Reforming business rates – is Land Value Tax really a viable alternative? March 9, 2020 | City Talk The Business Rates system has long been considered by businesses as outdated and in need of reform. It imposes its tax burden whether the business is “in the red or the black”, i.e. profitable or not. Also, whilst purported to be a tax on business collected by means of property, it has a distinct bias [...]
Downing Street to publish draft FTA before second round of trade talks March 9, 2020 Downing Street is planning to publish draft legal texts including a free trade agreement ahead of the second round of trade talks with the EU, government revealed today. Boris Johnson’s sherpa David Frost met with his counterpart Michel Barnier last week for the first round of talks, with both sides agreeing there were significant differences, [...]
Five Tips for Business Success from Five International Women in Finance March 9, 2020 | City Talk What advice do the top women in finance have for those trying to make their way in the sector? Last year, I interviewed 50 accomplished women from around the world for my 2020 research paper “Top Tips for Business Success,” released on International Women’s Day, 8 March 2020. As it turns out, five of the [...]
Patel is in a Priti pickle March 9, 2020 Sympathy for Priti Patel is not necessarily widespread in Britain at the minute. The home secretary has incurred the wrath of the civil service, much of the establishment and indeed much of the media for her ripe language and uncompromising attitudes at work. So much so that it has put her job — and political [...]
Coronavirus claims third victim in the UK March 8, 2020 A man in his 60s has become the third person to die from coronavirus in the UK. The man who had “significant” underlying health conditions was being treated at North Manchester General Hospital. Professor Chris Whitty, chief medical officer for England, said: “I am very sorry to report that a third patient in England who [...]
Surge in female SME owners as gender gap narrows March 8, 2020 International Women’s Day has been capped off by a report today showing a surge in the number of female owners of small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) over the past year. The analysis of more than 1.4m small businesses revealed the number of SMEs owned by women rose 31 per cent in 2019, according to SME [...]
HMRC doubles down on undeclared foreign income crackdown March 7, 2020 HM Revenue & Customs has doubled down on its campaign against taxpayers with undeclared foreign income. Thousands of UK taxpayers have received letters in the last fortnight urging them to review foreign assets and bank accounts, and warning false declarations could lead to prosecution. It follows a trend that started last year as thousands of [...]
Defence committee to probe 5G network security amid Huawei concerns March 7, 2020 The UK’s defence committee is set to investigate the security of the country’s 5G mobile network, it said on Friday. It comes amid continuing concerns over the role of Chinese firm Huawei, with the US urging the UK to rethink the tech company’s involvement. Prime Minister Boris Johnson granted the controversial Huawei a limited role [...]
Environmental taxes: Will the Chancellor break with history, raise fuel duty and go further? March 6, 2020 | City Talk Looking to the manifesto, it would be hard to predict what the Budget would contain on environmental taxes. In common with the other main political parties, there were few direct commitments among the rhetoric. Beyond a statement on plastics packaging tax, we saw only a promise to “prioritise the environment in the next Budget, investing [...]
Ofgem cracks down on five smart meter operators March 6, 2020 Energy watchdog Ofgem has banned five suppliers from taking on new customers until they become compliant with smart meter regulations, it said today. The regulator has told the five companies that until they become Data Communications Company (DCC) users, they will be banned from supplying any new customers. The DCC is responsible for the national [...]