The last budget speech saw an increase in car tax and a 2p rise in fuel costs effective from October 2008. Critics believe that these increases will put a strain on car drivers who are already paying the highest ever prices for fuel, another bone of contention is whether the tax cuts for greener ca…
The last budget speech saw an increase in car tax and a 2p rise in fuel costs effective from October 2008. Critics believe that these increases will put a strain on car drivers who are already paying the highest ever prices for fuel, another bone of contention is whether the tax cuts for greener cars will encourage drivers to consider cleaner transport.

The only good news for drivers that came out of the budget changes was that the Chancellor decided to delay to 2p increase on fuel prices until October 2008, however since the cost of fuel is already at an all time high currently at 106.1p per litre.

Ashton Berkhauer, an insurance expert at uSwitch.com said: “The budget announcement may prove a bitter pill to swallow for Britain’s 41.7 million motorists. Only those drivers opting for the least polluting vehicles, currently representing just 0.2% of all cars on the road will be incentivised.”

The head of insurance.co.uk, Steve Grainger said: “For those who are already stretching to meet petrol prices, October will arrive all too quickly.”

There has been a lot of speculation in recent months that the highest polluting vehicles will start to face penalties and environmentally friendly drivers will be rewarded. So the announcement that from 2010 drivers with the most environmentally friendly vehicles will not pay any tax in their first year was no surprise. The most polluting vehicles can expect to see an increase in the price of their tax, Band G vehicles are expected to see an increase of 233% from ?300 to ?1,000 in the first year.

Berkhauer said: “Drivers of green vehicles are best off financially. Our research shows that eco-friendly car owners currently save ?165.40 a year on fuel compared to those driving standard cars. The increase in October will boost this saving to almost ?170 a year.”

“The new proposal could see larger family cars, such as the Renault Espace, being subjected to the same tax as a new Lamborghini Gallardo. An extra ?1,000 may be small change to a Lamborghini buyer considering the ?126,350 price tag. However, this could be a real strain on an average family’s budget.”

It is estimated that Britain’s roads will house 55,900 green cars by the end of 2008, although this only makes up 0.2% of all UK registered vehicles.

Some critics are disappointed that the Chancellor hasn’t done more to encourage green transport. Tescocompare.com’s spokesman Matthew Dransfield said: “We fully support today”s announcement to encourage consumers to be more environmentally conscious when buying a car. However, we are disappointed that the Chancellor did not look wider to the cost barriers for purchasing green cars and consider cutting Insurance Premium Tax for these cars as an added incentive to go green.”

Car insurance for a green car can cost ?50 more than a non-green car of a similar size and with similar features because it costs more to repair green cars. Dransfield explained: “With the average car insurance premium being ?400 - the removal of the 5% insurance premium tax on “green” cars would make the cost of insuring one equivalent to a similar standard car. Motorists can do a lot to cut their carbon emissions as well as their insurance costs by reducing annual mileage, having their car serviced regularly, regularly checking tire pressure and limiting the amount of time spent idling, all of which will increase fuel efficiency and decrease carbon emissions.”

There are a couple of car insurers who offer special policies for green vehicles and customer’s attitudes towards green vehicles are changing dramatically meaning that more insurers will need to offer reasonable policy prices for green vehicles.

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Egypt has always been known as the world”s top tourist destination and now it is on the road to become one of the top real estate destinations in the world. And the reason behind Egypt becoming a property hotspot is Cairo, the glorious capital of Egypt.

Popularly known as the ‘Jewel of…
Egypt has always been known as the world”s top tourist destination and now it is on the road to become one of the top real estate destinations in the world. And the reason behind Egypt becoming a property hotspot is Cairo, the glorious capital of Egypt.

Popularly known as the ‘Jewel of the Orient” and the ‘City of a Thousand Minarets”, Cairo is the largest city in the Middle East and Africa and the seventh most populated city in the world, it lies at the centre of all routes leading to and from the three continents: Asia, Africa and Europe. Home to more than 16 million Egyptians, Arabs, Africans and others, a journey through Cairo is a journey through time, a journey through the history of an immortal civilization and a city where past and present meets.

Damac Properties, the largest private master developers in the Middle East have recently launched exclusive commercial projects in Cairo, Egypt. The project has been named Park Avenue. According to Damac Properties, Park Avenue will offer one of the finest office addresses in Egypt and is also exclusive retail opportunities.

Park Avenue – Cairo
Located in the 6 October City, Park Avenue is five minutes away from the pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx, 30 minutes from downtown Cairo and 45 minutes from Cairo International Airport. A unique development design, conceived to serve as an icon for the city. Park Avenue”s unique shape and design will provide a striking, sculptural addition to the skyline during the day and a glowing white beacon at night. It is a full-fledged development with a unique mix of office, retail and downtown living.

A place far from the maddening crowd and yet in close proximity to enjoy wide international access, excellent transportation, communication facilities and the most modern infrastructure with everything to ensure that the combination of business and pleasure meets expectations. Park Avenue allows you to get away from it all whilst remaining in the thick of it all. This is virtually the most distinguished real estate property in Egypt for connoisseurs of fine living.

Some of the very best State-of-the-art facilities include:
Swipe access
High speed internet
High speed elevators
Luxurious entrance lobby and foyers on all floors
Reception desk with 24-hour security
Security surveillance cameras
Access to retail area at the ground level

Fitness Facilities:
State-of-the-art gymnasium
Sauna / Steam room
Outdoor swimming pool

Retail Facilities:
Luxury boutiques
Fine dining restaurants
Cafes
High-end retail outlets
Adequate parking within the building

Park Avenue in Cairo is the latest Egypt Property from Damac Properties.

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One of the most frequently highlighted statistics in the UK property investment sector has been the rise in rents as the housing market has declined. With more and more would-be first-time buyers opting to stay out of the market in these uncertain times, rental demand has been higher and has pushed…
One of the most frequently highlighted statistics in the UK property investment sector has been the rise in rents as the housing market has declined. With more and more would-be first-time buyers opting to stay out of the market in these uncertain times, rental demand has been higher and has pushed up prices. Thus while buy-to-let is less of an enticing prospect than it was for those buying in the hope of rapid price inflation, it presently offers a good rental return for long-term investors.

It was for this reason that buy-to-let landlordshave remained optimistic about the future, with a recent Bradford & Bingley survey finding that 86 per cent of them plan to either maintain or expand their portfolios in the year ahead. But what, some may ask, of the prospects for the current market circumstances to remain as they are? Will the housing market continue to slow, leaving landlords in an ever healthier position, or will a renewed housing boom change matters?

The most recent evidence appears to provide good reasons to believe the downward trend is continuing for now. British Bankers” Association statistics produced earlier this week showed that secured lending is still rising, but the increase in November was less than it was in October, falling from ?4.8 billion to ?4.3 billion. Both figures in turn indicate a longer-term slowdown, with the average monthly increase over the last six months being ?5.5 billion.

Similarly, Nationwide”s figures for house prices have also indicated a house price fall for the second successive month, down 0.5 per cent in December. This is less than the 0.8 per cent recorded in November, although the latter figure may itself have been a correction of the 1.1 per cent rise recorded in October, a figure which was out of keeping with those supplied by other surveys in the autumn (these typically were well under one per cent monthly inflation).

Of course, one major factor in the coming months will be interest rates. Already down this month, Nationwide”s chief economist Fionnuala Earley predicted at least two cuts and possibly more. However, she suggested, this may not have the effect some hope.

She said: “It is true that lower interest rates will probably help market activity recover somewhat later in 2008, as lower house price growth restores some affordability and allows pent-up demand from first-time buyers to be released.”

However, Ms Earley continued, this would not be a repeat of 2005, since affordability is worse and interest rates are falling from a higher level. She concluded: “This time around lower interest rates are more likely to stabilise market activity rather than re-ignite it.”

This may be not entirely a bad thing for first-time buyers, since a gradual recovery will enable first-time buyer incomes to play catch-up rather than affordability to soar as a result of a price crash that leaves some in negative equity. Indeed, the sort of circumstances in the wider economy which could make a house crash possible - such as a recession like that of the early 1990s - is what the Bank of England will be seeking to avoid by cutting rates, as the monetary policy committee minutes revealed.

Such a gradual recovery may mean a slowing in the rate of rental price rises. This may happen anyway to avoid pricing people out of the market, but if Ms Earley is right, this will occur slowly and in a way that will give landlords plenty of time to adjust. Whatever else 2008 brings, rapid changes in market circumstances, be they price or affordability, are not what the forecasters are predicting.

In today”s world Property investment is an excellent investment option especially investment in UK

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In the United States of America, the taxes on real estate properties are taxed by the state and federal government as well. These taxes on real estate properties are the actual source of collecting revenues by the local governments. The amount of tax rates in the form of percentage are generally de…
In the United States of America, the taxes on real estate properties are taxed by the state and federal government as well. These taxes on real estate properties are the actual source of collecting revenues by the local governments. The amount of tax rates in the form of percentage are generally decided by the school boards, village boards, city councils, county legislatures, and town boards and are collected yearly by the municipalities like cities, counties or districts. Every year at the time of last September or early October, there is a budget hearing conducted by the boards to find out the required amount need by the government to run the operations in the coming year. The rate of tax is then resolute by the total taxes of board division and the total value assessed by the jurisdiction.

The purpose of the property taxes is to be utilized by municipalities to construct and improve important public infrastructures and their facilities like sewers, fire stations, parks, hospitals, roads, bridges, schools and libraries. The laws for property taxes may vary according to state to state, thereby calculating a standard property tax by each home. If any exemption is found in any case, then it will be deducted from the concluding figure. 40 states, at present, provide homestead exemptions or property tax credits that allow having lesser taxable charged value of a property. The evaluation of property value is required to determine the property tax. That is why there is a need of an assessor to assess the value of a property but not to calculate the property tax as most of the people believe.

In order to receive the assessed value, the work of the assessor is to figure out the market value of any property or the price on which that property is likely to be sold in the real estate market. This process is conducted effectively by the analysis and studies of real estate markets locally, along with the consideration regarding improvements, new constructions and demolition cost in the structured properties. If you are a homeowner, you must have an overall idea about the market value of your home that is prior based on the comparable prices of the properties in your locality. If in case you find that the value of your property is a bit high among others, you will have still an opportunity to get the value reduced throughout judicial and administrative proceedings or in this case you can even consult with your neighboring assessor.

The exact value of residential properties is multiplied by the rate of assessment value that is variedly set by each state; therefore, the amount of tax in each state differs variedly. Every person in the state should keep in his/her mind that the taxes on the properties should be paid each and every year and if someone letdown to do so, would mean to give penalties. And people should gain more knowledge about the details of important taxes in additional to their related programs like tax relieves and tax breaks in order to provide you as well as your family a convenient way to pay the taxes and even in reduced form.

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This morning Exxon, the largest energy company in the world reported record profits of $10.36 billion for the second three months of the year. This was up from $7.64 billion from the same period a year ago. You will notice that the earnings were just shy of the record $10.71 billion they reported i…
This morning Exxon, the largest energy company in the world reported record profits of $10.36 billion for the second three months of the year. This was up from $7.64 billion from the same period a year ago. You will notice that the earnings were just shy of the record $10.71 billion they reported in the fourth quarter of last year, 2005. All companies have cushions; the accountants call them reserves. There is always flexibility in the reporting of a company’s earnings. Exxon very easily could have used their flexibility to come in with earnings that were below last year’s fourth quarter record in order to avoid the embarrassment of posting another new record quarter. The company knows that the Congress is looking over Exxon’s shoulder because the American people are looking over the government’s shoulder. This is especially true with Congressional elections, and both houses of Congress up for grabs.

Every President of the United States has paid lip service to American energy independence. It’s like listening to the President’s State of the Union Address. The last seven Presidents within 1 minute of speaking at the State of the Union have always said, “I am please to report tonight that the State of the Union is strong,” with emphasis on the word strong. Each President has proclaimed the need for energy independence, and then has always backed down from doing anything about it.

The answer by the Democrats is to create a tax to confiscate or simply take away what they deem to be excess profits that Exxon, and its associates are making. The Republicans pine away about the need to open up the Southeast coast of Florida to offshore exploration, as though that’s going to bring in millions of barrels per day. The answer is that both parties are wrong. Exxon is simply tacking onto OPEC dictated price the Arab states wish to charge us. It’s more complex than that, but not by much.

Decades ago, the oil world was run by the seven largest oil companies on the planet, most of them American owned. For those of you old enough to remember back in 1973, the Arabs use an embargo against the United States, and all countries supporting Israel. The big oil companies in the United States controlled, and received 60% to as high as 65% of all the revenues generated by the Arab states.

The first cartel was formed back in 1960. From 1960 until 1973, OPEC which is the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries had very little power (we mean leverage) over the oil companies. In 1973, that certainly changed. By then the United States was bringing in daily about 35% of energy needs from overseas. Inflation was rampart; commodities in general were rising out of sight, and then all hell broke loose.

The Egyptians and the Syrians attacked Israel on two fronts. The date was Octobers 6, 1973. With the secret support of then President Nixon every weapon short of nuclear was ordered to be flown to Israel to save the Jewish state. Israel was successful in repelling the invasion, but OPEC two weeks later put an embargo against oil shipments to the United States. The Arabs then raised prices for our European allies by 70 plus percent from $3 to more than $5 per barrel. We are now at $70 plus per barrel by comparison with no adjustment for inflation.

In the 1970’s, our economy was much more intertwined with oil, and energy than it is today. We have learned to become more efficient with our machines and processes. Back then, we were propelled into a recession by the dramatic increase in oil prices. Europe went deeper into recession than we did. The lessons haven’t been forgetten, but they haven’t been learned either.

There has been no attempt by the United States for over 30 years to even begin a program of true energy independence. The answer is not to penalize efficiently run Exxon for knowing how to be extremely profitable. Remember the first principle of politics, people vote with their feet.

The Seven Sisters (giant oil companies) who controlled oil prices and policies for generations ceded that power in 1973 to the Arab states. Oil unfortunately is in all the bad neighborhoods of the world, and that’s not going to change. We are at the mercy of Arab pricing for a commodity that is the oxygen of our economy. If Arab oil stops shipping tomorrow, every car and truck, train, and plane would grind to a half shortly thereafter. The United States would have to go to war to maintain our economy and the bad guys know this. They will only push us so far, and no further.

The Arabs want our economy and our Western Europe friends to continue to grow. They want China, and the Pacific Rim to continue to grow. Only through growth can the world afford to pay for Arab oil. They do not want to gouge us, or anger us. It’s not in their interest. They do want to extract the maximum amount we are willing, and able to pay for a barrel of their liquid gold.

One of the consequences of this action is the position that GM finds itself in, and perhaps Ford is in a worse position. GM and Ford are selling cars with obsolete technology, fuel inefficiencies, in a world of Japanese competitors chomping at the bit waiting to assume the title of the largest car company in the world.

Our legacy airline companies are now in the position of having a profit statement that is inversely connected to the price of fuel. Eighteen months ago you could fly a 747 from California to Europe for $30,000 in fuel costs. Today the fuel cost is more than $100,000, and getting more expensive.

If the United States wants to achieve energy independence, we must do what France has done. Our electrical generation like France should become nuclear based over the next 15 years. For those who shudder, and cry when they hear the world nuclear, let them know that for more than 50 years the US Navy has had hundreds of vessels run by nuclear power and there has never been a nuclear incident with one of them.

Our cars have to be modeled along European lines. The Europeans have been paying more than $5 per gallons for years and they have learned to deal with it. If GM and Ford can’t handle the problem, the Japanese car companies will handle it for them. After all, the Japanese have been eating Detroit’s lunch for years. Why should it change?

Goodbye and good luck

Richard C. Stoyeck
StockAtBottom.com

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