial advisors Elman Wall. The event, held at One Queen Anne’s Gate in Central London, was organised to look at the ramifications of the UK Emergency Budget for tour operators.
Russell Eisen, Director of Taxation Services at Elman Wall, outlined the impact of changes to company and personal taxes, as well as the effect on capital allowances. Eisen noted in particular the role that TOMS Transport subsidiaries have on Corporation Tax and how capital allowances will tighten in the next two years making investment sooner than later a wise move. He also looked in detail at what the year on year changes to Capital Gains Tax would mean and delivered a clear message regarding Company Profit Extraction: simply put, don’t extract profit. It was also noted that disappointingly the UK Government dedicated just two lines to APD reform with no firm outcome.
This was followed by a presentation from Graham Foster, Associate Director at sister company Cavendish Ware, who looked in detail at financial planning and above all the hot topic of pensions. He showed how tax efficient savings alongside pension plans can work under the new regime using ISAs (Independent Saving Accounts), VCTs (Venture Capital Trusts) and EISs (Enterprise Investment Schemes). Foster looked at putting financial planning into practice and ended on a positive note by underlining the opportunities that the new budgetary regime offered.
For more information and a copy of the presentations, please contact Jonathan Wall at jonw@elmanwall.co.uk
Delayed Rome Coach Plan Comes into Force
Rome’s new coach plan, originally trailed by ETOA in a December Briefing, has finally come into force today. The system sees three main types of permit, an increase in some tariffs albeit under changed conditions, heavier fines, a gradual banning of older Euro 1,2 and 3 coaches, a discount over time for more modern models such as Euro 5 and a large increase in the number of short stay and longer stay spots. Sergio Marchi, the ‘Assessore’ charged with the plan, stated that there had been a large gap in the traffic plan for the last ten years (since the Jubilee). The detailed plan is available in Italian at
http://www.agenziamobilita.roma.it/attachments/695_PULMAN_18-6-2010.pdf
ETOA has been told that a full English translation will follow but meanwhile ANAV, the Italian Association of Road Passengers, have published a translation in English
http://www.anav.it/Documenti/Files/piano%20di%20roma%20-%20versione%20inglese.pdf ETOA’s Head of Tour Operator Relations, Nick Greenfield, said that, ‘while the plan makes a welcome move to increase the number of drop-off and pick up spots, and right some of the wrongs from the Jubilee Year in 2000, the precise details should have been made public earlier. Our recent Group Tourism Charter highlights the need for structural and price changes like this to reflect the business cycle of operators. We do recognise that Signor Marchi has had a struggle at a political level, as well as with the press, who seem determined to characterise coaches as ‘bisons’ of the streets and the root of all Rome’s congestion problems. I would suggest they start by visiting the Smart Move website to learn the realities of modern coach travel and its environmental impact.’ [
http://www.busandcoach.travel ]
ETOA would welcome feedback from members on any aspect of the new plan. Please e-mail
ngreenfield@etoa.org
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