Casa Monal's activity

A passenger in a taxi tapped the driver on the shoulder because he wanted to ask him a question. The driver screamed, lost control of the cab, nearly hit a bus, drove up over the curb and stopped just inches from a large plate glass window.   For a few moments everything was silent in the cab, then the driver said, "Please, don't ever do that again. You scared the daylights out of me!"   The passenger, who was also frightened, apologized and said he didn't realize that just a tap on the shoulder could frighten him so much, to which the driver replied, "I'm sorry, it's really not your fault at all."   "Today is my first day driving a cab. I have been driving a hearse for the last 25 years."

Thousand of rich UK citizens living abroad as tax exiles may find they have to pay UK taxes after all.

The Court of Appeal has upheld the right of HM Revenue & Customs to tax a businessman, Robert Gaines-Cooper, who has lived in the Seychelles since 1976. The judges said that he had never been exempt from UK taxes as a non-resident citizen.

Although he had abided by the rules to spend fewer than 91 days here, he had still not cut his ties with the UK. Mr Gaines-Cooper may now have to pay a tax bill of £30m, for the years from 1993 to 2004.

A key feature of the Revenue's old guidance on whether someone was resident in the UK for tax purposes - known as IR20 - was whether they spent, on average, fewer than 91 days here each year.

"If you read the old guidance at face value, as most of us did, and you spent less than 91 days here, you would have been treated as a tax exile," said Mike Warburton of accountants Grant Thornton, who was an expert witness in the case.

A lot of people think they are out of the UK tax system - they may now be caught
 

Ronnie Ludwig
Tax adviser, Saffery Champness

However, the three Appeal Court judges ruled that it had always been the case that any would-be tax exile, such as Mr Gaines-Cooper, first had to show they had really left the country.

Any continuing connections would mean that he had not actually cut his ties with the UK and would thus not be able to avoid UK taxes.

 The 91-day rule, they said, did not in fact establish non-residency, and was "important only to establish whether non-resident status, once acquired, has been lost".  

'Distinct break'

Mr Gaines-Cooer, now in his 70s, was born in Reading and made his fortune from international businesses, selling, among other things, juke-boxes.

Despite moving to the Seychelles in 1976, where he lives on a colonial plantation, the judges said that England had remained the "centre of gravity of his life and interests".

They decided that he had never cut his ties with Berkshire where he had grown up, or with Oxfordshire, where he still owns a mansion on a 27-acre estate near Henley and which the judges said was still his chief residence.

As such, he had failed to prove a "distinct break" with his family and friends in the UK.

The judges ruled there were "ample" grounds to rule that Mr Gaines-Cooper had in fact been "resident and ordinarily resident in the UK" throughout his apparent exile.

The barrister for Mr Gaines-Cooper - who says he will appeal to the Supreme Court - accused the Revenue of "playing games" with his client, and accused the tax authorities of mischievously reinterpreting their own guidance.

The barrister, David Milne, said this "involves a wholly wrong reading of the policy and turns it from a sensible, practical, guide into something meaningless and, which is worse, a devious trap".

Back taxes

There are six million UK citizens living abroad.

If upheld, the effect of the ruling will be to expose thousands of the richest, who wish to be tax exiles, to unexpected retrospective tax bills, not just ones for future years.

"The Revenue can go back up to six years and say they have discovered you haven't paid enough tax," Mr Warburton said.

Ronnie Ludwig, a tax adviser at accountants Saffery Champness, said lots of tax exiles would now have to rearrange their lifestyles and business affairs.

"A lot of people think they are out of the UK tax system - they may now be caught," he argued.

The HMRC's new approach, which replaced IR20, was codified in new guidance on residency and non-residency - called HMRC 6 - which was published in April 2009.

Mr Ludwig said the Appeal Court ruling gave extra force to this new guidance.

And he said this meant that the Revenue could look at various aspects of someone's life-style to determine if they had really left the UK or not.

"They will look at the time spent here, the regularity of your visits, if the UK is the main centre of your economic activity and business ties, if you have family connections such as children going to boarding school, if you are a member of a sporting club, and if you use UK credit cards, banks and even mobile phones," Mr Ludwig said.

An HMRC spokesman said it would study the 31-page judgement, but added: "It is also useful that the Court of Appeal has acknowledged that HMRC can increase compliance activity in an area so that it can ensure it catches those who may have previously not paid tax that is due."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8519803.stm

Strange list, but some great songs…none of those are on my top 10 list of songs and artists  

  1.  HOW DO YOU DECIDE WHO TO MARRY? -You got to find somebody who likes the same stuff. Like, if you like sports, she should like it that you like sports, and she should keep the chips and dip coming. -- Alan, age 10 -No person really decides before they grow up who they're going to marry. God decides it all way before, and you get to find out later who you're stuck with. -- Kristen, age 10 2. WHAT IS THE RIGHT AGE TO GET MARRIED? Twenty-three is the best age because you know the person FOREVER by then. -- Camille, age 10 3.  HOW CAN A STRANGER TELL IF TWO PEOPLE ARE MARRIED? You might have to guess, based on whether they seem to be yelling at the same kids. -- Derrick, age 8 4.  WHAT DO YOU THINK YOUR MUM AND DAD HAVE IN COMMON? Both don't want any more kids. -- Lori, age 8 5. WHAT DO MOST PEOPLE DO ON A DATE? -Dates are for having fun, and people should use them to get to know each other. Even boys have something to say if you listen long enough. -- Lynnette, age 8 -On the first date, they just tell each other lies and that usually gets them interested enough to go for a second date. -- Martin, age 10 6.  WHEN IS IT OKAY TO KISS SOMEONE? -When they're rich. -- Pam, age 7 -The law says you have to be eighteen, so I wouldn't want to mess with that. - - Curt, age 7 -The rule goes like this: If you kiss someone, then you should marry them and have kids with them. It's the right thing to do. - - Howard, age 8 7.   IS IT BETTER TO BE SINGLE OR MARRIED? It's better for girls to be single but not for boys. Boys need someone to clean up after them. -- Anita, age 9 8 HOW WOULD THE WORLD BE DIFFERENT IF PEOPLE DIDN'T GET MARRIED? There sure would be a lot of kids to explain, wouldn't there? -- Kelvin, age 8 9. HOW WOULD YOU MAKE A MARRIAGE WORK? Tell your wife that she looks pretty, even if she looks like a truck . -- Ricky, age 10  

 Golden Oldies Revival…. Herman’s Hermits - Mrs Brown you've got a lovely walker. Bee Gees - How can you mend a broken hip? Roberta Flack - First time ever I forgot your face. Paul Simon - 50 ways to lose your liver. The Commodores - Once,twice,three times to the bathroom. Marvin Gaye - Heard it through the hearing aid. Procol Harem - A whiter shade of hair Leo Sayer - You make me feel like napping. The Temptations - Pappas got a kidney stone. Abba - Denture Queen Helen Reddy - I am woman hear me snore. Leslie Gore - It's my procedure and I'll cry if I want to. Willy Nelson - On the commode again

  No sorry bunterboy I don’t take personal orders!

Thanks for link.  I’ve never heard of the products. Look good though.  I’m curious to know what you liked about them.

 1. The roundest knight at King Arthur's round table was Sir Cumference.  He acquired his size from too much pi.   2. I thought I saw an eye doctor on an Alaskan island, but it turned out to be an optical Aleutian.   3. She was only a whisky maker, but he loved her still.   4. A rubber band pistol was confiscated from algebra class because it was a weapon of math disruption.   5. The butcher backed into the meat grinder and got a little behind in his work.   6. No matter how much you push the envelope, it'll still be stationery.   7. A dog gave birth to puppies near the road and was cited for littering.   8. A grenade thrown into a kitchen in France would result in Linoleum Blownapart.   9. Two silk worms had a race. They ended up in a tie.   10. Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.   11. A hole has been found in the nudist camp wall. The police are looking into it.   12. Atheism is a non-prophet organization.   13. Two hats were hanging on a hat rack in the hallway. One hat said to the other, 'You stay here, I'll go on a head.'   14. I wondered why the baseball kept getting bigger. Then, it hit me.   15. A sign on the lawn at a drug rehab centre said, 'Keep off the grass.'   16. A small boy swallowed some coins and was taken to a hospital. When his grandmother telephoned to ask how he was, a nurse said, 'No change yet.'   17. A chicken crossing the road is poultry in motion.   18. It's not that the man did not know how to juggle, he just didn't have the balls to do it.   19. The short fortune-teller who escaped from prison was a small medium at large.   20. The man who survived mustard gas and pepper spray is now a seasoned veteran.   21. A backward poet writes inverse.   22. In democracy, it's your vote that counts. In feudalism, it's your count that votes.   23. When cannibals ate a missionary, they got a taste of religion.   24. Don't join dangerous cults: Practice safe sects.      

  Good Luck with your search. Keep us posted.   We own a small apartment in Pigna, just ‘up the mountain’ from Dolceacqua. We will be in Pigna at the end of the month.  Can’t wait, haven’t been since the summer   @Carl we drove up to Triora last year.  Lovely place, fabulous views  

Granddad was reminiscing about the good old days... When I were a lad, me mother would send me down to t ' corner shop wi ' a shilling, and I ' d come back wi ' five pounds o ' potatoes, two loaves o ' bread, three pints o ' milk, a turkey, a pound o ' cheese, a packet o ' tea, an ' ' alf a dozen eggs. Yer can ' t do that now. Too many bloody security cameras!