Egypt – A Country Beyond Imagination!

The Arab Republic of Egypt, commonly known as Egypt.

When we hear this word, the common image which is displayed in our mind is the view of the Pyramids. Most people think that the word Pyramid is a synonym to Egypt. Is Egypt confined to Pyramids only? No way, ask someone who has ever visited Egypt. Egypt is one of the most fascinating places in the world. Many people visit this country for vacations preferably between mid October & May as the weather is not as hot as in other months of the year. It may be a bit surprising for you that, in spite of visiting beautiful places in Egypt, shopping can be a major aspect in your EGYPT TOUR.

o This is a great holiday location for lovers of arts and architecture. You have an option of renting a self catering holiday apartment or you can opt for some great holiday villas with swimming pools. There are endless places to explore in the Egypt. Egypt has amazing historical treasures- temples, pyramids and museums.

o You can enjoy the various aquatic sports facilities available here, you can visit underwater gardens offshore for a thrilling experience and moreover you can take a boat with glass bottom which lets you see the beautiful world under the water due to the transparent bottom. You will see the different species of beautiful fishes and corals.

o Now, when you are in Egypt, a desert safari is a must, it’s time to experience and explore the mighty Sahara desert and the Sinai desert. Not necessarily on camels, you can comfortably explore the deserts in a 4-wheel drive vehicle.

o The Great Sphinx of Giza is a must place to be visited; it is the legendary structure of half human and half lion. At night, here you can watch multi-media shows which showcase the history of pyramids and Sphinx.

o Hurghada is another place which you will love to visit, it is famous for its adventure sports and also for its night life as it have many night clubs and bars.

o You can cruise down the Nile, which is the longest river in the world and also spend a beach vacation at the top notch Red Sea.

o A Cairo tour may include a diving excursion in the Ras Mohammed underwater nature reserve or a trek to a desert Bedouin Camp. A visit to the Cario museum will let you know about the breathtaking antiquities of ancient Egypt. You can know more about the mysterious city with a help of a local guide who can make you much familiar with the local history and places. Don’t forget to take some extra films and batteries for you camera, you will need it.

o You can experience the taste of strong and dark Turkish coffee or smoke the aromatic sheesha pipe while playing backgammon in ahwa or a coffee house. Moreover, you can watch the famous belly dance over here.

o You can find a plenty of casinos in Egypt, and the popular games which are played in the casinos here are American Roulette, Blackjack, Poker, Pinto Bunco, Stud Poker and Roulette.

A visit to Egypt can mark an unforgettable experience of a lifetime. The one country which consists of various ancient places, worth to be known history, the adventurous place, various modern facilities and also a relaxing environment is worth visiting. Quiet obvious, if you want to enjoy and don’t want to miss a thing, you need to plan a proper tour to Egypt.…

More Tax Tips for Employees

Travel to and from work

The cost of travelling in the performance of the duties of your employment is allowable. (Section 337 ITEPA 2003). However, the cost of travel between your home and the place of your employment is not allowable.

You can claim for some travel if you can bring your circumstances in line with the facts in the case of Pook -v- Owen 45 TC 571. The Doctor in this case held appointments as an obstetrician and an anaesthetist at a hospital 15 miles from his home. When on standby, he was consulted as necessary on the telephone. He would instruct the hospital staff before driving to the hospital.

The House of Lords allowed the costs of this travel on the grounds that his duties began when he received the telephone call from the hospital.

You cannot claim for the cost of travel to your permanent workplace but travel between workplaces and where you travel to a temporary workplace is allowable.

A temporary workplace is where you work temporarily at a place for less than 24 months. If the contract is for a period of less than 24 months that becomes a permanent workplace (Sections 338 & 339 ITEPA 2003).

HMRC continue to pay attention to the travel costs of the self-employed and in a recent case they challenged the business base claiming it was not at the taxpayer’s home. The Tribunal found against them following the case of Horton v Young 40 TC 60.

Personal incidental expenses

When you work away from home regularly and need to stay in hotels in the UK, you can be paid a flat rate of A�5 per night tax free and without this having to be declared for tax. Employees working outside the UK can receive up to A�10 per night.

This allowance is to cover such things as laundry, newspapers, telephone calls home and a reasonable level of refreshment, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic.

See the Guidance notes for employers, Press Release May 16, 1995. A�5 is not a lot but asI have said elsewhere, many small amounts added together are worthwhile in total (Section 268 ITEPA 2003).

Fuel rate

If you pay for the fuel in your company car or you are required to reimburse the cost of fuel used for private journeys there is an HMRC approved scale and from Ist June, 2011 and are as follows.

Engine size 1,400cc or less, Petrol 15p, Diesel 12p, LPG 11p.

Engine size 1401 to 2,000 cc Petrol 18p, Diesel 15p, LPG 13p.

Engine size over 2,000cc Petrol 26p, Diesel 18p, LPG 18p

Records

Keep accurate mileage records. Record all mileage so you are able to prove the business mileage.

Where your employer pays you less than the authorised mileage rate remember to make a claim to HMRC in respect of the difference and claim for all the years in date.…

The Importance Of Having A Break With Your Family

Generally we often feel tired with our work and daily tasks because of the pressure that we could get from the society. We always end up contemplating with our daily routine and as well as our deadlines. However as a person you should always remember that you have some sort of limitations when it comes to your strength as a human being. It is not advisable for you to put burdens to yourself every now and then. You should also learn how to enjoy life.

Our daily work and responsibilities are the main reasons why an individual often suffers from great stress and even anxiety. There are two reasons why an individual chooses to work. The first reason is that to make use of the knowledge and skills that he or she have managed to acquire during his or her college years. Another reason which is the most obvious one is due to money or salary that he or she could earn from rendering a service. Money is essential for a person to survive in this modern type of society.

Money becomes the basic standards of the society. Several individuals are also pressured when it comes to their work because they are driven by the expectation of the society. Sometimes they are more concern with what the society would tell them than to their own capabilities. Money is indeed very important because it is the only way to satisfy the basic needs of the family. Moreover the only way to obtain or acquire money in a descent manner is to work. You are paid according to the service that you have rendered over your company.

Oftentimes the parents are the ones who are pressured when it comes to the needs of their family. They feel responsible for those needs and it is their task to satisfy those needs. According to psychologists it is the main reason why several working individuals become workaholics. They are greatly pressured by their responsibilities and they feel like the only way for them to solve such problem is to work and work. They sometimes forget about their health and other responsibilities because they are already preoccupied with their work.

Even though the main goal of the parents is to provide the necessary needs of their family, it is sometimes the main reason why there are misguided children. The time of the parents are only focused on their work. Psychologists believe that this idea must be prevented in order to preserve the emotional and psychological status of the children.

Vacation is one of the best ways to comfort the stressful mind of any person. Traveling is part of the best option to unite your entire family. Nowadays it is very much easy to find a way to enjoy the time that you could spend with your family. There are several sites where you can find great traveling deals. You can have variety of choices once you know how the online shopping works because best way to save and enjoy is to be wise.…

Antigua and Barbuda Travel Advice

Visiting Antigua and Barbuda can be much facilitated by choosing the right and trusted travel agent in the country. Travel professionals know the local conditions and requirements, and for less money, can give you valuable information on how to prepare your trip.

The island group Vadadli was discovered by Columbus in 1493, during his second expedition to the shores of the New World. Columbus named the island after the church of Antigua de Santa Maria in Seville. A beautiful island with a picturesque coast, numerous coves and lush vegetation was the scene of the struggle of the European colonists with Indian tribes and the aggressive forces of nature. Today, the island of Antigua and Barbuda is one of the major resort areas of the West Indies. In Antigua, there is a huge number of modern hotels, nightclubs, water sports centers and entertainment complexes.

St. John’s is the capital of Antigua, its commercial center and major tourist area of the country. St. John’s is a rather unusual capital. It is home to only 30 thousand people, but it is almost half of the population. This is a major tourist center of the island but, nevertheless, much of the city remains an example of old Caribbean architecture and lifestyle. All tourist activity is limited to the embankment around the harbor, Heritage Quay and the pastoral area of Redcliffe Quay, where the majority of shops, restaurants and galleries are found, as well as the picturesque stone buildings and wooden huts, apparently aimed at tourists. Some of them are beautifully restored, others are in a dilapidated state, but all of them create a special atmosphere that makes St. John’s popular among tourists.

To explore the city and its attractions, a few hours will be enough, since all the main sights are located close to each other. A tour can begin with St. John’s Cathedral with two little clumsy towers as the hallmark of the island and one of the rare examples of mixed wood and stone architecture. In the southern part of the cathedral you can find a small cemetery with old, moss-grown tombstones, many of which date back to the 17th century. Another noteworthy place is the Museum of Antigua and Barbuda, located in a colonial house of the Court. The museum has a good collection of exhibits on the history and culture of Indian tribes and the colonial period. The main street has a lot of fine old buildings and wine shops of the 17th century. The Art Gallery of Antigua lies on the northeastern coast of Hodges Bay. A small fort in St John’s harbor will give you a chance to see a few old guns, the gunpowder storage, barracks and a few almost intact fortifications.

English Harbour is considered the most popular tourist attraction in Antigua with the richest collection of historic monuments. The main attractions here are the British naval base, the National Park and the partially restored fortified observation post. The west coast of Antigua is famous for a chain of hotels and a string of beautiful beaches. The island of Barbuda lies to the north of Antigua. This quiet, pastoral village island is very rarely visited by tourists. Nevertheless, this small piece of land in the vast expanse of the sea is considered one of the most picturesque islands of the world, and its eight-kilometer Long Beach is one of the most beautiful beaches.

Codrington, the capital of the island, resembles a village. It is a sleepy little town, the chief ornament of which are many beautiful one-storey houses, the Government House, the post office, and the school of the Holy Trinity. There are a few guesthouses, a handful of restaurants, bars and shops in the town, but in general it is very quiet and deserted.

The mansion of the Codringtons is called Codrington House, it is located in the elevated part of the island and offers a superb panorama of the coastline. Martello Tower, located nearby, is a part of the system of fortifications of the island. Spanish Points Cape is the most southeastern point of Barbuda, possibly named after a Spanish galleon ‘Santiago de Kalerin’. It is known for pure sand and sparkling water with many superb beaches.…

Top Tips For a Small Group Tour – Where to Start

If you haven’t traveled overseas before, a SMALL GROUP TOUR is a good way to start. Here are some tips to get you started.

If you haven’t travelled overseas before, a SMALL GROUP TOUR is a good way to start.

You could start by looking on the internet if you have access.

If not, go visit a travel agent and ask them for information on small group tours in the countries you may be considering visiting. If you haven’t dealt with travel agents before, go to a couple of different ones and asks questions. A good travel agent will provide you with all the answers and give you extra information, with a smile.

Take these travel books home, go through them and prioritise the things you would like to see in each country.

Look at the available small group tours, and how the places you would like to see match in with the Tours that are being offered.

Choose a small group tour which covers most things you would like to see and check out the price. Compare a couple of similar tours (sometimes they are identical) from different tour companies, with what they each have to offer, and look at value for money.

Determine how long you would like to go for, this also relevant to the price of a Small Group Tour.

Remember a small group tour is usually escorted travel with no more than 10-15 people. This allows for flexibility, informality, and the ability to accommodate the interests of travellers.

Check also if this is a tour, escorted by an English speaking guide as well as a local guide for each city/region you expect to visit.

Consider the fitness level of you and your partner. Go through the Tour Grading in the Booklets and be guided by this.

Determine what time of year you would like to travel. Once again compare the prices, as it is usually cheaper to travel in the “off season” rather than in” peak season”.

When you have decided on a Tour which suits you; decided on when and where you would like to go, then see your travel agent.

The travel agent will go through it with you, provide any further advice you require, such as Visa requirements, Health and Travel Insurance. The travel agent will also take care of your Tour bookings and flights etc.

Last but not least when you decide to travel overseas, you will also need a valid Passport.…