Mediaboss Marketing

23 March 2012

The Isle of Man government has emphasized the importance of verifying the legitimacy of businesses which advertise offerings from the Isle of Man, after an exercise by the government found 400 businesses operating without meeting the legislative requirement to register with the Companies Registry.

Since the exercise in December 2011, 70% of new business registrations received were from the 400 companies targeted. However, the Companies Registry together with the Isle of Man Office of Fair Trading has released a statement reminding consumers of the importance of checking that a business is registered in the island, as part of efforts to tackle so called 'rogue traders'. In order to verify the authenticity of a business, the Companies Registry offers an online search facility.

Commenting on the review, Alan Crowe, Political Member for the Isle of Man Department of Economic Developments Companies Registry, said: "The Companies Registry is probably one of the oldest operations within the government and one that has a relatively low profile outside of the business community. However, the information held by the Companies Registry is there to assist not only members of the business community involved in international trade and commerce, but residents looking for a local trader or a business offering a service. Registering a business name not only helps to protect the particular company, it is a public statement of the companys existence and the service it offers."

"The information held by the Companies Registry is principally for statutory purposes and does not relate to the knowledge, expertise or competence of the trader or business named, other checks on their quality of service would need to be made," the government emphasized. "However, it does provide some assurance that customers and clients are dealing with a resident business and how they can be contacted."

Businesses that fail to meet legal requirements to register their business in the Isle of Man are liable to fines of up to GBP5,000 per offence on conviction, in accordance with The Registration of Business Names Act 1918 and 1954.

David Quirk, the Chairman of the Office of Fair Trading, said: "I would urge consumers to only deal with businesses that are registered in accordance with the law. Rogue traders are afraid of being traced which is why they often do not register. The Office of Fair Trading supports the steps being taken by the Companies Registry to encourage compliance."

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Isle Of Man Targets 'Rogue Businesses'

Washington, D.C., March 23, 2012 The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that it has established comprehensive arrangements with the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA) and the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) as part of long-term strategy to improve the oversight of regulated entities that operate across national borders.

The two memoranda of understanding (MOUs) reached this month follow on a similar supervisory arrangement that the SEC concluded with the Quebec Autorit des marchs financiers and the Ontario Securities Commission in 2010 and expanded to include the Alberta Securities Commission and the British Columbia Securities Commission last September.

The SECs latest supervisory cooperation arrangements will enhance SEC staff ability to share information about such regulated entities as investment advisers, investment fund managers, broker-dealers, and credit rating agencies. The Cayman Islands is a major offshore financial center and home to large numbers of hedge funds, investment advisers and investment managers that frequently access the U.S. market. ESMA is a pan-European Union agency that regulates credit rating agencies and fosters regulatory convergence among European Union securities regulators.

Supervisory cooperation arrangements help the SEC build closer relationships with its counterparts to cooperate and consult on each others oversight activities in ways that may help prevent fraud in the long term or lessen the chances of future financial crises, said Ethiopis Tafara, Director of the SECs Office of International Affairs.

The SECs approach to supervisory cooperation with its overseas counterparts follows on more than two decades of experience with cross-border cooperation, starting in the late 1980s with MOUs facilitating the sharing of information between the SEC and other securities regulators in securities enforcement matters. The SECs enforcement cooperation arrangements which now encompass partnerships with approximately 80 separate jurisdictions via bilateral MOUs and a Multilateral MOU under the auspices of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) detail procedures and mechanisms by which the SEC and its counterparts can collect and share investigatory information where there are suspicions of a violation of either jurisdictions securities laws, and after a potential problem has arisen.

In contrast, the SECs supervisory cooperation arrangements generally establish mechanisms for continuous and ongoing consultation, cooperation and the exchange of supervisory information related to the oversight of globally active firms and markets. Such information may include routine supervisory information as well as the types of information regulators need to monitor risk concentrations, identify emerging systemic risks, and better understand a globally-active regulated entitys compliance culture. These MOUs also facilitate the ability of the SEC and its counterparts to conduct on-site examinations of registered entities located abroad.

Although they are designed to achieve different things, enforcement and supervisory cooperation arrangements are complimentary tools. Supervisory cooperation involves ongoing sharing of information regarding day-to-day oversight of regulated entities. Enforcement cooperation MOUs, by contrast, help the Commission collect information abroad that is necessary to help ensure that the SECs enforcement program deters violations of the federal securities laws, while also helping to compensate victims of securities fraud when possible.

The SEC entered into its first supervisory cooperation MOU in March 2006 with the United Kingdoms Financial Services Authority. Following the recent financial crisis, the Commission has expanded its emphasis on this form of continuous supervisory cooperation in an effort to better identify emerging risks to U.S. capital markets and the international financial system. As part of this effort, SEC commissioners and staff co-chaired an international task force in 2010 to develop principles for cross-border supervisory cooperation. These principles have since proven to be a useful guideline for structuring MOUs around the type of information to be shared, the mechanisms which regulators can use to share information, and the degree of confidentiality this information should be accorded.

Additional information about SEC cooperation arrangements with foreign regulators can be found at: http://www.sec.gov/about/offices/oia/oia_cooparrangements.shtml

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SEC Establishes New Supervisory Cooperation Arrangements with Foreign Counterparts

The MP for Warrington South raised the issue in the House of Commons on Wednesday during a debate on the budget.

He highlighted the broadcaster's admission that it had 318 people earning more than 50,000 without paying tax at source, saying: "That is not acceptable.

Mr Mowat, a member of the Commons public accounts committee (PAC), added: "The review that is being conducted across government ... explicitly excludes the BBC. I ask ministers to reconsider that."

The BBC disclosed that it has 20,000 salaried staff and "typically" 12,000 freelancers in any year.

Its response said: "Around 3,000 of these choose to provide their services via a limited company." It added that 1,363 workers paid through limited companies earn above 26,000 a year.

Stephen Barclay, another Tory MP on the PAC, said: "This reply shows that there is a need for much greater transparency at the BBC because the figures do not include so many people from BBC's talent which covers its main presenters and its commercial operations.

"There is also a duty on the BBC Trust over accountability to check whether people who are employed through these companies do not have rolling contracts running every year and are working exclusively for the BBC."

A BBC spokesman said:"We have written to Mr Mowat to correct him explaining that these individuals are not permanent members of BBC staff so do not have their tax deducted at source in the way a the vast majority of employees do.

"In the main they are hired to do specific jobs for a fixed period of time such as directing, editing and other craft skills. When a person is contracted in this way it is their responsibility to organise their tax arrangements directly with the HMRC.

"This is entirely in keeping with HMRC regulations and is standard practice across the broadcasting and many other industries."

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Thousands of BBC workers paid through limited companies

CHARLOTTE, NC (WBTV) -Three Instant Tax Service locations in the Charlotte-area that filed consumer's taxes without their permission, filed inaccurate tax returns, charged excessive fees, and failed to disclose fees for refund anticipation loans have been temporarily banned from offering illegal tax services in North Carolina, Attorney General Cooper announced today.

"Filing someone's taxes without their permission is not only wrong but it's against the law," Cooper said."Consumers who step up to complain help us move quickly to stop these kinds of deceptive practices."

Late Thursday, Wake County Superior Court Judge Lucy Inman agreed with Cooper's request for a temporary restraining order against Instant Tax Service and owner Eden Kidane of Charlotte. The locations owned and operated by Kidane were located at 2712 Freedom Drive in Charlotte, 1520 West Boulevard Suite J in Charlotte and 316 E. Franklin Boulevard Suite A in Gastonia.

Cooper filed suit against Instant Tax Service this week. He is asking the court to permanently ban the company from offering illegal tax preparation services, refund anticipation loans and instant loans and to order the company to pay refunds to consumers.

As alleged in Cooper's complaint, Instant Tax Service ran radio and television advertisements in December 2011 in the Charlotte area offering loans up to $1,000.According to the ads, all consumers needed to apply for one of these "instant" loans was a recent pay stub.Many consumers went to Instant Tax Service received loans for $50 or $100 but did not give permission for their taxes to be filed.The consumers later discovered that Instant Tax Service had filed their taxes returns based on the information from their pay stub.

According to the lawsuit, consumers who did give Instant Tax Service permission to file their tax returns complained that the company did not disclose its fees.Many were charged fees of $700-$800 for uncomplicated returns that would have cost around $200 if done by other national tax preparers.Consumers who went to Instant Tax Service to apply for refund anticipation loans also complained that they were promised funds within 24 to 48 hours but didn't get them that fast and sometimes didn't get any funds at all.

Consumers who complained to the Attorney General's Office about the company said that representatives at Instant Tax Service locations would not answer telephone calls and made consumers stand outside of the office for hours without answering their questions about refunds.Other consumers who did receive refund checks from Instant Tax Service claim they were returned for insufficient funds, the lawsuit alleges.

Cooper's Consumer Protection Division has received six written complaints about the Instant Tax Service locations in the Charlotte-area and 130 consumers have called about the company this week.The Better Business Bureau also forwarded 22 complaints to Cooper's office.According to an affidavit from Maryanne Dailey, Senior Vice President of the Charlotte Better Business Bureau, Instant Tax Service owner, Eden Kidane disclosed that she has received over 500 complaints this tax season about her Instant Tax Service locations.

"Many families are stretched thin and their refund checks can't come fast enough," said Cooper. "I urge consumers to think twice before you opt for an "instant" or "rapid" refund that may take a big bite out of your actual refund."

For more information and consumer tax tips, visit http://www.ncdoj.gov.

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State AG investigating local tax offices for excessive fees

MADRID Freedom of information in Spain came one step nearer Friday after the recently-elected government agreed to introduce a bill in response to widespread disgust over corruption and mismanagement by elected officials of both main political parties.

The country's Cabinet agreed to put forward legislation that will allow Spaniards to find out more about how their money is spent by government. Spain, which is struggling to get its public finances under control, is one of Europe's few countries without wide-ranging freedom of information legislation.

"It is a law whose main goal is improve the credibility of and trust in our institutions, especially government ones," Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Saenz de Santamaria said.

The legislation will take months to come into effect, after an unprecedented 15-day period in which the general public can make suggestions on what should be accessible to them and how the law should work. After that, the bill has to be go through normal Parliamentary procedures.

Though the salaries of the prime minister and government ministers are already public information, as are the national budget and much other money-related data, not all of it is easy to access.

But under the new bill, information on subjects including senior public servants' salaries and detailed data on government contracts and subsidies will be published online. Spaniards will also be able to file requests for other kinds of information providing it does not breach national security or personal privacy.

The goal of the new law is to make public officials at all levels much more accountable for how they spend taxpayer money. People will be able to get information just by the click of a mouse.

"It is a law that tries to give rigor to compliance with budget and financial obligations that were unknown until now, but will serve to restore credibility to all levels of government," Saenz de Santa Maria said.

News of the Cabinet's support for a package that should make for more open government comes as the country struggles to avoid the same fate as other indebted European countries. The newly-elected conservative government is trying to convince investors that it has a strategy to deal with its debts so it won't follow Greece, Ireland and Portugal in needing a bailout.

Concerns have swelled recently after figures showed the country's borrowing last year was way more than expected, due in large part to overspending by regional governments but also because the economy is shrinking and laying siege to tax revenues.

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Spain edges closer toward freedom of information law