There are times when I wish I was anything other than a modest,
self-deprecating Englishman. Others are so much better at
self-publicity than me and would have no compunction about using,
say, their monthly column in a prestigious magazine (e.g. Motor
Finance) to punt their wares (such as, for example, their
newly-published book). Yes, being a shy and retiring has its
drawbacks. But it’s time to break the mould. Here goes.
For a long time I felt there was a need for a textbook for fleet
managers so when I wrote Managing Your Company Cars I was pleased
it was so well received. It seemed fleet managers agreed with me.
Strong demand for the first edition encouraged me to write the
second, which has sold in 26 countries.
However, at 520 pages Managing Your Company Cars is a textbook,
not a light read for a busy manager. That’s why I have just written
a new book, Managing Your Company Cars in 9 Easy Steps. (Snappy
title, eh?) It takes the core material from Managing Your Company
Cars and distils it into a much slimmer volume.
To prolong this book’s shelf-life I have ignored topics that
might be hitting the fleet headlines right now but which are less
likely to be of pressing interest in a few years or which will no
longer be relevant or accurate.
So, for example, some tax issues and incentives are omitted,
except where this might leave the reader confused (e.g. a
discussion of ECO schemes cannot get very far without mentioning
income tax, national insurance and approved mileage allowance
rates).
So, dear reader, if you are still reading and have not been
turned off by this blatant advertising, allow me to make you a
special offer. The new book retails for £15 and should by now be
available from Amazon and good bookshops. It will certainly be
available from http://www.tourick.com/ either as a
hard copy or an e-book. Readers of Motor Finance can order (or
download) a copy at a 20 per cent discount by quoting promotional
code 8527.
Blah blah Budget
Now that we’ve got the important stuff out of the way I suppose
I should mention the other (rather less important) thing that has
just happened – the Budget. The details are now old news but just
to recap: the increase in fuel duty has been deferred until
October; AMAPs are unchanged; there will be a new writing down
allowance regime from next year; the lease rental disallowance is
changing to 15 per cent rather than the current ‘half the excess
rule’; 100 per cent first year allowances for low-emission cars
(under 100g/km) will be extended until 2013; fuel benefit tax
charge will increase by at least the RPI from next year; a new
showroom tax is to be introduced and there are have been small
‘green’ changes to company car benefit in kind tax.
The great thing about these changes is that they introduce
certainty to a market that has suffered from a great deal of
uncertainty for the past two years. Let’s hope it lasts.
Colin Tourick, www.tourick.com
Motor Finance Issue: 42 – April 08
by
Colin Tourick ,
Published for the web: April 24 08 9:39
Last Updated: April 24 08 13:53
