Monday, December 26, 2016

Security and Risk Online on Amazon Opens Data Centers to Boost U.K. Cloud Services

(Bloomberg) -- Amazon Web Services, the cloud-hosting arm of Amazon.com Inc., opened new data centers in the U.K. as it seeks to stay abreast of competitors in offering cloud computing services to government and health-care customers.

The new data centers, announced in a statement on Wednesday, follow decisions by IBM and Microsoft Corp. in the past two months to expand their cloud computing infrastructure in the U.K.

The U.K. data region, which comprises two zones, each consisting of multiple data centers, is the 16th Amazon Web Services operates worldwide and it’s third in Europe. A fourth in France has already been announced and will open next year.

Governments are increasingly moving computing functions into the cloud. But they are often required for regulatory and security purposes to hold data within their national borders. The same applies for sensitive health-care information. Meeting these demands is one reason cloud providers are rushing to open more data centers around the globe.

"This is a great enabler for data that has to remain in the U.K., like health-care," Chris Hayman, who manages Amazon Web Services’ British government accounts, said in an interview.

Liam Maxwell, the U.K.’s national technology adviser, said in a statement that the government had saved 3.5 billion pounds ($4.4 billion) so far by choosing to host data in the cloud rather than on its own servers.

Financial-service firms are also often concerned with minimizing the time it takes to connect to trading venues, another reason to expand in the U.K., said Teresa Carlson, vice president for worldwide public sector operations for Amazon Web Services. “The U.K. is a really important part of the world, being a center of the financial industry,” she said.

The decision to build new data centers in the U.K. predates the country’s June vote to leave the European Union, Carlson said. But giving customers the ability to store data in the U.K. has taken on increased importance since the Brexit vote as clients worry about whether British data privacy rules will diverge from European standards. “Now, whether the U.K. is in Europe or not, they have their own region,” she said.

Amazon Web Services declined to specify exactly how many facilities it operates in the country, how many people will be employed or how much money it will invest.

Karen Bradley, U.K. Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, said in a statement that Amazon’s action “is a strong endorsement of our approach to the digital economy” and “shows a clear confidence in the U.K. being open for business and one of the best places in the world for technology companies to invest in and grow.”

Sunday, December 18, 2016

Oakmere Wealth Management Advisors: Chartered Financial Planner

Carla Brown graduated through the Chartered Insurance Institute and has been awarded the title CharteredFinancial Planner by the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII).

Chartered Status is the profession's gold standard for financial planners. It confirms that every Chartered Financial Planner has completed a suite of professional qualifications equivalent to a bachelor's degree.


It also involves a commitment to continuing professional development and adherence to an industry standard Code of Ethics. You can view the Code at www.cii.co.uk/code.

Thursday, December 15, 2016

KAORI FUCHI Tax and Consulting Services


We support companies and individuals in all tax, accounting, andpayroll matters and in compliance with all Japanese laws and regulations.

Overview of our Services:

> Starting an operation in Japan
> Bookkeeping and reports
> Payroll services
> Corporate tax compliance services
> Tax Auditing for foreigners/foreign companies
> International tax consulting services
> Expat's Tax Treatment
> Consulting for all tax-related matters
> One Stop Service available

We have a range of specialists including lawyers and judicial scriveners within our network.
Our “One Stop Service” saves our clients time and effort. 

Starting an operation in Japan

When you start a business in Japan, it is important to choose the appropriate entity, such as a representative office, a branch office, and/or a Japanese subsidiary. Additionally, we provide advice and planning services concerning all issues of your visa.

Bookkeeping and Reports

We provide bookkeeping services tailored to the specific needs of our clients.
We also prepare reports in English for foreign head offices and have an ability to contact the head office directly through conference calls, live video, etc.

Payroll Services

We provide payroll services for local employees, including the calculation of withholding taxes, social insurance premiums (pension, health care), labor insurance premiums (accident and unemployment insurances), etc.

Compliance Services

We provide corporate compliance services which include the preparation of tax returns for corporate tax, consumption tax, fixed assets tax, and business premises tax. We are able to give expert advice on strategic tax-planning in order to minimize our clients’ tax burdens.

Tax Audit for Foreigners / foreign companies

In recent years, we have seen an increase in the number of non-Japanese and foreign companies being audited by the Japanese tax authority, sometimes with heavy penalties being imposed only because they are unaware of the correct tax requirements. We support all such cases and can solve these problems for you, bringing you peace of mind.

International tax consulting services

Our international tax consulting services include Transfer Pricing, Withholding tax treatment, Permanent Establishment (PE), Tax Havens, Foreign Dividend Exemption Systems, and Tax Treaties. Additionally, we have set up a tax consulting firm in Hong Kong and provide high quality services based on our strong network within and outside of Japan, especially in Hong Kong, Korea, and Vietnam. Be sure to contact us if your company is looking to expand into Asian countries.

Expat's Tax Treatment

We handle tax matters for individual expatriates (tax returns, consulting services), as well as tax agent duties.

Please also feel free to contact us about the handling of non-resident and non-permanent resident tax matters.

We offer an inexpensive alternative to the major tax accounting firms, while still maintaining consistent quality through tax treaty applications and the processing of foreign income tax credits.

Consulting for all tax-related matters

All manners of tax consulting services are available upon our clients’ request, including the calculation of deferred tax assets and liabilities, attendance at a tax audit, preparation of transfer-price study reports, the filing of applications related to tax treaties, the appointing of a tax representative for foreigners, and the preparation of inheritance tax returns, etc.

Our Fee


Initial Tax Consulting rate: 30,000yen / 60min.