[cma-l] Frustration

[Two Lochs Radio]

Hi Trevor

That all sounds very painful - typical of the sort of unwanted distraction from the business of actually making radio programmes! Have you tried asking HMRC to let you off 'just this once', or are they refusing to be reasonable? To be honest, I have yet to see any convincing benefit at all in being a CIC rather than a straightforward not-for-profit Company Limited by Guarantee with an appropriate Memorandum of Incorporation that achieves the same as a CIC, but is much more widely recognized and accepted by HMRC and councils as pretty much the same as a charity. I guess over time they may become more recognized, but I have never quite seen the point unless want one of the variants that is actually allowed to distribute limited profits and have salaried directors (which CICs are able to allow).

I was interested to read about your other woes re the High Street. It's probably worth a timely reminder to any other stations who might be reading, that it is of course illegal for a radio station to support such a campaign on air, though as far as I know you can use an OB unit or whatever to provide music and PA at such a thing.

Fortunatey, I guess as the radio station is on Hamilton Road (I presume) you were probably able to rely on the one get-out clause in the law which is that you can give on-air support to campaigns in which the radio station has a direct an material interest (eg, to pluck one issue from the air, a campaign to improve the government funding of community radio!), but I thought it worth noting for other stations that you can't just lend on air support or take advertising for campaigns to affect public decision making unless it affects you directly.

Cheers

Alex 
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Trevor Lockwood 
  To: 'CMA-L' ; Office - ccr-fm 
  Sent: Thursday, March 10, 2011 4:26 PM
  Subject: [cma-l] Frustration


        Nick

        Last Sunday Prime Minister Cameron said he was on our side - fighting bureaucracy. 

       



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