Q I am aware that when completing large sensitive business deals, it is imperative that confidentiality and secrecy is maintained, but how can this be done?

A It can be very difficult to stop information leaking to third parties, such as the media. All organisations suffer similar difficulties, from small and medium-sized enterprises, to government - it is now commonplace to hear on the news that the media has received a leaked Whitehall document. One of the only ways to attempt to stop the flow of unauthorised information is to involve as few people as possible. The people involved in the deal should be asked to sign a confidentiality agreement before any information is exchanged. Nowadays, most employment contracts have clauses about confidentiality and the penalty involved if an employee is found to be disclosing secret or sensitive information to unauthorised third parties.

Some larger organisations actively leak misinformation to confuse unauthorised third parties and divert their attention from the real issues.

Q I want to offer my employees a company car. While this initially looks like a great perk, I want to make sure that it is actually a financial benefit to them. I'm not sure how much tax they will have to pay or whether it would be of more value to them leaving them to use their own cars.

A As a rule of thumb, if they do more than 18,000 miles a year, it can be cheaper to use a company car. If they use their own private vehicles for business use, the tax man allows them to claim 40p a mile for the first 10,000 miles and then 25p a mile thereafter. Your employees must remember to inform their insurance companies if they intend to use their own vehicles for business use, such as going to meetings on behalf of an employer. There may be an increase in insurance premium for including business use. If they fail to notify their insurance provider that they are using their own private vehicle for business use, it could void their policy.

To determine how much tax an employee will pay on a company car, see the example below:

Vehicle: Acme Roadrunner.

On-road value: £29,990. Engine: 2.2 diesel.

Total vehicle value: £29,990.

Approved CO2 Emissions 183 = 25 per cent tax liability.

£29,990 x 25 per cent = £7,497.50.

This is the tax liability for operating this vehicle. To calculate how much it will approximately cost from the monthly pay packet:

£7497.50 x (either 40 per cent or 22 per cent, depending on which tax band the driver falls into).

£7,497.50 x 40 per cent = £2,999.

The employee would have to pay about £2,999 a year, or £249.91 a month in tax for operating this vehicle. That is assuming they are a 40 per cent tax payer and pay for their own private mileage fuel and have not made any capital contributions to the purchase of the vehicle. To find out more information about the tax on company cars, visit http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/help sheets/ir203.pdf

Q I want to form my own limited company, but I am not sure how to do it and the forms look very co

A It is very easy to form a limited company. The best way to do it is online with a formation agent, such as York Place www.yorkplace.co.uk, or UK PLC www.ukplc.net Formation agents usually charge between £25 and £150 per company, depending on the level of service you require. You can either form a company from new or buy an "off-the-shelf" company and change the director, secretary and shareholder details. You need a minimum of two people to form a limited company. One person must act as director and the other as company secretary.

You can appoint your directors, shareholders and company secretary and submit details of your registered office online and the formation agent will usually e-mail you with all the details, such as certificate of incorporation and articles of association. The only information you require to do this is their name, address, date of birth, occupation and a list of other directorships the person may hold. To appoint shareholders, you only need their name and address.

Formation agents can also provide additional services, such as the ability to act as the company's registered office. This can be a good idea if you want the business to trade from your home address, or the trading address of the business is associated with a poor credit rating. Alternatively, most accountants or solicitors will act as the company's registered office, but it is important to get permission in writing before you submit their details.

Published: 28/03/2006