HMRC sues EY following dispute over property tycoon’s tax affairs November 15, 2022 HMRC has filed a High Court lawsuit against EY over alleged misrepresentations to the UK tax authority in relation to British property investor Jamie Ritblat’s tax affairs. The case relates to a broader dispute between HMRC and the Tory donor over taxes on £141m in profits from Ritblat’s Delancey property investment firm, the Financial Times [...]
Solicitors watchdog should ‘reconsider’ plans for turnover-linked fines, Law Society says November 15, 2022 The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) should “reconsider” plans to let itself begin serving fines equivalent to five per cent of a law firm’s annual revenues, the Law Society has said. The Law Society said fines matching five per cent of a law firm’s annual revenues would be “excessive and unjustified” as it urged the SRA [...]
Gupta’s UK steel business strikes nears deal with creditors to stave off bankruptcy November 15, 2022 The UK arm of Sanjeev Gupta’s steel empire has struck a preliminary deal with major creditors that could let it stave off insolvency proceedings by restructuring its debts. Liberty Steel Group has reached a preliminary agreement with Credit Suisse Asset Management, Greensill Capital, and Greensill Bank to restructure its debts, the steelmaker said in a [...]
UK failing to tackle fraud epidemic, warns National Audit Office November 15, 2022 The UK government lacks a coherent strategy for tackling fraud and has significant gaps in its understanding of the problem, according to a new report by the National Audit Office (NAO). The situation has seen action taken against fraudsters drop over the past five years, even as the level of fraud across the economy has [...]
EY to delay partner votes due to complex legal wrangling November 14, 2022 Votes on plans to split EY in two are not set to begin until the start of next year, after being delayed by legal wrangling. The ballots, which were set to start this month, will not take place until early 2023, due to the complexities the firm has faced in finalizing the legal framework through [...]
City pay war continues as top US law firm hikes London lawyers salaries to £170,000 November 14, 2022 New York City law firm Simpson Thacher has hiked salaries for its newly qualified (NQ) lawyers to heights of £170,000 a year in a sign the City pay war is showing no signs of slowing down. The white shoe law firm has given NQ lawyers in its London offices a £12,000 a year pay [...]
FRC fines hit record highs as watchdog sends ‘clear message’ to UK’s audit sector November 14, 2022 The UK’s Financial Reporting Council (FRC) fined auditors a record £33.3m in the year running up to 30 September 2022, new figures from Thomson Reuters Confirmation shows. The record high sum marks a 77 per cent increase on the £18.7m fines – after discounts and adjustments – handed out in the previous year. The [...]
HMRC’s Covid fraud taskforce to leave billions unaccounted for November 14, 2022 An HMRC unit set up to tackle Covid fraud is set to leave £3.3bn outstanding when it winds down in March 2023, campaigners have warned. The Taxpayer Protection Taskforce, which was set up by Chancellor Rishi Sunak in March 2021, will be phased out, despite having collected less than 25 per cent of the money [...]
Volatile markets and soaring gilt yields could see pensions buy-out boom, analysts say November 14, 2022 The UK could see £200bn worth of pensions buyouts over the next three years as higher gilt yields and increasingly volatile markets boost the attractiveness of bulk purchase annuity deals, analysts have said. The market for bulk purchase annuity deals could show fast paced growth over the next few years as pension funds seek to [...]
Airbus ‘colluded’ with EU authorities over Qatar Airways dispute, court told November 11, 2022 Airbus allegedly colluded with the EU’s aviation safety regulator to ensure the authority supported its position in a dispute it had with Qatar Airways, lawyers for the middle eastern airline told a London court today. Airbus succeeded in “exerting influence” over the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) by providing the regulator with a “line [...]