Money Box Live - April 22 2002

THIS TRANSCRIPT IS ISSUED ON THE UNDERSTANDING THAT IT IS TAKEN FROM A LIVE PROGRAMME AS IT WAS BROADCAST. THE NATURE OF LIVE BROADCASTING MEANS THAT NEITHER THE BBC NOR THE PARTICIPANTS IN THE PROGRAMME CAN GUARANTEE THE ACCURACY OF THE INFORMATION PRINTED HERE.

Tape Transcript by JANE TEMPLE

MONEY BOX LIVE

Presenter: Paul Lewis

Guests: Jane Moore, Lisa Harker, John Whiting

TRANSMISSION 22nd APR 2002 1500 - 1530 RADIO 4

ANNOUNCER : Now it's two minutes past three and time for MONEY BOX LIVE with Paul Lewis.

LEWIS: Hello. Tax used to be simple, but years of hard work by politicians and accountants has made it almost impossible to understand. The new system of tax credits just a few years old is going to change next April leaving many people better off, others worse off, and most of us confused. If you don't understand childrens' tax credit well don't worry, next year the two year old will be pensioned off replaced with child tax credit, and the working families tax credit which nearly half of those who are entitled to do not seem to claim will vanish after just four years replaced by working tax credit - spot the difference next April. Can you claim either of them this year, and if not will you be able to claim next? If you have savings, do you realise that tax is automatically deducted from the interest earned - up to 3 million pounds has been overpaid - could you claim some of it back? Or perhaps you're concerned about National Insurance - now another 1% tax has been imposed on our earnings. Will everyone have to pay it, or can it be avoided? And if you work on your own should you register for VAT, and could you be helped by the new, simpler rules announced last week or are they more complicated than they're worth? Indeed, is the whole system just too complex for ordinary mortals to comprehend? Whatever your question on tax in all its forms call Money Box Live now - 08700 100 444 And with me today to answer your questions about tax are three quite extraordinary mortals who do understand it: Lisa Harker is deputy director of the Institute for Public Policy Research, Jane Moore is technical director from Tax Aid, and John Whiting a tax partner with accountants Price Waterhouse Coopers. And the first question is from Maria in London. Maria, your question?

MARIA: Hello. The question is on child tax credit and whether or not I might be eligible for it. I've read conflicting information, some say that it's based on household income. I want to know is it based on household income or is it individual? I no longer work. My husband does work.

LEWIS: Right, well if we're talking about childrens' tax credit Maria, that's available this year. It's different from child tax credit which starts next year. Let's get Jane Moore to explain the basics to us:

MOORE: Yes, we're talking about two quite different but confusingly very similarly named credits here. At the moment there's the childrens' tax credit, you probably know that - that can't - you can't actually claim that because your husband's earning a little bit too much money. Generally if the higher earner's got more than £41,700 or so you can't claim that. Now the child tax credit is coming in on the 6th April next year, and yes you're right, it is based on household income. The couple are looked at as a family unit and again the bad news is I'm sorry to say that £58,000 is the upper ceiling for child tax credit next year.

MARIA: Okay

LEWIS: Yes I mean this is quite a change isn't it Lisa Harker, that it is - or at the moment it's on higher earner's income and next year it'll be joint income and although £58,000 might sound a lot it's £29,000 each which is not a huge amount in some parts of the country?

HARKER: That's right, it's going to benefit some families where there's one high earner and one low earner, where the average out will benefit families, but certainly yes it's going to be on household income and gross income from next year.

LEWIS: So from what we say Maria I don't think you can get childrens' tax credit and next year you probably can't get child tax credit. Sorry Jane you want to come back?

MOORE: The only final point I would say would be if you have a new baby the limit is slightly extended. There is a £66,000 upper ceiling if you have a new baby in that year.

MARIA: That's quite drastic action to take!

MOORE: I wouldn't do it just for the tax Maria.

MARIA: Okay thank you for your help

LEWIS: I think you'd end up out of pocket having a new baby to get £500 odd pounds from the Chancellor. Anyway thanks for your call Maria. Let's move on now to Cumbria where Michael has a question for us. Michael?

MICHAEL: Hello. It's about the age related personal allowance. The only details I could find about it where on Teletext yesterday on BBC-1 Text. Three figures were quoted - one was for £6,100 which is current, one was for £6,010, and one was for £6,610. Can you tell me the correct figure please?

LEWIS: Well John Whiting's here I'm sure he - he can tell you the correct figures.

MICHAEL: And when do they run from?

WHITING: When do they run from? - good question Michael cos if you think tax credits are confusing I'm afraid there's confusion here. We're now in tax year 2002/3 and you sound as if you're a nice youthful 65 to 74 year old is that right?

MICHAEL: I'm 68

WHITING: Yes there you are, slap in the middle. Your allowance this year is £6,100

MICHAEL: That's what came on my notice of coding a few weeks ago yeah.

WHITING: That's the one, now the Chancellor has already announced that next year, in other words starting next April 2003/4 it'll go up to £6,610

MICHAEL: Oh right

WHITING: Which is one of the other figures you've seen. Of course the 75 pluses get a slightly bigger allowance and of course if your income is above a certain level, £17,900 this year then they start winnowing away at this higher allowance.

LEWIS: But John it was good news really wasn't it because the Chancellor not only put the amount well above inflation next year, he also said in future they would go up in line with earnings rather than the price indexation which most tax allowances go up with?

WHITING: That's right. I mean it's always something to look for as to what he does but we have this commitment now that the pensioners, the 65 pluses allowances are going to go up in line with earnings which is really quite a significant thing particularly when he's announced that the basic personal allowance is going to be frozen next year.

LEWIS: Yes so good news for pensioners of 65 or more, although of course Jane Moore, women aged 60 to 64 don't get this higher tax allowance even though they get a pension?

MOORE: No that's quite true. It's 65 for everybody although of course once you are 65 another advantage is you don't pay any National Insurance that we're all going to

LEWIS: No indeed - more good news for older people in the budget, yes you don't have to pay this extra 1% on your National Insurance. And Jane Moore, do you find the Revenue makes mistakes about the year people reach 65 or 75? - is it something you should always check if your birthday falls in the tax year?

MOORE: You definitely should. What's meant to happen is that the Department of Work and Pensions tells the Revenue when somebody reaches 65, you should get the new allowance in your tax code, but this doesn't always work quite as it should do, so you should definitely check.

LEWIS: And you get this higher tax code if your birthday falls even on the very last day of the tax year - that's the 5th April?

MOORE: That's right, you get it for the whole year even if that's the case.

LEWIS: Yes, we might have more timing questions later for the baby tax credit. Now VAT question from Gareth in Belfast - Gareth?

GARETH: Good afternoon. I wonder if you could tell me whether there have been any changes in the operation of the VAT annual accounting scheme?

LEWIS: Well I think indeed they - they were announced. Have they actually started John Whiting?

WHITING: No, there's a few tinkerings with this annual accounting scheme. What this is, is where you have turnover up to a certain level £600,000 basically - then you can instead of doing four quarterly returns, you can do one annual VAT return. The

LEWIS: Are we talking about self employed people, small business who charge VAT and then have to hand it over to Customs and Excise.

WHITING: So, and the normal tradition is you do quarterly account, every three months you have to work out and hand over the amount and send a return in to say how much it is. The annual accounting scheme says you only have to do one return. The slight rabbit punch is that the Customs and Excise actually want their money quite regularly, traditionally that means nine payments a year plus a final one. Now Customs has talked about easing it but it's going to be after Royal ascent to this year's finance act, so there's an element of watch this space.

LEWIS: We're talking about - about two or three months. But Jane Moore there were other changes to VAT weren't there that were announced by the Chancellor?

MOORE: There is a flat rate scheme announced by the Chancellor so rather than looking at your details, input and output tax you can just pay a flat rate on turnover. We don't know all the full details of that and the rate you pay depends on what your line of business is.

LEWIS: Yes, John Whiting?

WHITING: Sorry I have a correction what I said - I've just checked, the annual accounting scheme amendments have almost come into effect from the 25th April which is an obvious date when you think about it.

LEWIS: Yes, yes - and so do these other changes I think - this flat rate scheme is quite curious because it ranges from 5% of your turnover to the VAT you have to pay to 14.5 - which might seem quite good except that of course is of your gross turnover including the VAT.

WHITING: Cos what you've got to do, is you've got to charge VAT as normal, as you should do

LEWIS: 17.5%

WHITING: Or nearly if you're selling zero rated things. You then add up all your turnover VAT inclusive and what you then do is pay over to Customs a percentage which as you say Paul is 5% for food confectionary, vendors up through 9% for packaging and so on up to about - oh 13.5/14.5 depending on what you are, but that is therefore just a simple flat sum - keeps it easy, but what you're not doing is working out how much you charged your customers less how much you've actually paid.

LEWIS: Jane?

MOORE: I was just going to say, I think the 14.5 is IT contractors isn't it?

LEWIS: Yes, they're very fond of IT. Let's not get into that. So it should be simpler, it could save some people money but of course once you enter it you can drop out as I understand it, but then you can't go back into it for another year so you've got to decide it's in your interest.

WHITING: And really it's one of those where it's worth doing a bit of homework to say is the admin worth possible loss of VAT?

LEWIS: Okay, well that's VAT sorted I hope but we may come back to it. Now we're going to talk to Kathryn who is in Hanley Swan. Kathryn your question?

KATHRYN: My question is I'd like to know about disabled person's tax credit. This was referred to in the budget. I wanted to know what it is, how you qualify, and what does it mean?

LEWIS: Lisa Harker?

HARKER: Well this is one of the tax credits that currently works a bit like the working families tax credit. You have to be working 16 hours a week and be on a low income and if you meet those criteria you maybe entitled to a certain amount of tax credit. Now just to confuse matters it's going to change yet again next year and the disabled person's tax credit becomes the working tax credit looking very similar to other tax credits, but in a sense the same support will be available for disabled people through that tax credit system.

LEWIS: And presumably you have to be disabled as well to get it - what - how disabled do you have to be? - do you have to be getting a benefit or something like that?

HARKER: You do have to be getting a benefit and you do have an assessment in terms of availability for work too.

LEWIS: And Kathryn, are you a disabled person yourself?

KATHRYN: I get disability living allowance yes.

LEWIS: And you work?

KATHRYN: No, not at the moment.

LEWIS: Right, so that will - Lisa, that will stop her getting the tax credit.

HARKER: That will stop you getting that but if you wanted to look for work and if you were able to get work you maybe eligible for some extra support. So it's an incentive really to help people into work.

LEWIS: That - that's the intention isn't it? - that people are better off in work than out of work. This has been one of the government's big things. Whether they've achieved it of course is a matter open to question but that's their intention?

HARKER: That's right and indeed with the working tax credit in general it's about trying to incentivise people to move into work.

LEWIS: And John Whiting, this is a true tax credit because it actually comes back to you through the pay packed but you're a bit concerned some of these things called tax credits aren't really tax credits at all?

WHITING: No, it's totally confusing isn't it? - because if we take the existing childrens' tax credit, the basic £529, that can reduce your tax bill. It can eliminate your tax bill. But that's it. Working families tax credit and going forward working tax credit and the new childrens' tax credit - really - those could not only eliminate your tax bill but they can give you a negative tax amount, i.e. the Chancellor through the Inland Revenue can really put money back in your pocket.

LEWIS: And indeed the child tax credit will simply be a payment to the carer won't it?

WHITING: Indeed

LEWIS: It won't come through the pay packet at all.

HARKER That'll be a very important change and in fact you'll see probably more payments paid direct to carers rather than through the pay pocket, it'll be a real change.

LEWIS: Jane?

MOORE: Plus the child care element of the new working tax credit, just to make your life more complicated, will also go directly to the main carer.

LEWIS: Right if my voice goes faint it's because my head is spinning and I'm not facing the microphone anymore.

WHITING: The cynic might say that Gordon Brown is making it so complex that fewer people claim it and he's got to give less money out but we're not cynics are we Paul?

LEWIS: Lisa Harker you're not a cynic, but you're a researcher- there is evidence isn't there that people are not claiming these tax credits that are entitled to?

HARKER: Well that's true. There is concern about take up of tax credits just as there is a take up of means tested benefits. I think there's also evidence that payments to the carer is the most effective way of reaching children, that's the Chancellor's obviously been convinced by that research. But I think the really interesting trend is that we're going to see a separation out of payments for children from payments for adults and that's a really big change to our system which may mean that the two systems go different directions or certain amount of money go into different pots in the future.

LEWIS: Yes whatever happened to the family? Let's move on, let's move on now - Richard is calling us from Dursley, Richard your question?

RICHARD: Hello good afternoon everybody. My question really concerns my wife's tax affairs. She has two jobs at the moment. She's employed on a part time basis by the NHS and she's just you know employed on a PAYE basis, but she also is a locum pharmacist for a national pharmacy chain where she's self employed and she works on the basis as a sole trader. So my question really is should she consider perhaps becoming a limited company rather than a sole trader for her locum work?

LEWIS: John I know you've been thinking hard about this because it seems tempting in a way doesn't it? - you stop being self employed, you stop being an individual, you become a company and your tax is decided on that basis and in fact you employ yourself. Does it work?

WHITING: It can work - indeed, anybody who is self employed and making significant amounts of money it's always been a question should I incorporate, should I turn myself into a limited company? Many will remember the IR35 argument which are in effect the Revenue's attempts to go the other way. What's given it an extra spin this time is the Chancellor saying that if you've got a company making profits of £10,000 or less it will pay no corporation tax. So it's very tempting to look at the idea if you just as Richard wife seems to be, has a modest amount, let's say £15,000 worth of self employed income, nothing else - pay yourself a modest little salary and if that's all your income, not here but in some cases all your income, no tax on that. What's left in the company £10,000 - no tax.

LEWIS: So it sounds attractive but of course if you are a company you have responsibilities don't you? - you have to behave differently?

WHITING: Well, it's almost like bringing another child into the world. It's another little person that you have to run in a sense change its metaphorical nappy by keeping its paperwork going and you know

LEWIS: Let's not pursue that analogy. Jane Moore, do you think this is a good idea?

MOORE: Mmm - I think it certainly can be a good idea and people need to look at the figures. I'll just sound a word of caution, we do see clients at Tax Aid who have set up a limited company and have got into great difficulties with the non tax side - the administration, running the pay roll, filing at Companies House and so on. So just be aware of that too

WHITING: It is the bureaucracy isn't it - that you've got to keep going.

LEWIS: Right, yes so something to think about, but of course if you do earn relatively small amounts quite hard to afford a decent accountant to advise you?

WHITING: I'm sure we could find one

LEWIS: I'm sure you could John

WHITING: But no I mean the serious point is that obviously what people are going to look at is can you make enough savings on tax to pay for an advisor potentially to set it up for you and then you can take it on yourself.

LEWIS: Let me move back to tax credit because we're getting emails in as we talk about this and there's a couple of points we haven't covered. Lisa Harker, unmarried co-habiting couples with a child or children, can they still get the same childrens' tax credit, child tax credit?

HARKER: They can just as in the way that the benefit system currently works - whether or not you're married it doesn't make a difference to claiming for a benefit for children, so the tax credit's exactly the same, there's no discrimination in terms of whether you're married or unmarried.

LEWIS: And there's another one from Eleanor, her children are in full time education. Now at the moment childrens' tax credit runs out when children are quite young, but child tax credit will go on for longer?

HARKER: That's right. It'll go on essentially until they start to leave home hopefully around 16 to 18, so yes they will go right - right the way through but of course

LEWIS: Through secondary education?

HARKER: Through secondary education.

LEWIS: Whereas childrens' tax credit stops at 16?

HARKER: That's right. That's right, so it'll go a little bit - bit further but of course it depends on your income.

LEWIS: Okay. Let's - let's talk to Jill in Blandford who has a question. Jill, your question?

JILL: Hello. I'd like to ask about tax credits for the low paid. My son and his wife are both graduates and they earn £9,300 and £10,500 respectively. My son's a learning support assistant in a special needs school but he's giving this up to start in September teacher's training course. He's applied for the £6000 grant. His wife is a trainee journalist working full time and is studying for an NVQ. They've both got out standing student loans and at the moment they've no children.

LEWIS: Right, I'm sure there are many, many people in that position. Lisa Harker what can they claim?

HARKER: I think Jill that you said that the joint income was around about £19,500 a year is that right?

JILL: It is at the moment yes but of course that will change in September when Richard goes off to teacher's training college.

HARKER: Right well basically the rules from next April when the new working tax credit comes in - if your earnings are over about £14,000 a year you won't be eligible for any support unless you've got children, so they probably wouldn't be eligible if their earnings remain about the same level as now. It depends what happens to their earnings, if it drops below about £14,000 a year - that's together for the whole household then they may be eligible for some support through the working tax credit.

JILL: Right

LEWIS: Jane Moore?

MOORE: The only thing I'd add there is it does depend on the number of hours you work so if you son is student and his wife's still working she'd need to work at least 30 hours a week to get the working tax credit.

JILL: She's working full time.

MOORE: That would be - so that would be 30 hours at least?

JILL: Yes, oh yes

LEWIS: In the past we've said to people if you have questions like this go to a benefits agency, of course you don't do that anymore. Can you really go to your Inland Revenue office and ask if you're eligible for this help with low income?

MOORE: You can try. I mean one of the interesting things that some of the advice is going to be available on line from - from this year so there'll be chances for people to ask questions through - through the Internet to Inland Revenue, but certainly there's going to be an attempt to try and reach the people who currently aren't getting the working families tax credit who might be eligible for this new working tax credit, we'd like to see lots of adverts and fliers around to encourage people to apply.

LEWIS: Yes because that is going to be the big problem isn't it? - getting people to - to convert from one to the other, even to realise they're eligible in the first place. But in theory Lisa, is this change from a sort of benefit from the benefits agency to a tax credit a sensible move? - does it - does it make sense from a social policy point?

HARKER: Well it's a very interesting change. I mean certainly the Inland Revenue has shown that it can - can run the system pretty well, I mean the working families tax credit despite the take up issues has worked pretty well. But it is, it's an interesting shift and certainly in terms of the language, as John says I mean there's very little difference in terms of what you get, it's essentially a benefit. But we're going to all getting tax credits from now on, or at least most of us are. So it's a sensible - I mean the Chancellor's called it progressive universalism, in other words we all get it, it's universal.

LEWIS: That's like something being slightly unique isn't it? - I mean progressive univeralism. Let's move on from the Chancellor's and leave it hanging on that wonderful phrase and talk to Gabrielle in Newbury - Gabrielle your question?

GABRIELLE: Oh hello. My question's about - I work from home part time as an employee for a limited company in London. I do about 20 hours a week and I want to find out what sort of things can I claim and off set against tax and lighting, heating, electricity, I use my own furniture and is there a capital gains tax implication - someone told me there might be?

LEWIS: Right, well let's talk to John Whiting about that. I'm sure you must get lots of questions like this?

WHITING: Yes it's a fairly traditional thing. Does your employer Gabrielle really require you to work at home?

GABRIELLE: Er

WHITING: Or is this your choice?

GABRIELLE: It is my choice. I could work at up in London in the head office if I wished to.

WHITING: Mmm cos it - to be honest it helps - I mean the phrase that the Revenue sometimes kick around is objective requirement of the job that it has to be carried out at home, but I mean generally providing you can show that this is really where you have to do the job you can get an allowance against the income set off expenses for basically the costs of carrying on that work at home. I mean typically you'd be looking at the costs of running one room and take in a proportion of part of the general household running expenses.

LEWIS: Jane Moore, you must get questions like this as well?

MOORE: We do actually and just following on from the point about one room - I thought I'd just pick up on the capital gains tax point that Gabrielle mentioned which is if you do have a room that's exclusively for work and nothing else then you do risk when you sell your house having just that part of it taxed as a gain, but who uses one room just for that? Surely the kids borrow the computer. Surely you store other things in there so provided that's what happens you shouldn't have a capital gains problem.

LEWIS: Yes so don't put a brass plate on the door and say Joe Bloggs Ltd - do not enter. You actually have to use it for other things as well.

GABRIELLE: Where would I go to get information about these, how I can actually claim these things and what are the rules about it?

WHITING: Do you normally fill in a tax return Gabrielle?

GABRIELLE: I don't. I've never filled in a tax form.

WHITING: Right, well in that case I'm afraid the route is solely through the dreaded self assessment tax return and frankly the simplest route is contact your local tax office or whoever your tax affairs are normally dealt with through the employer. In effect start to make the claim through them. They will send you a tax return, and of course what it also means is start keeping some sort of record of costs.

LEWIS: Jane where do people get advice?

MOORE: I was going to say you can of course, if you've got access to the Internet, download some of the help sheets for the tax return from there which deal with expenses.

LEWIS: From the Revenue?

MOORE: From the Revenue's website, or phone up the self assessment help line but even then you may be a little bit baffled by some of the notes that you get back when you do them.

LEWIS: Yes I think this is always the problem, getting the advice, but a lot of it is on the Internet and we will have some links to useful things on our website and I'll give you that address at the end of the programme, but let's talk first to Jack who's calling us from Winchester. Jack, your question?

JACK: Hello. I'm 81 and after a serious accident I've got certain limitations in what I can do. I've got several building society accounts all of which the tax is deducted when the - on the accounts and I've got some shares, a few shares and also in other words all the things that I have where - where there is some income are already deducted of tax.

LEWIS: Right so

JACK: The only thing I've got which isn't is the state pension which is £87 a week.

LEWIS: Okay Jack, well let's talk about that cos it's an important point. Jane Moore, you do have tax deducted automatically from your savings interest unless you tell them not to. What do you have to do?

MOORE: When you say savings interest, yes the interest from your building society accounts - yes, if you don't actually have enough total income in the year to pay tax Jack you can actually arrange to have your savings interest income paid gross and your bank or building society will give you a form to use to do that. It all depends on what your total income is and perhaps we won't want to do the whole sum on air.

LEWIS: No but the essential thing is that if your - if your income is below your tax allowance which in Jack's case because of his age will be £6,370 a year he shouldn't be paying tax on his savings interest but he has to tell them. John Whiting though, dividends are dealt with differently aren't they?

WHITING: Dividends are dealt with differently, to all intents and purposes tax is deducted. There is a little tax credit that comes, but you cannot claim that credit back so it's the interest - bank interest, building society interest, so it's worth getting a little form R85 from bank/building society and registering one assumes if Jack's income isn't very great and

LEWIS: And then, so the interest is paid gross without deduction and of course Jane Moore, you can go back and claim it back can't you -if you've paid too much?

MOORE: You can go back six years and I'll just say the Revenue have just relaunched their tax back campaign to get people to claim back in just Jack's position.

LEWIS: Yes indeed I tried to find out from them this morning how much actually they had paid back and they still hadn't worked out the figures for the last two years so they don't know but they did say there was 300 million overpaid didn't they? Let's move on now to Marie who's calling us from Wylam - Marie your question?

MARIE: Hello, I'm wondering really whether I'm going to have to enter this dreaded world of self assessed tax. I have a small income. It's not earned. I'm a full time student but I have a small pension since my husband died last year and also some interest from savings. The pension doesn't take me over my tax limit. The interest will from this April onwards. Is that the way I have to go about it because they're from different sources?

LEWIS; It doesn't mean you necessarily have to have a self assessment tax return John does it?

WHITING: It doesn't and fortunately what there isn't is a nice, simple one page tax return although if again we're into a bit like the previous caller, somebody trying to claim back we can use the R40 as it's known which is a one page, two sided return, but I mean fundamentally possibly Marie is potentially into the filling in a tax return of some sort.

LEWIS: Jane?

MOORE: It depends. Is your pension a private one or is it a state one?

MARIE: It's a private one from my husband.

MOORE: Right, what you can do is get, try and get your tax code adjusted to take your interest into account through that route and get everything taxed at the same time via the pension.

LEWIS: So the pension would come with tax already deducted?

MOORE: Possibly

LEWIS: Yes, well

WHITING: But that needs looking at each year of course because amounts alter which is why you'll have to do a return

LEWIS: I always say that tax code's a way of collecting tax not assessing it and they're often wrong. So if you do have income coded up get it checked. We just very quickly I think can talk to Nick in South Wales who has a question - Nick?

NICK: Good afternoon. Very quickly, I work as a continental lorry driver. I'm employed by a British company. I spend about nine months of the year out of the country. Can I claim anything back?

LEWIS: John Whiting, can Nick claim he doesn't really live here and not pay tax?

WHITING: I suspect if you're back here for as long as you sound as if you are Nick you're not, not resident and therefore probably you're in the UK tax net although it would be interesting to know - I mean I presume you're driving all around Europe are you?

NICK: Yes - Europe and North Africa, yeah.

WHITING: Then I suspect the tax authorities will simply say you're resident here.

LEWIS: Cos Jane you would have to have an address in another country wouldn't you?

MOORE: I think - actually there was a recent tax on just this point which sadly the lorry drivers lost didn't they?

WHITING: Sorry I'm afraid, good try Nick, you could try staying out for the whole year but I think you'll probably get a bit bored just driving around like that.

LEWIS: Okay Nick, well it looks as if you do have to pay UK tax I suppose like the rest of us and indeed like our callers but that's all we do have time for today. May thanks to Lisa Harker from the Institute for Public Policy Research, Jane Moore from Tax Aid and John Whiting from accountants Price Waterhouse Coopers. Thanks of course to all of you for your calls, and there's information about today's programme with the BBC Action Line - 0800 044 044 Calls are free - 0800 044 044 Or of course our website: www.bbc.co.uk/moneybox. Our email is [e-mail]. I'm back at noon on Saturday with MONEY BOX and MONEY BOX LIVE is back three o'clock next Monday afternoon.

BACK ANNO: That was Paul Lewis and the producer was Diane Richardson.