PCG ANNOUNCES INCREASE IN ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP FEE

The PCG membership fee has remained the same since the organisation became a limited company in 2000. During this time, PCG has grown and matured significantly beyond its original mission and is today widely recognised as the “voice of freelancers”, representing the freelance business community across every sector.

We have clear ambitions of what we want to achieve in the future and these include:

• Continued lobbying of Government and other stakeholders to protect the rights of freelancers
• Increasing the commercial and work opportunities for members
• Building the professionalism of freelancers
• Providing core advice to members in the areas of taxation and other legal matters
• Providing privileged access to complementary resources that will build the capability of PCG members

To carry this mission forward, it has become necessary to increase the annual membership fee to £120 for a single full member. The membership fee for companies with more than one fee earner will be dependent upon the number of fee earners, starting at £180 for two. This will take effect from Monday 5 April 2004.

The range of benefits of PCG membership is comprehensive. Taken alone, the basket of insurances, help lines, draft contracts and other items that are bundled in your membership fee might cost you as an individual over £970.

We are proud of our achievements in 2003 and have already started 2004 with a host of initiatives including:

Budget 2004
Budget day on Wednesday 17 March is expected to herald the most important Budget for freelancers since IR35 was announced four years' ago. PCG has selected a team of specialists, including representatives from Accountax, to provide expert tax and political analysis on the day, and will be providing a definitive view of the announcements from a freelance small business owner's perspective.

IR35 Payback
PCG and Accountax have developed a scheme that will enable many freelancers who have paid up under IR35 to claim back their tax paid.

SARA
Working with Accountax again, PCG has developed an online risk analysis tool called SARA to help members understand their exposure to Section 660A.

Smarter Freelancing seminars
One attendee was moved to write, “Since attending the seminar, I've given myself a motivational injection.”

The first 14 seminars were extremely well received and we are already planning further venues for April and May, subject to the level of interest. If you would like to register your interest in attending a seminar, please visit the survey site at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=16239416207 where you can let us know about your preferred location.

Your continued membership of PCG guarantees the most comprehensive range of personal and business benefits offered by any dedicated freelancer business organisation in the UK.

Thank you for your continued support.

PCG ELECTIONS 2004

PCG's annual elections for the Consultative Council (CC) will be conducted via a dedicated area of the website between 19 April and 3 May 2004. Candidates must put themselves forward for nomination by 12:00 on 26 April 2004, and will need to be seconded by ten other members in order to go forward to the voting stage. All full members are eligible to vote. For further information, see http://www.pcg.org.uk/InternalNews/Elections.html.

BRIAN COTTER MP SEEKS CASE STORIES

Brian Cotter MP, who is the small business spokesman for the Liberal Democrats and who has proposed an early day motion on IR591, is keen to know about cases of small business owners who have incorporated within the last two years, as a direct response to the Treasury's introduction of the 0% Corporation Tax rate.

If this applies to you, and you are willing to participate in his research and lobbying exercise, please contact his research assistant Sarah Taft on [email protected]. Whatever representations you make will be in your capacity as an individual and business owner, not as an official PCG spokesperson.