clkmoms.info

Upon getting information about an upcoming school science fair and the need to consider a topic of interest, many students will typically have no idea where to get started. While the science fair is typically a common occurrence in any school at any grade level, there are different types of topics that should be taken a look at depending on the age of the student. After first taking a look at the many different categories of science projects, you will be able to locate a suitable choice of topic to take to the next level.There is a wide variety of categories that fall under the types of science projects that can be chosen for a school science fair. These include biology, chemistry, physics, microbiology, biochemistry, medicine, environmental, mathematics, engineering, and earth science. While you may not have yet learned very much in any of these categories, don’t be afraid to see what each one entails. Taking a good look at your interests will allow you to focus on the right direction to take.Many resources are also available for those who are unsure as to the topic they are wanting to use to create their science projects. If you take a look at the topics that fall under the biology category, you will likely notice that there are topics that deal with plants, animals, and humans. For those who are in 2nd grade or 3rd grade, an interesting topic may be to determine if ants are picky over what type of food they eat. While this topic might not be of interest to an 8th grader, it is certainly something in the biology category that an elementary school student would enjoy.Along with the biology category, a high school student may want to take a look at diffusion and osmosis in animal cells as this would be a more appropriate topic for the grade level. A student in 6th grade would be more advanced than an elementary school student, but not as advanced as a high school student. At this middle school grade level, a topic of how pH levels effect the lifespan of a tadpole may be of interest.Whichever resource is used to locate a topic for science projects, it is always a good idea to consider the grade level of the student prior to making a selection. It is always assumed to be best to have a project at an appropriate level in order to keep the attention of the student and provide a fun and enjoyable learning experience.

Capital gains tax. Lets look first at the capital gains tax position of a transfer of property. On the assumption that the parent is UK resident and domiciled any transfer of property will be subject to UK capital gains tax. You’ll therefore need to calculate the gain arising and crucially to consider the offset of reliefs to reduce this gain.It’s worth noting that the residence of the child is irrelevant for UK tax purposes. Therefore, even if they are tax resident in a tax haven, the UK resident and domiciled parent will still have to consider their own capital gains tax position.As parents are classed as ‘connected’ with their children for capital gains tax purposes, any transfer from the parents to the child is treated as a market value transfer. As such, even though the children don’t pay any proceeds to the parent for the property when calculating the capital gain it is the market value of the property that needs to be considered.The gain will therefore represent the uplift in value from the date of acquisition or probate value to the market value at the date of transfer. Note if the property was acquired before March 1982 there are special provisions that can apply to deem the cost to be the market value at March 1982.What reliefs are offset?It is the reliefs that can significantly reduce any capital gain. The main reliefs that any parent would be looking to consider to reduce the capital gain would be:
Indexation relief if the property was acquired before April 1998. This adjusts the cost (or probate value) for the effects of inflation up until April 1998
Taper relief. You’ll need to consider what type of property it is. If you’re looking at transferring a residential property it will nearly always be a non business asset. This will reduce the capital gain by up to 40% if you’ve owned it for at least ten years. Ownership of less than this will qualify for a reduced rate of taper relief (eg ownership of 5 years will qualify for taper relief of 15%) dependent on the period of ownership above three years. So three years ownership qualifies for 5% relief, four years for 10% etc.If however the property is either a Furnished holiday let or is used for the purposes of a trade (eg it is a shop, office or factory that is transferred and it has been used by a trader) it will qualify for at least some business asset taper relief. This can be very beneficial as maximum business asset taper relief can reduce the gain by 75%. So if you’re looking at transferring a business asset the gain is likely to be significantly reduced.

Gift relief. If a property is used for the purposes of the parents trade or their trading company they may be able to claim gift relief. This allows a deferral of the gain arising (provided the child agrees!) and allows the parent to pass the property to the child free of capital gains tax. The future disposal of the property by the child would then crystallise the deferred capital gain.
Annual exemption. If the parents own the property jointly the humble annual capital gains tax exemption should not be forgotten. It allows each individual to exempt (currently) £9,200 of any gains from capital gains tax in each tax year. So if the parents had no other capital gains, the annual exemption could ensure that a gain of around £18,400 was fully exempt from tax.
Other capital gains tax exemptions such as rollover relief and the EIS deferral relief would not apply as there are no disposal proceeds!Non UK resident parentsIf the parents are non UK resident and non UK ordinarily resident they can transfer UK property to their children free of CGT subject to two caveats.
Firstly this doesn’t apply to any property that is used for the purposes of a UK trade. Therefore if you run a UK business and use the property for that business you can’t claim the CGT exemption even if you’re non UK resident.
Secondly if you own the property at the date you leave the UK you’ll need to ensure that you remain non UK resident for at least five complete tax years to avoid UK capital gains tax. If you come back before the expiry of five tax years the capital gain will be charged in the tax year of your return.
Non UK domiciled parentsIf the parents are UK resident but non UK domiciled they can transfer overseas property to their children free of capital gains tax. This applies irrespective of the residence and domicile status of the children. If the property was UK property this exemption would not be available and the capital gain would simply be charged as usual. Form of transferIt’s important to note that the transfer needs to be of the beneficial interest in the property. This does not necessarily tie in with the legal interest.This means that if you wanted to transfer the property to your children you could transfer just the beneficial interest and retain the legal interest, or transfer the legal and beneficial interest together. If you transferred just the legal interest and retained the beneficial interest there would be no effective transfer for Capital Gains purposes and you’d still be treated as the owner of the property in law.It can sometimes be easier to just draft a deed of gift and arrange for the beneficial interest to be transferred.Inheritance taxAny transfer at undervalue from the parents to the children will usually be a potentially exempt transfer (‘PET’) for inheritance tax purposes. Again I’m assuming initially that the parents are UK resident and domiciled.So in the case of a gift of the property the full market value of the property will be treated as a PET. If the children were to pay some of the value to the parents it would only be the difference between the market value and the amount paid that would be a PET.With a PET there is no immediate Inheritance tax charge on the parents and provided they survive for at least seven years from the date of the transfer the amount gifted would be excluded from their estates for inheritance tax purposes.Note that the residence and domicile status of the children is again irrelevant.Non Resident parentsNon UK resident parents would have no impact on the Inheritance tax position, and the transfer would still be a PET for inheritance tax purposes.Non Domiciled parentsIf the parents are non UK domiciled they can transfer overseas property to their children free of any Inheritance tax implications — irrespective of whether they survive for seven years or not. UK property is unaffected (unless it’s owned via an offshore company) and non UK domiciled parents would still be classed as making a PET on the transfer of UK property to their children.Gift with reservation of benefit rulesIf the parents make a gift to the children and retain a benefit in the property transferred there are special anti avoidance rules than can ensure that the property is not classed as a PET for Inheritance tax purposes.Instead the property remains within their estate for Inheritance tax purposes until the benefit ceases. This could apply for instance if the parents continue to live in the property, of if they continue to benefit from the rental income obtained from the property. One way that they could get around having the property still in their estate would be to pay the children a market rate for the benefit that they get from the property (eg market rental).Stamp duty Land TaxUnless the property is mortgaged the parents should be able to transfer the property to the children free of stamp duty providing it is a genuine gift. If there was any proceeds payable to the parents this would then be classed as ‘chargeable consideration’ for stamp duty purposes and a stamp duty charge would need to be calculated.Note that if there is a mortgage or any other form of debt that is transferred from parents to the children with the property this would also be classed as ‘consideration’ for the purposes of stamp duty.

Low taxation and straight forward bureaucratic procedures attract business people and investors from all over the world to invest in the Republic of Cyprus. Cyprus’ low taxation regime facilitates the expansion of business activities in the island. In the current article, I will present some useful information about capital gains and immovable property taxation schemes in Cyprus. The recent amendments of the Law 119(I)/2013 and the Law 120(I)/2013 aim at encouraging economic activity, attract more investors and simplify even more the Cyprus tax regime. According to the amendments of the legislations mentioned above, more capital gains are not taxed in Cyprus. The only capital gains that are taxed are those associated with the disposal of real estate located in Cyprus. Following the amendments of the Law 119 (I)/2013 and the Law 120(I)/2013, real estate owners will be taxed based on the value of their property.Capital Gains Taxation:Subject to certain exceptions (see the list below), the capital gain tax is charged on profits arising after the 1st January 1980, from the sale or transfer of immovable property in the Republic of Cyprus or company’s shares, located in Cyprus, that owns immovable property (Reference 1). Briefly, the net profit derived from the sale or transfer of real estate is taxed at the rate of 20%. The calculation of the net profit derived from the disposal embeds the inflation rate. Inflation is calculated based on the official Retail Price Index. Moreover, according to the amendments of the Law 119 (I)/2013 and the Law 120(I)/2013 the value of the real estate is calculated following the related provisions of the Immovable Property Law.List of Exemptions:
Transfer of property due to death.

Gifts to children, spouses and any other relative up to the third degree.

Gift to a company. The shareholders of the particular company are and continue to be members of the donor’s family for five years after the offer of the gift.

Gift offered by a firm to its shareholders, given that the particular property was originally donated to the company. Moreover, the recipient is obliged to keep the immovable property for at least three years.

Gift to the government or to local authorities of the Republic of Cyprus for educational or other charitable purposes.

Exchange or sale based on the Agricultural Land (Consolidation) Laws.

Exchange of properties. In this case, the values of the real estate properties that have been exchanged must be the same.

Gain derived from the disposal of shares, listed on any Stock Exchange.

Transfers resulted by reorganisation.
Lifetime exemptions for individuals:
Disposal of own residence: Gain (85.430 euro)

Disposal of agricultural land by a farmer: Gain (25.629 euro)

Any other disposal of real estate: Gain (17.086 euro)
Immovable Property Taxation:In Cyprus, the annual immovable property tax is imposed on every individual or legal person who owns immovable property in the island regardless of whether they are or not residents of the Republic of Cyprus. The tax they are obliged to pay is based on the total value of the whole immovable property registered in their name (Reference 2).The immovable property tax is estimated according to the market value of the immovable property as at 1st January 1980 and is payable by the 30th September of every year at the Inland Revenue Department. In this point, it should be clarified that individual owners are exempt from this tax in case the 1980 value of their property is less than €12.500.The relevant tax bands as revised in 2013:
If the assessed 1980 property value is less than 12.500 euro the annual tax rate is 0 (%) and the accumulated tax is zero.

If the assessed 1980 property value is between 12.500-40.000 euro the annual tax rate is 0.60 (%) and the accumulated tax is 240 euro.

If the assessed 1980 property value is between 40.001-120.000 euro the annual tax rate is 0.80 (%) and the accumulated tax is 880 euro.

If the assessed 1980 property value is between 120.001-170.000 euro the annual tax rate is 0.90 (%) and the accumulated tax is 1.330 euro.

If the assessed 1980 property value is between 170.001-300.000 euro the annual tax rate is 1.10 (%) and the accumulated tax is 2.760 euro.

If the assessed 1980 property value is between 300.001-500.000 euro the annual tax rate is 1.30 (%) and the accumulated tax is 5.360 euro.

If the assessed 1980 property value is between 500.001-800.000 euro the annual tax rate is 1.50 (%) and the accumulated tax is 9.860 euro.

If the assessed 1980 property value is between 800.001-3.000.000 euro the annual tax rate is 1.70 (%) and the accumulated tax is 47.260 euro.

If the assessed 1980 property value is more than 3.000.000 euro the annual tax rate is 1.90 (%).
Note: Every registered owner whose immovable property is more than €120.000 is obliged to submit a Declaration of Immovable Property (IR 301 and IR302) and pay the equivalent annual tax before the 30th of September.Important Warnings:Because of the delays in issuing Title Deeds, some developers are the registered owners of real estate property. In accordance with the law, the “registered owners” (in our case the developers) are obliged to pay annual declarations of their immovable property to the relevant authorities and pay the Immovable Property Tax, plus any late payment penalties.Until Title Deeds are issued purchaser is obliged to pay only Property Transfer Fees so that to secure ownership of the property he or she has bought, which will then be registered in his or her name.Nevertheless, in some Contracts of Sales, developers request the buyers to pay the immovable property tax by the time they take delivery of a property. In many cases, some developers charge purchasers outrageous sums of money based on the price the property was sold. Moreover, in some cases, the developers add to the whole amount the late payment penalties.I would advise buyers to ask the developers to provide them with the adequate proofs that demonstrate that the immovable property tax that has been paid to the Inland Revenue corresponds to the land where the development has been constructed.As a result, I am advising purchasers NOT to pay a developer any Immovable Property Tax unless the developer:
Provides a written proof of the amount of Immovable Property Tax that the developer has paid to the Inland Revenue for the land where the development has been constructed.

Provides buyer a written statement clarifying buyer’s shares of the aforementioned land.

Issue a written invoice on the company’s letterhead that states the agreed amount to be paid.

Issue a written company receipt for the amount that had been paid.
Invest in Cyprus: Have a proper legal supportAs it was explained above, the amendments of the Law 119 (I)/2013 and the Law 120(I)/2013 together with the tax friendly regimes give more incentives to international investors and business people to expand their business activities in Cyprus. However, investors and business people should take into account that investing in real estate requires a proper legal guidance.Reference 1: TAX DEPARTMENT: DIRECT TAXATION: Capital Gains Taxation http://www.mof.gov.cy/mof/ird/ird.nsf/dmlfaq_en/dmlfaq_en?OpenDocument#3Reference 2: TAX DEPARTMENT: DIRECT TAXATION: Immovable Property http://www.mof.gov.cy/mof/ird/ird.nsf/dmlfaq_en/dmlfaq_en?OpenDocument#5