Authorities say a Pennsylvania man known as an insurance coverage company from a crash scene to purchase auto coverage and later claimed his wreck happened after he got the policy.
The Altoona Mirror reports that the insurance fraud charges filed this week against 33-year-old Michael Traveny stem from an Aug. 21 crash in Duncansville, Pennsylvania.
State prosecutors say Traveny didn’t have insurance coverage when he crashed that evening so he known as Secure Auto Insurance from the scene and bought coverage with out mentioning the wreck.
Prosecutors say Traveny filed a $ 3,900 claim the subsequent day claiming the crash happened soon after the policy took impact.
On the web court records do not list an attorney for Traveny. He faces a preliminary hearing March 17.
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A new report by the Institute of Public Affairs (No to the GST attack: Why the exemption for on the web purchases have to stay), argues that placing a GST on low-value imports will not aid Australian retailing, and will only succeed in making Australians spend much more when buying on the internet.
What’s the proposal?
Australia has a goods and services tax (GST) of 10% on most goods and services sold or consumed in Australia. There are a handful of exemptions to the GST, which includes education and fresh meals – although that may possibly alter more than the next couple of years.
One more current exemption is on things bought overseas for a total worth of less than $ 1,000. This exemption has been quite contentious and different retail groups have called for the GST to apply to all items purchased from overseas.
Who wants GST to apply to low-value overseas purchases?
A lot of retailers want the GST to apply to low-worth overseas purchases. The Australian National Retailers’ Association, for instance, have named for a level playing field, with ANRA CEO Margy Osmond saying: “This quirk in the GST mechanism implies revenue that need to be finding its way to State coffers for significantly required neighborhood solutions, is subsidising foreign companies. Australians already pay GST on goods bought locally online or in-retailer. Fixing this $ 1,000) loophole recognises how considerably retail is altering.”
On the other hand…
According to the Institute of Public Affairs (IPA), there are numerous critical drivers of high retail fees in Australia, which includes a highly regulated labour marketplace, extreme land use restrictions, and trading hour circumstances, and placing a GST on reduced-worth overseas purchases would do tiny to stem our collective enthusiasm for getting on the internet from overseas retailers.
To quote the IPA report: “Other things getting equal, imposing the GST on imported things valued at $ 1,000 or much less may possibly encourage some customers to switch from overseas to domestic shopping possibilities, but a comparison of selective popular sales products would recommend that a GST on low-worth imports would, by no signifies, dissipate the price benefits presently enjoyed by overseas retailers.
Would it enhance government revenue?
Helping to level the playing field for domestic retailers is a single issue, but the other important consideration is whether or not imposing a 10% GST on low-value overseas purchases would really enhance the government coffers as soon as the expense of collecting the revenue was taken into account.
The answer to that 1? The jury is nonetheless out. In 2011 the Productivity Commission published a report noting that there had been strong in principle grounds for the Low Value Threshold to be lowered significantly, but that it shouldn’t take place until it was expense successful to do so. The Productivity Commission report noted that at that time, there were about 58 million international parcels under the $ 1000 threshold arriving in Australia every year. Based on then-accessible information, the Commission estimated that with current parcel volumes and processing charges, removal of the LVT would create income of around $ 600 million at a price of nicely more than $ 2 billion borne by businesses customers and government. It doesn’t actually sound like a fantastic deal for anyone…
It employed to be easy: new automobiles depreciate more rapidly than employed ones, so if you have been being careful with your pennies you’d only get what salesmen (and only salesmen) contact ‘pre-loved’ cars.
But issues have changed.
Investigation carried out by automobile-buying comparison service carwow.co.uk suggests the added cash and decrease interest prices auto companies offer to encourage consumers to buy brand-new can in fact make acquiring a new car a wiser option than obtaining car with a year’s worth of use beneath its tyres.
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I asked Matt Lewis from CarWow to walk me through the research…
Genuine-life calculations
Matt gave a worked instance, outlined in the table below: “The SEAT Leon is absolutely nothing uncommon – it’s a top-level FR trim auto with a punchy 184PS 2.-litre diesel engine. The new auto is £4,395 far more costly than the approved utilized auto in the appropriate-hand column.
“However, when we examine costs supplied by dealers, who have provided clients upfront provides on the web with no haggling, we see the new price drop to £20,854, closing the gap by a considerable amount.
“But if you get that new car you will probably be provided SEAT’s % APR finance package. The more affordable model with 5,000 miles on the clock, meanwhile, will only be eligible for more high-priced finance, which contains numerous costs and larger month-to-month repayments.
“So following 3 years you will have paid practically £2,000 much more for the privilege of not possessing been the 1st owner.”
Round of Golf?
The second instance is one that’ll get any petrolhead’s heart racing: the new 300PS VW Golf R. This is a seriously swift household auto that’ll race to 60mph more quickly than a Porsche Cayman.
Again, Matt talks by way of the numbers…
“Our figures show that acquiring a new Golf R new can drop the price tag £3,000 under that of a employed 1. But it gets better.
“Thanks to Volkswagen’s PCP deal you’ll nonetheless be capable to own the vehicle for just £35,609 soon after 3 years of low monthly payments. That sum does consist of a balloon payment of £18,375 if you want to acquire it outright, but you’re still better off to the tune of nearly £8,000 over the utilised vehicle.”
Think before you acquire
So the core message right here is that it’s effectively worth undertaking a bit of analysis prior to you make your choice about which car to buy, including the general expense of finance.
Are you seeking to get a auto for your son or daughter?
As a parent, maintaining charges low and making certain the vehicle is secure are the 2 key issues. But there doesn’t have to be a trade-off among the 2.
I asked Crispin Moger (pictured), CEO atMarmalade, provider of automobiles and insurance coverage for young drivers, what he thinks parents should look for when buying their kid’s first car…
“When they’re starting out, young drivers and their parents usually start browsing for a utilised automobile, rather than a new model, due to the fact they consider that is the only inexpensive choice.
“But this isn’t usually the case. The older the vehicle, the higher the charges of maintenance, tax and insurance coverage. What’s far more, some young driver insurance policies won’t in fact cover older cars, which tends to make life challenging if they’ve currently bought the automobile.”
Security concerns
Crispin continues: “Aside from these further costs, there is also the essential situation of security. The basic truth is that newer cars have a tendency to be much more robust, greater created and equipped with a lot more and better security attributes.
“Research shows that young drivers are most at danger of being in an accident when they are inexperienced and haven’t accrued the road hours that support them to judge and react in a protected manner.
“That’s why a new automobile ought to be the preferred option. An adult may possibly have the encounter and capability to drive an older vehicle without undue concern, but that possibly will not be the case for his or her kid.”
What to appear for in a new vehicle
Crispin offered a couple of pointers on how to hold a lid on expenses when getting a car that nonetheless ticks the boxes safety-sensible:
Engine size The more effective the engine, the a lot more risk of the young driver speeding and driving dangerously. That is why we advise a reasonably modest maximum size of 1.4 for young drivers, and we will not insure anything bigger
Optional extras You may discover a excellent deal for vehicle that has alloys, tinted windows and all the trimmings, but beware as these are all characteristics that drive up the price of insurance for young drivers
Age of the car Not only are older vehicles much less robust in crashes, but the newer the auto, the a lot more security functions it is probably to have. Anti-lock Brakes (ABS) have been a common feature of all new cars given that 2004 and help the driver to hold control of the vehicle in an emergency. Further features such as electric windows and steering wheel audio control adapters help to decrease distractions for drivers and enable them to remain focused on the road. The newest models also benefit from automatic emergency braking
MoT It is also worth remembering that, if a vehicle is new, it will not call for an MoT for 3 years.
Telematics Look for a vehicle that will function with a telematics-based insurance policy as this may well aid to keep you child protected on the roads.
How can telematics support?
A single of the main improvements to the safety of young drivers in current years has been telematics.
Installing a black box in your child’s vehicle to monitor driving efficiency and traits has numerous rewards, not least that it tends to make them feel about their driving when behind the wheel.
Some policies also operate ‘curfews’, which hold young drivers off the road at instances when there is a higher frequency of accidents.
And the important point is that great, sensible and secure driving is eventually rewarded with decrease premiums, although undesirable, reckless and unsafe driving is deterred by the threat of higher premiums.
Data protection
Crispin added: “As effectively as encouraging your youngster to drive safely, telematics can also assist if there is an accident.
“If it wasn’t your child’s fault, the information in the black box might aid to prove their case. And if the automobile is stolen, you will be in a position to maintain track of the car so that it can be recovered.”
With the release of the new ‘64’ plate vehicle registrations subsequent week, you might be considering upgrading your motor to some thing brand new.
But prior to some contrarian can say, ‘…new vehicles drop X% of their worth as quickly as they roll off the forecourt…’consider this new automobiles can be up to 25% more affordable to run than utilized vehicles. And that is according to our personal trusted analysis here at MoneySuperMarket.
Give me 5
Seeking at the following 5 well-known makes of vehicle under, we found that the expense (which involves items like fuel, road tax, insurance and MOT) of running the new version was less than that of running a 5-year old model.
• Nissan Qashqai • Volkswagen Golf • BMW 3 Series • Ford Fiesta • Vauxhall Astra
The largest saving was on the VW. Compared to the expense of operating a 5-year-old Golf, the new model would save you £422 (or 25%) more than a year.
For a brand new, 1.25L, petrol Ford Fiesta, the UK’s most well-known motor, running charges are £351 less costly than they would be on a 5-year-old version. Similarly, a new Nissan Qashqai will land you with annual operating fees of £1,804 – whereas a half-decade-old Qashqai would cost you an further £243.
And in all 5 situations, the new model was less costly to insure than its predecessor, despite getting a higher worth.
Prior to you take the plunge
Dan Plant, customer finance professional at MoneySuperMarket, mentioned:
“For some, buying a brand new auto may possibly seem prohibitively pricey. However, with the drive from companies to produce far more fuel efficient and safer models, as effectively as some ‘free road tax for the very first year’ schemes, the expense of running and insuring a new vehicle is typically far cheaper than older versions of the exact same automobile.
“Of course, a new car will always have a greater headline price tag than a second hand one particular in the identical model, but the savings you can make on operating costs alongside prospective offers offered on new cars by keen salespeople could outweigh that. Plus you’ll generally get a decent warranty, and that beautiful new automobile smell!
“The expense of automobile insurance varies hugely based on the automobile you acquire, so just before taking the plunge on your dream ride it is properly worth carrying out a comparison to see what you can afford.”
Depending on how this analysis sways your opinion, you may want to study my write-up on How to pay for your new auto.
If money was not a issue, what brand new auto would you fancy? Tell us in the comments.
