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David H. Urmann asked:


Choosing which Catalina Island hotel to stay at can be difficult and time consuming. Through a Catalina Island hotel guide you’re able to read reviews about different hotels before you finalize on the most suitable hotel for you and your family.

Catalina Island Hotel Guide

Before finalizing on a hotel for your next Catalina Island vacation, don’t just take the word of the travel agent. It is best to read reviews about these hotels, check the amenities to see which is near which and after doing so, decide on the best Catalina Island hotel that suits your needs. Here are a few tips to help you through:

Outline your priorities
Start taking notes about different accommodation needs. Special accommodation needs for physically challenged guests and animal pet policies should be considered. As soon as you complete the list you may start prioritizing.

Cost of the accommodation

Most Catalina Island hotel accommodations have their own website where you can check updated hotel rates. You may opt to search hotels online based on your budget.

During off-peak season, tons of accommodation discounts are being provided. It is also cheaper to book your Catalina Island hotel on the main website.

Check the safety reviews

It is important to make a good background check on the hotel’s neighborhood. Catalina Island has very low crime rate so finding a hotel with safe neighborhood should not be a problem.

Know the services and facilities

Numerous Catalina Island hotels offer an online list of their amenities and services. It is also wise to check hotel reviews if you are in doubt.

Top Catalina Island Hotels

Zane Grey Pueblo - If you are looking for a hotel that offers great views then you should book your vacation in this hotel. It is located at 199 Chime South Tower Road Avalon, California. Zane Grey Pueblo Catalina Island hotel provides ocean- and mountain-view rooms.

Aurora Hotel - This hotel in Catalina Island offers the best value for your money. It may not be the cheapest hotel in Catalina Island but it can surely give you the quality service you paid for.

A few rooms offered in this hotel provide great views. Among its 18 rooms, some are guaranteed with balconies. Aside from the basic amenities each room is provided with free Wi-Fi access. One disadvantage of this hotel is that it does not have elevator, which would be very inconvenient for physically challenged guests.

Aurora Hotel is located at 137 Marilla Avenue Avalon California.

Pavilion Lodge - This is a family friendly Catalina Island hotel. It offers a combination of mid-century style and modern luxury furniture. Children 12 years and below are offered free accommodation provided they stay inside their parents’ room. Wheelchair accessible rooms are available in this Catalina Island hotel.

Avalon Hotel -This hotel in Catalina is uniquely designed with masterpiece artworks and hand crafted hardwoods. The hotel even won the Travelers’ Choice Award last 2008.

Avalon Hotel doesn’t have elevators for wheelchair bound guests. Aside from that, the hotel doesn’t have Wi-Fi Internet access. This means, doing work while you stay in this hotel is also impossible. Despite the lack of technology, this hotel is still highly recommended by many tourists - especially those who love the great outdoors and scuba diving.

Inn on Mt. Ada - This Inn provides very romantic views of Catalina Island. It is a big white house situated on top of a hill. It provides shuttle ride to pick you up and bring you back at the ferry terminal.

All 6 rooms of this Inn offer breathtaking views of the island. Each room is provided with a golf cart that can be used to move around the town and get back up the hill. The address of the hotel is 398 Wrigley Terrace Road Avalon, Catalina Island.

Darlene G. Snyder asked:


It’s final, after much prayer, you’ve decided to take youth from your church on a mission trip.  “Now,” you may ask, “what do I do next?”

The first item of business is prayer.  When deciding where to take your team, you must first realize there are hundreds if not thousands of opportunities for mission work. Pray, asking God to lead you to the place where your team can serve the best. 

The next step would be to set the date for your trip.  Most places are flexible enough to work with you on the trip date if you begin your planning soon enough. It is important to begin planning at least six to eight months prior to the date you choose.  Allowing this much time ensures the chances of scheduling the trip when it best suits your team.  You can plan a trip in less time, but I would advise against trying it.

Putting a team together is somewhat difficult.  Rules and guidelines should be in place well in advance of the trip.  Once you decide where you are going, the missionaries in that area will help you in deciding the dress code, expected rules of conduct etc.  You should have written, clear and defined guidelines for members to adhere.  Communicate your expectations to the team.

Most ministry areas have age or grade completion requirements.  Usually youth must have completed ninth grade to participate.  In addition to age requirement, you will need to consider your youth and the qualifications of the team. 

Age should not be the only qualifier.  The youth need to realize volunteering for missions is a huge commitment. It is important to schedule sign-up opportunities for around a month. During this time advertise and promote mission opportunities.  If at this point you already know where you are going, I do not recommend announcing the trip location. Those choosing to go should do so for the mere reason to serve. 

WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO?

Now that you know the date and your team is in place, you should determine the type of work your team can do.  Is your team more of the service type?  Do they want to paint, clean, build or do some other service work?  Maybe they are a creative ministry team, or more of a sports camp team, or possibly a resort ministry team.  What exactly does your team want to do?

Once you determine the kind of ministries is best for your team, this is the time to visit the North American Mission Board website (namb.net).  You will find many opportunities depending on your team’s abilities.  Clicking on the Find Opportunities button will lead you to the bridge.

The Bridge is an excellent web tool on the North American Mission Board website (namb.net). Southern Baptist Missionaries across the United States who are seeking teams to help in their ministry, provide a list of their needs.  After registering, you will have the chance to review and select a project type. Narrow your choices by region.  At this point, you should decide how far you are willing to travel.

You will likely spend some time on the search for just the right place for your ministry.  All the while, continue in prayer, petitioning the Lord for guidance. This is when the fun really begins.  It is exciting when you receive contact from the missionaries-usually by e-mail, sometimes by telephone.  Deciding where to go becomes vexing at times but soon you will discover where God is leading you.

WHAT IS A PRE-PROJECT VISIT?

When you finally choose the location, the missionary in the area where your team will be traveling will likely set up a pre-project visit.  You will schedule a date to travel in advance of the mission trip to the project area.  The excitement and anxiety builds at this point.

The pre-project visit is a time for you to meet the missionary you will be working with as well as determining what you will be doing.  Tours of the area, work on your teams schedule and receiving many helpful tips on making the upcoming trip a success will likely be on the agenda.

While waiting to attend the pre-project visit, you and your team should begin to meet on a regular basis.  Bonding is a very important element of building your team.  Because you do not know exactly what you will be doing on the trip, now is the time to be working on spiritual growth through Bible studies.  This is also an excellent opportunity to begin working on witnessing skills.  There are many studies available to aid in teaching these skills.

Taking a video camera on your pre-project visit is very important.  You will not remember all of the information you will receive while there.  The video will be a great tool when returning home to plan for the trip. Showing the video to the team will increase the excitement as well as serve as a visual planning guide.

After the pre-project visit, intense preparation should begin.  If your team is to teach a Bible school or day camp, the planning for that begins at this point. Encourage team members to volunteer to teach VBS in your church if scheduled prior to your departure. I would rate this very high on the list of requirements especially if your team plans to teach while on the trip.  Teaching VBS will serve as a practice for your team and will help them be better prepared.

 If you are planning a work trip, your focus will be on gathering materials needed.  Whatever the plan, preparation is vital to the success of the trip.

Complete travel arrangements well in advance of the trip.  Who is driving?  Do you need to rent a van or a U-Haul? How many cars do you need once you are there?

Speaking of U-Haul, loading supplies and equipment the night before your scheduled departure will decrease the harried feeling sure to come in the morning. Have team members load all of their luggage, linens, pillows, cots or whatever they will need the night before also.  They can each bring one overnight bag the next morning for last minute items, makeup and such. The overnight bag will be especially important if your team will be staying in a motel prior to arriving on the mission field.  This will help keep you from digging through supplies to find luggage.

It is very important to involve the church in this trip.  Have members donate needed supplies or money to purchase the supplies.  Ask for prayer partners for your team members.  Church members can be praying for specific team members while they are away.  The prayer partners can be encouraged to give goodie bags to team members to take with them on the trip.  Daily notes of encouragement added to the goodie-bag are always a pleasant surprise for the individuals.

Encourage your pastor to have a commissioning service the Sunday prior to your leaving for the trip. When you return, hold a celebration service for your team.  They can report to the church the happenings of the trip. Show slides or video. 

Enjoy the trip. Be flexible and ready to make changes without notice.  One year when our team traveled from Kentucky to Georgia, about half way into our trip, I received a phone call from our missionary.  There had been some mix-up about where we would be staying.  Another team mistakenly scheduled to stay in the same church as our group refused to yield to changing to another location.  They adamantly voiced that the missionary was at fault for the conflict.

I could feel our missionary’s stress surging through the phone line and hear it in her voice.  After consulting with co-leaders, we decided to do what was necessary to make this situation work for everyone.  In other words, we chose to be flexible.

The proposed change included a hefty increase in the cost of our stay. Our missionary was worried about our reaction and apologized profusely.  I assured her we would make it work somehow.  As it turned out, we had a wonderful place to stay, the kitchen stocked with cooking utensils, could not have been better.  The gymnasium was air-conditioned and our youth loved the place. We felt truly blessed and we used the opportunity to teach our group through actions that trusting God is imperative.

Our team enjoyed staying there that week.  The following year when we returned to Georgia, we asked to stay in that particular church. 

Don’t allow setbacks and required changes to have a negative impact on your team.  Use every occasion to teach the team to trust Christ and wait upon Him to bring good out of the bad.  Remind your team they are there to do a job, sometimes they will have to make necessary adjustments.

Soon after returning home from your trip, you should begin praying and thinking about next year’s trip. In a few short months, it will be time to begin planning once again.

Going out on mission can be a rewarding experience for everyone involved.  For most of us, it is a life changing experience.  Our church (a medium sized country church) has taken a team of fifteen to twenty on average every year for the past eleven years. Sometimes our teams have been mostly youth other times mostly adults.  We have found God can use us no matter what age we are.

I am pleased at the profound effect it has had on our church and our members.  I would encourage every church to be actively involved in missions.  God will bless your efforts.

                                         

Gareth Flanagan asked:


tate pensions to SIPPs, there are pensions to suit every need - but what are they and which one is right for me?

With so many different and varied choices (and plenty of jargon to go with them), it’s a natural question to ask.

If you are considering contributing to a pension scheme, it’s important to understand the choices available to you, including; company pensions, the basic state pension, stakeholder pensions, personal pensions and SIPPs - self-invested personal pensions.

What are company pensions?

Any company that has over five employees must offer a company pension scheme - however the scheme on offer is determined by the company and might not suit your individual needs. For example, some employers will choose to contribute to the pension fund while others may not.

It’s worth checking out whether your company pension scheme is the best solution for your needs.

How does the basic state pension work?

Not everyone automatically qualifies for the full state pension - whether you do or not depends on how long you have been making National Insurance contributions and whether you have enough ‘qualifying years’. At present that stands at 39 years for women and 44 years for men respectively.

Either way, the current state pension is a little over £90 a week for a single person and around £145 for a couple - and there’s no guarantee that the rules will be the same when you reach retirement age. For most of us then, we will need to make additional provisions for our retirement through another pension scheme.

What are Stakeholder Pensions?

Stakeholder pension schemes were introduced by the government as an alternative for those who cannot access a company pension scheme. They also act as a low-cost alternative to personal pension schemes - offering lower minimum contributions than many personal pensions, the flexibility to change provider and restricted charges.

The trade off is that stakeholder pension schemes tend to offer fewer choices in terms of investment.

As with all pension schemes, there is a tax incentive to making regular contributions. At present, pension contributions attract tax relief at a rate of 20%. So as a basic rate tax payer, for every £80 you contribute to your pension, you end up with £100 in the fund.

What are personal pensions?

Personal pensions can be used as an alternative - or an addition to - a company pension scheme. They are more flexible than stakeholder pensions in terms of the kinds of investments available and attract the same tax incentives as stakeholder pensions and SIPPs..

What are SIPPs?

SIPPs are self-invested personal pensions. As the term ’self-invested’ implies, SIPPs allow you to invest in a wider range of potential investments (including things like commercial property, unit trusts and even art) whereas a personal pension will normally restrict you to a number of funds provided by your pension provider.

SIPPs allow you to take more control over how your pension fund is invested but will usually require some investment knowledge - so it’s certainly worth taking expert advice to see if SIPPs are right for you.

The right type of pension for you will be based on your own requirements, the amount you can invest and the amount of control you want to have over your investments within the pension fund.

Speak to your independent financial adviser about your options and they can offer the best pension advice and access to the best pension products available in the whole of the market.

Pinki Gupta asked:


Travel And Hotel Guide- Cheapest Flight Rates Offer Blog- Summer Holidays

Lower currency exchange rates are responsible seeing changes in summer travel plans for multitudinous British holidaymakers.Visit Here Now http://chittagong-guide.blogspot.com

The value of the euro is increasing, stage the value of Britain’s tremble is on the decline. This event is compelling the way people travel. A movement that used to be affordable has holidaymakers rethinking their plans because of the rising costs.The British pound is following repercussion the footsteps of the U.S. dollar. Compared to the euro, it is at an all-time low. While the dollar has dominated the market for nearly a century, the euro is coming to take its fix prerogative the next seven years. Analysts have predicted a bad year for the British pound, as well.A Troubled Economy

The British economy could be in trouble. The U.K. is facing the same issues as the U.S. thanks to low through financial again real estate trends. The real estate market in the U.K. is down, also it is getting increasingly problematic for middle-class people to buy a home.The declining housing market is finest banks to stop writing mortgages altogether. If this happens across the board, it will put a freeze on the buying and selling of homes in the U.K.What the Falling Pound Means for British Holidaymakers

The emolument of travelling is rising for British holidaymakers as their chief is losing value in the pandemic market. Changes in the tenor of the dollar again the euro admit limited people’s chances of travelling on holiday.Many in the U.K. are addicted to taking many holidays throughout the year. However, the declining concern of their money is putting border on where they incumbency research and how often. People may correspond to forced to change their festival travel plans being certain is getting additional expensive to dig into agency the eurozone.A popular circus destination due to British travelers has been Majorca, Spain.The island of Majorca is a peaceful place for holidaymakers to heaven for a relaxing vacation filled with boisterous monopoly the sun.The British are fond of taking trips to Mallorca - again recognized as Majorca - because legitimate is a relatively inexpensive holiday but changes in the value of the pound also the euro have made it less affordable.However, there restful are a enclose of affordable options through travellers who crave to experience all the adventure again beauty of Mallorca and stay access one of the relevant hotels dominion MallorcaOne option is to provide a good liveliness on the presentation end. Booking airfare also the hotel at the same time can grip money. These packages advance good resources because buying them separately. Last-minute again

all-inclusive deals are other options over saving capital on hotels and holidays in Mallorca.There is further the option of taking a shorter escape to Mallorca. Book a bag of deserved a few days to relax and rejuvenate in the island sun.Holidaymakers also can shift their heart from spending extra money on activities and high-end dinners to simply enjoying the breathtaking charm and sweeping vistas or relaxing on the beach.Fewer Americans Travel to Europe

Just whereas British holidaymakers accept to conclude their summer travel plans, Americans are also changing their travel plans because of the rising euro.The dollar also is doing weak against the euro. The changes clout currency values are manufacture it just as challenging in that Americans as it is for the British to travel to contrasting areas of Europe. Visit Here Now http://chittagong-guide.blogspot.com

Abhilash Chandran asked:


ROUND TRIPPING

 

 

Introduction:

 

Round Tripping refers to the capital belonging to a country, which leaves the country and is then reinvested into the country in the form of FDI.

This route attracts a lot of incentives, which are:

Firstly, enterprises set up through FDI enjoy





tax benefits,





administrative support,





easier access to financial services.





Secondly, citizens’ from countries with weak property laws prefer to remove profits from their country and invest abroad to enjoy property rights rather than reinvesting their profits.

Thirdly, Round Tripping is often used as an avenue for laundering one’s illegitimate money.

 

It is due to these reasons that tax havens like Mauritius, the British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Cyprus etc. are used. These places are of immense advantage as money routed through them is exempt from capital gains tax.

 

 

Methodology:

 





Analysis of case studies.





Internet web pages and legal websites.





Legal journals, reports and opinions.





 

 

Limitations:

 

Round Tripping in itself is a very unregulated and ambiguous phenomenon so the literature available is extremely rare and deficient; therefore this report has drawn inferences from the available material to draw out a viable overview of the entire scenario.

 

Literature Reviewed/ Bibliography:

 





The Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992





Articles published in The Hindu newspaper





Articles published in The Economic Times newspaper





The Law lexicon





 

Theoretical Framework:

 

The tussle between the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Revenue Department

 

Lately it has been observed that the RBI is leaning towards legitimizing certain types of Round Tripping.

The RBI’s view on the subject is that money reinvested in India through a foreign subsidiary of an Indian company should be considered foreign direct investment and that in many parts of the world such as China these aspects have already been legitimized. It feels that doing so would boost the FDI count of the country and render it a more attractive destination for foreign investment.

 

However, the Revenue Department looking from a microeconomic point of view feels that round tripping should not be allowed as Indian companies may use it to evade tax by routing their money through the tax havens.

Although in such cases FDI might increase but the country would not benefit in terms of revenue.

 

The RBI disagreeing with the revenue department’s assessment, cites the Chinese example arguing that where subsidiaries of foreign companies are levied a lower corporate tax, the incidence of round tripping is extremely high i.e. more than 25-30 per cent. However, in India where the corporate tax rates are the same for all companies the incidence of Round Tripping is only 2-3 per cent.

It is pertinent to note that the RBI stand is with regard to legitimizing Round Tripping within the sphere of the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) definition of FDI only and does not intend to accommodate Round Tripping as a means of escaping tax or laundering ill-legitimate gains. In pursuance of this, recently the RBI has set forth directives with regards to Participatory Notes and tighter Know Your Customer (KYC) norms.

 

Instances where permission has been refused

 

1. Bharti Share Transfer case

 

In 2001, the Government i.e. the FIPB on the advice of the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) rejected two proposals from the Bharti Group for transferring shares held by UK-based Bharti Global Ltd in favour of Indian Continent Investment Ltd, Mauritius, due to the negative impact of Round Tripping of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the long run, particularly from the taxation angle.

The DEA had itself acted upon the opinion of the Revenue Department and its views on tax implications of the transfer but interestingly the proposal had enjoyed the support of the Department of Telecommunications, which was the administrative authority in the case.

 

2. Chambal Agritech Plan

 

The Birla Group’s plan to transfer ownership of Chambal Agritech Ltd (CAL) from India to Singapore was refused permission by the DEA, which categorically stated that in the absence of capital account convertibility for Indian entities, the transfer would amount to Round Tripping.

 

The Chinese Myth

 

The China-FDI story has been in the limelight for some time now. The bucketful of billions that the world seems to be pouring down the country definitely makes good copy. No other country attracts as much foreign direct investment (FDI) as China does. Recently approximately USD 60 billion poured in which is about twelve times the amount that has flowed into India. Between the years 1979 (the first year of the China Economic system reform) and 2004, China has absorbed a total of about USD 560 billion in FDI whereas India, the next most popular destination for foreign investment in manufacturing received almost USD 200 billion less in FDI than China.

However, it is important to note that the Chinese FDI statistics are bloated up from Round Tripping whereas India’s figures are understated.

 

Before delving further we have to comprehend the IMF definition of FDI.

The IMF definition of FDI includes as many as twelve different elements, namely:





equity capital





reinvested earnings of foreign companies





inter-company debt transactions





short-term and long-term loans





financial leasing





trade credits





grants





bonds





non-cash acquisition of equity





investment made by foreign venture capital investors





earnings data of indirectly held FDI enterprises and control premium





non-competition fee





 

However, with the singular exception of equity capital reported on the basis of issue or transfer of equity/ preference shares to foreign direct investors, India’s current definition of FDI does not include any of the other above elements, whereas the Chinese definition includes them all. In addition to this China also classifies imported equipment as FDI while India captures these as imports in the trade data.

A study undertaken by the International Finance Corporation (FE, 5/6/02) shows that if comparable definitions of FDI are used by India and China, then FDI would constitute around 1.7% of India’s GDP as compared to 2.0% for China.

Besides this China’s FDI numbers include a substantial amount of Round-Tripping where large amounts of Chinese black money is recycled through Hong Kong and sent back to the mainland as FDI. Round-tripping in fact accounts for one-half of China’s FDI inflows, which has practically reduced the reported levels from USD 40 billion to USD 20 billion in the year 2000. In contrast, India’s figures of USD 2-3 billion do not conform to the standards of the IMF (as per the definition mentioned above) because it excludes reinvested earnings, subordinated debt and overseas commercial borrowings which are included in FDI numbers of other countries.

According to the “Round-Tripping” hypothesis, Chinese firms illegally transfer funds to neighbouring countries (like Taipei, Hong Kong and Macau) which in turn gets reinvested in mainland China as FDI.

However, since round-tripping is essentially clandestine, accurate data is practically impossible to obtain but estimates suggest that round-tripped FDI accounts for one-fourth of China’s total FDI count whereas on the hand it is an established fact India is relatively low on Round Tripping as compared to China.

 

The Mauritius Story

 

Pursuant to the Double Taxation Avoidance Treaty (DTAT) signed between India and Mauritius in 1983, any capital gain made on the sale of shares of Indian companies by investors resident in Mauritius would be taxed only in Mauritius and not in India. For the first ten years the treaty existed only on paper as FIIs were not allowed to invest in Indian stock markets. However all that changed in 1992 when FIIs were allowed into India and with the passing of the Offshore Business Activities Act, 1992 by Mauritius, foreign companies were allowed to register in the island nation for investing abroad.

There are two aspects which render Mauritius into a tax haven:





Firstly, a body corporate registered under the laws of Mauritius is a resident of Mauritius and thus will be subject to taxation as a resident.





Secondly, the Income Tax Act of Mauritius provides that offshore companies are liable to pay zero percent tax.





Therefore by bringing an offshore company within the definition of “resident”, both the benefits of being an offshore company as well as that of residency allowed under DTAA are bestowed upon it. In effect, the whole exercise of avoidance of double taxation turned out to be avoidance of taxation altogether.

 

The advantages of registering a company in Mauritius are:





total exemption from capital gains tax,





quick incorporation,





total business secrecy, and





a completely convertible currency.





Therefore the financial entities setting up companies in Mauritius do so without almost any establishment costs.

 

The economic importance of Mauritius to India can be clearly understood by the Hon’ble Supreme Court’s decision in Union of India v. Azadi Bachao Andolan1, where the entire Mauritius treaty was questioned. The Supreme Court’s decision clearly reflected the underlying policy of the Government to attract FDI into the country at any cost despite the known fact that the treaty is depriving the Indian Exchequer of millions of dollars due to Round Tripping and tax evasion.

The policy in itself has become a catch-22 situation for the Government as any stringent norms with regard to Mauritius might result in future FII investment being targeted away from India and working out for the benefit of South East Asian countries or FIIs looking at alternate options like Cyprus and Singapore to invest into India.

One has to understand that in a growing economy much in need of FDI any scenario decreasing FDI inflow is unfeasible and therefore Round Tripping, a side effect has to be accommodated with.

 

Recently as of September 15, 2007, Mauritius has started getting tough on Round Tripping. The Financial Services Commission (FSC) of Mauritius, the regulator supervising the non-banking financial services sector & global businesses, has carried out reforms in the Financial Services Act and improved the framework of the tax resident certificate.

In pursuance of this it has been decided that all resident corporations proposing to conduct business outside Mauritius would have to compulsorily apply to the FSC for a global business license. Even though there are no restrictions on any business activity, the FSA now specifically mentions that a license will not be granted, or would be revoked, if found that the activity “is unlawful and causes serious prejudice to the good repute of Mauritius as a financial services centre.”

The salient features of the reforms are:





Global Business Companies (GBC) would now have to compulsorily hold board meetings in Mauritius,





appoint at least two resident directors in Mauritius, (big deterrent as it would now make these directors liable for any unscrupulous activities)





maintain there principal bank accounts in Mauritius, and





carry out their auditing in Mauritius.





All GBCs have to get a certificate from the auditors stating that all requisite conditions have been complied with.

Moreover in the same month it was announced that the DTAA with Mauritius would be brought under the same umbrella as that with Singapore, which contains exclusive clauses to check Round Tripping of Investments.

 

OCB Investment Ban

 

In 2003 the RBI imposed a blanket ban on Overseas Corporate Bodies (OCBs) investment in the stock market sector. The move was primarily intended to restrict Round Tripping of money by Indian residents through their NRI counterparts overseas.

Conversely this move also resulted in a substantial amount of genuine FDI being curtailed as the RBI circular in this regard seemed to take away the special status given to genuine NRI businessmen who were looking at doing business in India.

It is to be noted that one of the main avenues for FDI in China is courtesy of Non-Resident Chinese individuals present in regions like Hong Kong, Macau and Taipei.

In contrast, foreign companies can invest in the country even if they have their base in tax havens such as the Cayman Islands. So basically the Automatic route for FDI is open to foreign owned companies whereas there is a blanket prohibition in case of OCBs with NRI ownership.

 

The PN predicament

 

Lately Participatory Notes (PNs) have come under the scanner for their alleged role in Round Tripping. The RBI as well as SEBI has shown their concern about the inflow of money coming into the country through PNs.

PNs are instruments issued by registered FII brokerages in India to foreign funds or investors who are not registered with SEBI, but are interested in trading in Indian securities. FII brokers buy and sell securities on behalf of their clients on their proprietary account and issue such notes in favour of such foreign investors. PNs are mostly used by entities that are not welcome by SEBI as well as by non-resident Indians who do not want to directly invest in Indian securities. SEBI’s worry is that the ultimate owner or beneficiary of PNs is not known as these PNs are transferable. On a similar track, RBI feels that the non-transparent nature of these instruments make them ideal money-laundering vehicles. The unstated fear of the regulators is that money belonging to Indian residents is being “round-tripped” through the PN route.

 

However as of 2007, SEBI has banned PNs in the off-shore Derivative Segment (to be applicable within a period of 18 months). It has cited the reason as a security measure and as a means of curtailing Round Tripping.

 

 

Conclusion/ Recommendations:

 

The laws present today dealing with Round Tripping are adequate, however the emphasis has to be on enforcing them rather than curtailing the route itself. The trick lies in essentially enforcing laws that are there to prevent round-tripping and encouraging foreign money including NRI and OCB money. Merely because a company is owned by an NRI, one should not discriminate against it investing and the solution lies in either abolishing what remains of capital gains tax, or in taxing foreigners’ profits made in Indian markets. Both would inevitably reduce instances of Round Tripping by rendering it less viable.

1 (2004) 10 SCC 1 : (2003)132 TAXMAN 373

 

Arthor Pens asked:


How do branch visitors feel about waiting in your lobby? Does the experience encourage them to return to buy more products and services, or does the lobby “wait” leave the impression that your credit union is less efficient or professional than they deserve?

The lobby is the beginning of many customer service experiences. Unless a member is coming in for teller or ATM services, they will likely have to wait in the lobby for a few minutes before being served. Low rates alone are no guarantee that the member will be satisfied with the branch experience, or be willing to come back for more. To take and keep market-share from larger financial institution, credit unions must consistently provide a good member experience - beginning with the first impression created in the lobby.

While examining one credit union’s deposit account process, we discovered that the visitor’s lobby experience was an untapped area for service improvement opportunities.

Better Lobby - A Solution For SAFE Credit Union

When SAFE, a community credit union in North Highlands, California, engaged us to re-engineer their deposit account process, CEO Henry Wirz and SAFE’s Board made a strategic decision to invest in superior work processes, cost-effective technology, and staff training – setting a goal to make their lobbies among the best managed in the industry.

We began two years ago by surveying the market for existing solutions. While we found several mature, industrial-strength lobby solutions available, they seemed better suited to very high-volume situations like motor vehicle offices rather than credit union lobbies. The low-end, share-ware applications had extremely low acquisition costs, but met few of the credit union’s other needs.

Since none of the available solutions were a good fit, SAFE made the decision to develop a new lobby management application and make it available to all credit unions. As a result, a solution called Better Lobby is now available through a SAFE-sponsored CUSO called Better Branches.

Better Lobby allows any staff member to place a branch visitor into the lobby queue. The queue is visible to all service staff in the branch as well as on-site and remote credit union management. Only the visitor’s name and visit purpose need to be entered to start the process. MSRs select the member they will serve from the queue and, when the service is complete, close off the service event. Basic follow-up reminders are provided if a call back is needed. All branch MSRs are notified of new additions to the queue and of any visit that waits longer than the established standard.

Better Reporting Provides A Real-Time Peek Into Branch Activity

In addition to bringing order and visibility to the branch lobby, Better Lobby provides remarkable reporting on service events that were previously, very hard to measure. Better Lobby’s “Service History” report best illustrates this point. The report shows the number of members served by each SAFE MSR at one of the credit union’s 10 branches during the period of July 8-9. The real-time report was created part way through July 9th, so some visitors are shown as either still “waiting” or “being helped”. Employees are identified by their initials next to each bar in the graph. At the bottom is a list of members who were served at that bring during the reporting period, together with their “wait time,” “help time,” “status,” and “MSR” who served them. More information is available by scrolling through the report. Three additional real-time reports are also available.

Criteria for Choosing a Lobby Management Solution When it comes to choosing a lobby management solution, the size of the branch is a determining factor. Very small branches do not need lobby management technology to provide good service. Their size alone means that visitor volume is typically low. As a result, members receive a level of personalized service that contributes to a perception of high-service quality.

But branches with six or more total staff are likely candidates for lobby management improvements. The ideal Lobby Management Solution should meet the following criteria:

· Require very little effort to learn and use.

· Encourage best work practice and enable great customer service.

· Provide immediate benefits to CU staff at all levels of the organization.

· Provide real time reporting – what is happening in the branch right now!

· Help establish and monitor employee performance standards.

· Actively discourage bad practices (like serving customers out of order due to sales incentives or because the service request is “easier” to handle).

· Be affordable and easy to setup and administer.

· Integrate with the host and other systems – and use current technology.

· Produce an attractive return on investment (ROI) – be paid back in months, not years.

Assessing Your Credit Union’s Lobby Experience To determine whether or not your credit union needs to implement a lobby management solution, begin with an honest, thorough analysis of your current lobby experience.

How long do members really wait in your branch lobbies? You can better manage the customer experience when you know exactly how much time members spend in the lobby. Don’t be satisfied with averages. The average may seem reasonable to you, but members’ needs vary depending on their circumstances. The same member who happily waits 20 minutes on their day off work, may be very dissatisfied with an unexpected wait of 20 minutes during their lunch break.

Of course, the average time may not represent the actual wait times that are experienced by members at different times of the day and in different branch locations. Your average wait time for the month may be 4 minutes, but what is the longest wait time – and what percentage of your members exceed a wait of 10, 15 or 30 minutes? Achieving short wait times requires either active lobby visitor management or over-staffing; and we all know that over-staffing is not a sustainable practice.

If long waits are unavoidable, make sure you learn from the situation and take action to improve. Long waits contribute to a bad perception of your CU’s professionalism, reliability, and competency in the mind of the member. This perception will influence where they buy their next financial product or service.

Complete your lobby analysis by answering the following questions:

· Why do members (or potential members)visit the branch?

· How many new accounts were opened yesterday in your branches?

· What staff representatives opened them?

· How long did it take?

· How much time are my platform staff spending with members?

· What portion of their day do they actually spend providing face-to-face service?

· Which MSR handles the most traffic?

· When do the peaks and valleys occur?

Of course, some of this information is available in existing systems, but it is a rare credit union that can apply time measurements to “customers served” and “products sold”.

You may conclude that a well-engineered lobby management system is just what you need to consistently boost service levels and increase sales.

Better Lobby, and other innovative applications, are sold by Better Branches LLC. Better Branches exists to provide break-through solutions that help credit unions win in the marketplace.

Jenwa asked:


Pension Release, sometimes know as Pensions Unlocking, is the term used when people want to release funds from a pension early. It applies to both Occupational Pension Schemes (whether they are Defined Contribution or Defined Benefit) and Personal Pensions.

There is an age restriction that applies, which means you must be aged 50 or over. In 2010 this minimum age is increasing to 55.

Occupational pensions work in a different way from personal pensions. Nearly all personal pensions these days allow you to release funds from age 50, even if the plans were set up to an older age originally. However; it is also usually the case that if you decide to release a tax free cash sum (currently know as Pension Commencement Lump Sum – PCLS), then you will also be forced to buy an annuity with the balance.

The maximum PCLS is 25% of the fund value; the remaining 75% is handed back to the Insurance Company in exchange for them providing you with an income for the rest of your life. Whilst the cash sum is tax free the income is classed as earned income and therefore liable for income tax at your highest rate. This means that if you are a higher rate tax payer you will pay higher rate tax on the annuity; if you are a basic rate tax payer then you only pay basic rate tax. You must be careful though; when you add the income from the annuity to your other income it could push that part of your earnings into the higher rate tax bracket.

You do not have to buy the annuity with the insurance company the pension was taken out with. You can release the PCLS from them but buy the annuity with another provider. This is known as taking advantage of the Open Market Option (OMO) and all pension providers must offer you this option. It is important you take advantage of this because you can sometimes increase the income you receive substantially.

You also have a choice of what “shape” annuity you buy and this will depend on your circumstances at the time. For example, if you are married you may decide to include a pension that will be paid to your spouse in the event of your death – this is usually 50% of the pension you were receiving but does not necessarily have to be that amount, it can be 100%. You can also choose whether the pension is paid yearly or monthly or if it remains level throughout or increase by say 3% each year. However; you must remember that each extra benefit you add onto the annuity the smaller the payment you will receive in the first place. So someone with a £10,000 fund to buy an annuity, if everything else is identical, the annuity that includes a 50% spouses pension will be a lower annual payment than the annuity that doesn’t include a spouse pension. Or, the person who wants to include a spouse’s pension equal to 100% of their annuity would start with a lower annuity than the person who only includes a 50% spouse’s pension.

It is very important not to necessarily take the options being offered by your existing pension provider because there are always other choices. For example, you could decide to transfer your pension fund away from the existing contract you are in and put it into something that is more flexible. You now have an option whereby you can still release the maximum PCLS (or a smaller amount if that is all you need) but decide to leave the rest of the pension fund invested in the plan to take some other time. This is not something you are likely to be offered with the existing plan. This is because it is a relatively new development in pension legislation and was only introduced in April 2006 – so if your pension was taken out before this date (and quite possibly even after this date) the contract is not likely to have been amended to allow this option so the only way you can take advantage of it is to transfer into a new contract that does have this facility.

You must be careful with this because there are sometimes penalty charges applied when personal pensions are taken earlier than originally intended. Also, there are sometimes guaranteed rates that only apply if a pension is taken at the original selected retirement age, so if you elect to release your pension early you could loose out. Mind you, sometimes when a pension provider makes a penalty charge for accessing the plan early, all they are really doing is clawing back the charges they would have made had you left the pension invested to your original selected retirement age. In other words, they are going to take these charges anyway it’s just a case that if you release your pension early they take it in one go rather than a smaller annual amount being deducted form the funds if you left them.

Whatever the reason you are thinking about releasing your personal pension early for, it is extremely important you don’t make a rash decision. Even if there aren’t any charges or penalties for releasing a pension fund early, you are still likely to get less than you would have got had you waited until your normal selected retirement age. So make sure you spend some time investigating all your options before making a final decision. Think about whether you will have enough income in retirement and if the reason you want to release money from your pension early is a good enough reason, or if there is an alternative way of achieving what you need other than releasing your pension early.

If you are looking at releasing money from an occupational pension earlier than normal there are other issues you need to consider. Defined Contribution (DC) pensions are not usually as good as a Defined Benefit (DB) pension. With a DC scheme you usually pay in a percentage of your salary and your employer also contributes. The pension you eventually get in retirement will largely depend on the size of your pension fund. A DB scheme works differently. With these sorts of schemes you get the promise of a pension paid in retirement, which is dependant on how many years you work for that employer and what your final salary is. The longer you work for that employer the bigger the percentage of your salary you will get as a pension in retirement.

What makes DB schemes so good is that you, the member, has no investment risk at all, it is all down to the employer taking the risk. This is because you are promised a pension at retirement based on a percentage of your final salary. Whatever the cost it is for the employer to pay you that pension, they must find the money. If there is a stock market crash or some other event that means the value of the pension fund reduces, it is not your problem. You will receive the pension you are promised at retirement and your former employer must pay it.

With both DB and DC schemes you should never even consider releasing funds early if you are still an active member of the scheme. This is because you will lose the contribution being paid in by your employer, and quite likely lose other ancillary benefits such as life assurance, known as Death in Service.

Defined Contribution schemes will operate on a similar basis to a personal pension when considering the merits of pension release. Defined Benefit schemes are completely different and you are likely to reduce pension benefits considerably if you release your pension early. In fact, these types of scheme are universally considered to be the best types of pension scheme you can have so you should only consider releasing benefits early as a matter of last resort.

Having said all of this, there is a place for Pension Release or Pensions Unlocking but you should always seek professional advice and look at all your options before making a final decision as to whether it will be suitable for you.

Mon Hotel asked:


article by Mon “Hotel” New hotel classification in France

 

A reform of the hotel classification has been on the news since more than a year: Indeed until now there were no five stars hotels in France, but since the beginning of 2009 the change is on: Hotels that volunteer will be rated from one to five stars for a minimum of three years and a maximum of five years. The evaluation will be done, at the expense of the volunteers. Moreover the ratings will have to be approved by the French government

The point of this new classification system is simply to mix different point of views related to norms and understand and respond better to the clients’ needs by responding better to the comfort criteria that are a “must have” and other criteria that can please the clients.

The move was of course orchestrated by the French government whose goal is to place tourism “at the heart of the economical growth “ by defining a new political plan concerning tourism: “destination France 2020 “the matter was discussed this summer at the “Assises nationale du tourisme” that took place this summer.

The challenge is to support tourism which is the first industry of France: With the globalisation and the client’s changing needs France has to be competitive with other destinations concerning the clients’ behaviours and needs. (Not having a five star rating is a serious handicap considering that the client doesn’t always know the fact that France’s highest class of hotel is “four star luxe”).

Objectively what is going to be different about this new classification?

Firstly it is interesting to know that it is the first time in twenty two years that the classification grid is being changed: And indeed clients needs have changed a lot in twenty two years!.

The new classification is bringing major changes to satisfy the clients: - no star hotels will disappear: The hotels that volunteer will all be classified one star consequently a fifth star has been added to replace the “four star luxe” appellation. This is useful to hotel owners; it will allow French hotels to be competitive compared to hotel in competing countries. - The new classification system promises to be more exigent : let’s do a little comparison with the old classification

Old classification New classification For a first star rating 30 criteria were needed First star rating:61 criteria needed For a two star rating 30 criteria were needed two star rating:68 criteria needed For a three star rating 30 criteria were needed three star rating:75 criteria needed For a four star rating 33 criteria were needed Four star rating:94 criteria needed For a four star luxe rating 33 criteria were needed Five star rating:124 criteria needed

The classification will also comprise of optional points: Every hotels that volunteer to get reclassified will have the chance to have optional points, these optional criteria will give establishments the chance to differentiate themselves from their competitors and to show the client the diversity of French hostelry (These optional criteria will not be imposed, hotel managers will choose them). Let’s take a moment to summarise and understand this new classification: To be rated hotels will have to respond to the following exigencies: - they will have to be compliant to a number of obligatory criteria (See above page) - they will have to be compliant to a number of optional criteria

These criteria will give hotels points, and it will be the points that will be taken into account for the ratings:

To be rated “one star”, 141 obligatory points will be needed with an addition of 24 personal, optional points to the hotel. To be rated “two star”, 161 obligatory points will be needed with an addition of 24 personal, optional points to the hotel. To be rated “three star”, 177 obligatory points will be needed with an addition of 24 personal, optional points to the hotel. To be rated “four star”, 226 obligatory points will be needed with an addition of 24 personal, optional points to the hotel. To be rated “five star”,298 obligatory points will be needed with an addition of 24 personal, optional points to the hotel.

Note: hotels will be given a 5% flexibility margin: if they can not comply to all the points needed to be rated in one category they can make up for these criteria by adding optional points ,but optional points and obligatory points do not have the same value: One obligatory point is equal to three optional points. The heart of this new classification is the client: While the previous classification paid particular attention to surfaces and equipments the new classification pays particular attention to services proposed to the client (in addition to paying attention to the equipment and surfaces.) In addition to that the client will be informed about the new classification and can be solicited to make suggestions about it. Note: hotels will be given a 5% flexibility margin: if they can not comply to all the points needed to be rated in one category they can make up for these criteria by adding optional points ,but optional points and obligatory points do not have the same value: One obligatory point is equal to three optional points. The heart of this new classification is the client: While the previous classification paid particular attention to surfaces and equipments the new classification pays particular attention to services proposed to the client (in addition to paying attention to the equipment and surfaces.) In addition to that the client will be informed about the new classification and can be solicited to make suggestions about it. monhotel.fr

In terms of competitive positioning a change was inevitable: The hotels of the world’s first tourism destination could no longer afford to avoid comparisons with their international competitors! Indeed the creation or more appropriately the adoption of the fifth star will change this fact.

What exactly does the fifth star represent? It will represent the best of French hostelry, the fifth star will be the distinction of excellence and it will of course offer a better readability to international clients. What exactly does the fifth star represent? It will represent the best of French hostelry, the fifth star will be the distinction of excellence and it will of course offer a better readability to international clients.

monhotel.fr

A new classification procedure: If the new classification is supposed to make French hotels compliant to international standards the attributions of stars would also be made according to the techniques used by our international competitors. The evaluation will be done by specialised audit firms which will visit hotels regularly and will be more or less exigent (depending on the rating of the hotel), moreover surprise visit will be made to hotels rated four stars and above

Every five years the classification will be subjected to changes (according to the progress or regression of the establishments).

The “Agence de developpement touristique” or Tourism development agency in English will have to support the procedure and animate it. Transition phase:

Given the time that hotels will need to adopt the classification the new and the old classification will co exist during three years strating from the publication of the “Loi Tourisme” or tourism law (which I will present later in this article). After three years the old classification will cease to exist.

A point on investments: As I said earlier the point of this classification is mostly to modernize French Hotels and it will ssdetermine new economical parameters on which establishments will build their new economical system, and to build a new economical system one needs funds. Two organisms will help hotels to find funds:

-OSEO

-caisse des depots

The Loi Tourisme

This law will modernize the regulations for professionals working in the travel business to allow them to be more competitive in the international sector. This law’s aim is to make easy the sales of tickets for travel agencies: -this law will suppress the four steps that one had to pass to have authorisation to sell trips - Every operator wanting to sale trip formulas will have to declare his activity to a national register managed by the future “Agence de developpement Touristique”. The law will be according to reports constituted of thirteen articles.

an article by “Mon Hotel”

Don’t forget to visit our website: monhotel.fr

Tenterden hotels asked:


Untitled Document

Welcome to Tenterden Hotels in Kent

Tenterden Hotels are situated near the beautiful places, Shopping Malls, Cinema Theaters in the Tenterden Kent uk, We are having very large and expensive Hotels in Tenterden Kent, Our hotels are very large and comfortable and also having the good Hotels Accommodation in Tenterden, Take the vacation of your life with cheap Hotels in Tenterden, offers you the hotel ratings vary from one to five stars, whilst weekends are a good choice for bargain breaks. when it comes to hotels inTenterden Kent, treat you to a whole new experience - unmatched and unforgettable. All Conferences Can be Catered with for with a Range of Facilities and Equipment.

For a weekend and you can order an exquisite bouquet of fresh flowers beautifully arranged by a local florist, Book your wedding functions in Tenterden hotels, Resorts and Restaurants in Tenterden, We are having Guest houses in Tenterden for more enjoyable by the exceptional standards of luxury, The easiest and fastest way for you to book a room is online reservations in Tenterden, Our hotels provide good cattering facilities with Family hotels in Tenterden with the menu is varied, and the specialties different from one day to the other, Here, you can taste almost anything from homemade applesauce parfaits, grilled pineapple with fresh ham to baked blueberry French toast or fresh vegetable and tomato quiche.

All these are served with the best coffee you have ever tasted or if you prefer, a cup of tea or a glass of fresh juice, Holiday breaks in Tenterden, Our hotels provide with large and huge Family Rooms in Tenterden that you can stay very safe and secure, We can also provide Special Offers in Tenterden Hotels offers you a variety of lodging options, One of them would be a large Cottages in Tenterden Hotels, for four people, perfect for families or groups of friends, Enjoy your stay for the vacations and Christmas Celebrations in Tenterden Kent.

For More Information log on to : www.kent-hotels.co.uk/tenterden-hotels.aspx

Find online Price Comparison : www.comfort-hotels.net/england/kent/tenterden-hotels.aspx

Nancy Eben asked:


Turkey’s map gives you a clear panorama of its surroundings. Sea on three sides of the country and abundance of natural, historical and modern heritage make this place a worth visiting destination for the tourists. Good accommodation facilities also add to the charm of being here. It is not a matter of getting worried even if you have some budget constraints. Wide range of hotels including cheap hotels Turkey is the answer to your problems about where to stay with great comfort at lower costs. The best of everything is available here in any of the cities of the country. Whether you talk of culture, tradition, nature or friendly inhabitants, you will have no complaints about all these issues.

Magnificent locations, standard amenities and overabundance of desirable traits even in the cheap hotels Turkey make you feel absolutely delightful and energetic. The Aegean Sea and Sea of Marmara flank the west coast and northern part is surrounded by Black Sea. South of Turkey is in close proximity with Eastern Mediterranean Sea. An interesting destination within the country is Istanbul where you find Asian Continent connected to Europe with two impressive suspended bridges. The country also features some most beautiful resorts like Antalya, Alanya, Marmaris and Bodrum. European tourists like to visit this place quite often.

Turkey’s map gives you an idea about it being oriented towards the sea. And that is not a wrong perception to have. Ankara is the capital of Turkey and has abundance of interesting things to offer to you. Attractions like museums in the city are most favorites of the tourists. Some of the most important are Museum of Anatolian Culture and the Mausoleum of Ataturk. One of the prime attractions in Turkey is Istanbul about which Frank Sinatra Says “I would like to wake up in a city which never sleeps”.