Tips & Advice Tax newsletter from Indicator Ltd

Tips & Advice Tax newsletter from Indicator Ltd

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Hi,

Yesterday, when I got home I found I had received a strange looking A4 size envelope with an equally strange periodical inside. I could read the title; Tips & Advice - Tax, your fortnightly guide to practical tax savings. Well, I rushed upstairs sat on the bed and ripped open the envelope, threw the accompanying letter to one side and started to flick through. Given its slightly old fashioned look and style it was actually quite informative. There were a number of topics of interest such as;

  • The advantages of Bonuses compared with dividends to reduce your tax
  • Information about how to reclaim input VAT where you do not have the invoice
  • Comparison of company cars vs. mileage allowance following the 5p increase earlier this year

Each article was brief and to the point with example data where needed, easy to understand and most importantly had links to the guidance provided by HMRC to back up their approach. Overall, I thought it was really useful and I'm tempted to take up their offer of £29 for a 6 month subscription which also includes a tax savings guide book, 10 back issues and 11 fortnightly issues for the next six months, plus a ring binder to keep them in!

So, on to the question - has anybody else used this company and have they found it worthwhile paying the subscription which, after six months will presumably increase to something in the region of £127 for an annual subscription?

Any views on where you read this sort of information would also be welcome or maybe you don't use anything other than your own tax knowledge?

Thanks

Burbage Accounting

P.S. If you want to see more about this they have a website at www.indicator.co.uk which also looks quite useful.

Replies (11)

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Universe
By SteveOH
11th Oct 2011 13:50

There are several of these types of brochures flying around

I have read similar ones. The thing you have to take into account is that, out of perhaps 10 issues, most of the advice you will already be aware of and the rest will not be relevant to your business.

You may find just 1 or 2 nuggets of information that is new to you. It just depends whether or not it is worth £29 for those nuggets.

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By andy.partridge
11th Oct 2011 14:07

Mixed feelings

I have found some useful tips, but some of the advice, in my view, tends to be quite controversial and risky. Presumably if things went pear-shaped they would not be liable for the advice sourced from them that you passed on to your client.

 

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Image is of a pin up style woman in a red dress with some of her skirt caught in the filing cabinet. She looks surprised.
By Monsoon
11th Oct 2011 14:18

Best of 2008

Andy echoes my feelings on it. This old thread discusses a back issue:

https://www.accountingweb.co.uk/anyanswers/tax-tips-just-lie

I have no idea whether TT&A has changed since then but on the basis of that incident, I don't bother. I recently got some through the door again (they seem to come in fits and starts) but just put it in the recycling.

 

 

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Replying to davidwinch:
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By zarathustra
11th Oct 2011 15:21

just read the old thread

Monsoon wrote:

Andy echoes my feelings on it. This old thread discusses a back issue:

https://www.accountingweb.co.uk/anyanswers/tax-tips-just-lie

 

 

 

Ah... whatever happened to Swiss Toni ?!

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Replying to User deleted:
Image is of a pin up style woman in a red dress with some of her skirt caught in the filing cabinet. She looks surprised.
By Monsoon
11th Oct 2011 15:33

Swiss Toni

zarathustra wrote:

Ah... whatever happened to Swiss Toni ?!

Not posted since 2009

https://www.accountingweb.co.uk/user/49968

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Replying to User deleted:
By Democratus
12th Oct 2011 10:23

Swiss Toni

[/quote]

 

Ah... whatever happened to Swiss Toni ?!

[/quote]

 

Swiss Toni got fed up with the old guards and their sense of humour bypass.

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By blok
11th Oct 2011 14:24

.

I subscribed for a wee while.  I found that they are fairly well written by respected authors.  As time went on there was some repitition.  But in fairness I cant really blame them for that.

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By Lord Lucan
11th Oct 2011 15:46

To buy or not to buy.

I've received occasional "complimentary copies".  They are worth a read, and the website is worth a browse, some of the tips are basic, and I would always check them out before accepting them.

 

Would I actually pay for it?  No.  Maybe I'm just mean, but I wont pay for something on the off chance that something might prove useful sometime or other. I'd sooner invest the money on the lottery, there's more chance of it paying off.

 

 

 

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By cfield
11th Oct 2011 22:09

Useful tips

I subscribed to it for about 3 years and dug out some useful nuggets although most of their tips I already knew. I sense of deja vu set in after a while when I found myself reading old articles. I finally ditched it when they started putting their prices up too much. Probably best to subscribe to their electronic version as it is cheaper and has a huge database.

Chris

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By mickey09
12th Oct 2011 12:13

Useful

I have been a subscriber to the electonic version for over two years and I have found it very useful.

I agree that there is some advice that might be viewed as controvertial, but is this any different from tips made in many of the professional pubilcations we read or tax seminars we attend?

It should be remembered that it is only ever an opinion that is being expressed and as professionals we would be expected to carry out further research before acting on any tips or advice given.

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Mark Lee headshot 2023
By Mark Lee
12th Oct 2011 13:22

What do you need?

I must admit that I like the style and approach that I see when I recieve complimentary copies - as I seem to do 3 or 4 times a year. I think the content is driven by the publisher's preference for 'sexy' advice. Inevitably this gets repetitive or does not provide a balanced picture every time.

As an alternative - or indeed, in addition thereto, you are welcome to try complimentary copies of the weekly practical tax newsletter I publish through the Tax Advice Network. Each week it contains 3 timely, topical and practical tax issues together with direct links to source documents. It is written specifically for accountants in general practice and has been published every week for almost 4 years now.

Mark

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