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The Six Hats
Decisions, decisions, we are faced
with them every day. Big or small,
trivial or important and if you are in
business some decisions can have
far reaching consequences. The
trouble is how do you go about making
a good decision? We try to
think of the best thing we can do,
find out more information perhaps
or go with our “gut instinct”. It is true
that some decisions are actually problems
that must be solved and in
many cases the answer is obvious.
There are other situations however,
that require greater thought and
this is where the Six Hat’s come in.
Invented by the world famous Lateral
Thinker, Edward De Bono and
used by families, groups and corporations
around the world it is a way
of looking at a situation from six different
positions, each one represented
by a different coloured hat. Each
hat and its colour allows you to consider
the situation from only that
one perspective as opposed to what
normally happens which is a confusing
muddle of thoughts and emotions.
It helps clarify the issue and
provided you with a method of decision
making that takes into account
your feelings as well as logical issues.
Try this yourself when you are
next faced with a difficult situation
and see how the Six Hats can help you
come to a more balanced and better
thought out decision.
The White Hat – This represents information.
What information do you
have about the subject? What more
information do you need and what information
is missing?
The Red Hat – This hat represents
emotions. What are your feelings,
your instincts telling you? These do
not require explanation simply note
down you intuitive feelings.
The Black Hat – This represents caution.
What are the risks? What could
go wrong and what are the consequences
if it does? What are the negatives
in this situation? Be careful not
to over use this Hat. It needs to be balanced
with the others.
The Green Hat – This represents
energy. What alternatives are there?
What new proposals could you put
forward? Can you make modifications
to the situation that might provide
more choice or a better outcome?
The Blue Hat – This hat is actually
about thinking itself. What have you
achieved so far? What outcome are
you seeking? This hat can be used to
order the use of the other hats.
The Yellow Hat – This represents optimism.
What are the positives in this
issue? What good things will come
out of the decision? Where are the
benefits, who will benefit and how
will the benefits come about? Once
again it is unwise to over use this hat
as it can lead to an overly positive
view of the situation.
The questions stated above are not
exhaustive and your questions will
be more specific than those stated
here.
Each one of these perspectives
needs to be balanced against the
others and you may have already
seen that this system can be used for
more than decision making. Nearly
every scenario where you may have
several alternative options available
can benefit from this type of analysis.
This is just one of a range of techniques
that Touchstone Solutions can
help you to realise your full business
potential. Discover how by calling
us today.
Touchstone Solutions
offer a range of business services
to guide, supportand inspire
Contact
info@touchstone-solutions.com
or call 966 111 774
for more information
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Have you become concerned about issues with your
non-resident bank account?
Some of you have been asking me questions,
following a recent headline article in a local,
English language newspaper, about fears
with your non-resident bank accounts and so
I shall revisit this subject to clarify the input
that you, if any, need to make.
Firstly, as many of you know, the
requirement to apply for residency is based
around the number of days that you live in
Spain and so, if you live here for more than
183 days, legally you are obliged to apply for
residency. Conversely, those of you who have
a holiday home here, enjoying a few weeks
under the Spanish sun, but reside in the
Republic of Ireland or United Kingdom will be
non-resident and so your bank account will
reflect this status.
The reality of having a non-resident bank
account means that the Law will oblige you,
to sign a non-resident declaration,
confirming to the authorities that Spain is not
considered to be your main domicile.
Furthermore, any credit interest you may
receive on that bank account will be paid
gross and not net of Spanish tax. However, do
be aware that you should declare all of this
interest, when making your annual tax return
in your Country of domicile. Also be aware
that due to more and more computerisation,
the European tax authorities are starting to
pass this information, automatically, from
Country to Country, including Spain, the
United Kingdom and the Irish Republic.
This certificate is all-important and it
should initially be signed as part of the
account opening process. The certificate will
usually be issued for a 2-year period and so
you will, in the future, be required to sign
and submit further certificates, unless your
individual circumstances change. Naturally,
the Banks do not usually issue these
certificates for nothing and so expect to a fee
of around 20€ to be charged every two
years.
Every time a non-resident bank account is
opened, the bank will register it against an
address in the relevant Country of domicile
and, of course, in reality, particularly if we
have recently moved to Spain, this will
actually be our old address, at which we no
longer live! However, the Spanish Banks
always allow a correspondence address, in
addition to the legal address and so make
sure you also tell the Bank about your
Spanish address.
The certificate must be completed and
returned to the Bank, when requested and
should not be ignored. This is because this
type of case is where the authorities are now
checking our status with the individual Banks
and if the certificate is not in place, the Bank
will be instructed by the National Police to
freeze the account. Once the account has a
frozen status NO monies will be able to credit
or debit the account and so NO utility bills,
for example, will be paid and the services
WILL be withdrawn in due course, likely
without notice and, be prepared to pay a fee
prior to reconnection.
Non-resident bank accounts that comply
will not be frozen and so, if you do currently
hold non-resident status, it may be
worthwhile checking the status of your
account with your Bank to avoid any nasty
surprises next time you visit your Spanish
home.
If you have any specific questions with
regards to banking in Spain, generally, or
transferring funds between Great Britain and
Spain please forward them to
thecoastrider@grahampink.com and I will
endeavour to respond. Please note that this
offer does not include specialist subjects
such as tax.
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Business News
Beat the Taxman
Just about everyone hates paying taxes and the
less tax you have to pay the better. It gives you
more to spend on yourself and your family, and/or
more to save up for your future. You may also wish
to leave your children a useful inheritance.
Paying taxes is a legal and social responsibility
and moving abroad doesn’t negate the obligation
to pay taxes. This is why legitimate tax planning is
so important, so you can reduce the amount of tax
you have to pay without breaking any rules,
leaving more in your pocket for you and your
dependants.
If you now live in Spain you to be fully
acquainted with Spain’s tax system. There are the
usual taxes on income, capital gains and
inheritance, but the rules and rates are not the
same as in the UK or other countries, including
when it comes to tax efficient savings and
investments. Until you know Spain’s system and
the tax efficient structures that work here it can be
easy for you to pay more tax than you strictly need
to.
You should therefore review your tax planning
soon after settling in Spain If you a British
expatriate, consult a financial adviser who has total
knowledge of the tax systems, as well as strategies
to mitigate tax, both in the UK and Spain. If there is
any possibility that you will return to the UK in
future years you tax planning should reflect this,
and of course you usually need to take steps to
escape the UK inheritance tax net.
Your savings and investments can be at the
most risk of excessive taxation. Bank account
interest, however, is always taxable and so it can be
prudent to keep what you feel you may need to a
safe minimum in a bank account and move the rest
of your capital into tax efficient vehicles.
UK investments are usually tax inefficient in
Spain. For example, popular tax free investment
structures in the UK such as PEPs and ISAs are
taxable in Spain and so it may be better to
remove these investments from the UK and
reinvest the money in a more appropriate tax
free structure applicable to Spain.
One such well established structure, which
significantly mitigates tax in Spain if set up
correctly, is a life insurance bond known
generally as a Personal Portfolio Bond (PPB). This
type of bond is often referred to as a “tax
wrapper” because it acts as a protective layer
around your investments shielding them from
tax.
A PPB can hold different classes of
investment assets such as equity funds, bond
funds, property funds, multi manager funds,
capital guaranteed investments and also cash.
Interest and gains can roll up tax free and if you
don’t make any withdrawals there is no tax to
pay.
Another structure effectively used for tax
planning is an offshore trust – your PPB as well as
various other assets can be placed within your
trust. A trust offers various tax benefits (plus
other benefits like avoiding probate), though
perhaps the key attraction is the avoidance of
inheritance taxes.
To keep in touch with the latest
developments in the offshore world, check out
the latest news on our website
www.blevinsfranksinternational.com
by Bill Blevins, Financial correspondent - Blevins Franks
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