Cider war fizzes on as militants take up anti-darling arms March 25, 2010 AS VOTE-losers go, chancellor Alistair Darling’s punitive tax on cider really is shaping up to be a corker. By close of play yesterday – just a day after Darling announced in the Budget he will be popping duty on the tipple at 10 per cent above the rate of inflation from midnight on Sunday – [...]
Foreigners to avoid Darling’s stamp duty March 25, 2010 WEALTHY foreigners will avoid paying Alistair Darling’s latest stamp duty hike on properties worth over £1m at an opportunity cost of tens of millions to the Treasury’s coffers, it emerged yesterday. Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs), which are set up offshore for the purpose of holding property, own a large amount of the UK’s high-end estates. [...]
CITY EYE March 25, 2010 THE City is leading the way this weekend in a drive to make the UK greener, spearheaded by the Royal Horticultural Society – organisers of the Square Mile’s favourite networking event of the year, the Chelsea Flower Show. The Britain in Bloom campaign will see the equivalent of 115 Hyde Parks planted across the country, [...]
Cheats may cash in on home relief March 25, 2010 THE decision to scrap stamp duty for first-time buyers purchasing homes under £250,000 risks becoming a “charter for cheats”, critics suggested yesterday. Although the housing industry has welcomed the move because it should boost a flagging market, there are fears that it will be hard to police. Some institutions, such as the Council for Mortgage [...]
Darling: My Budget is even tougher than Thatcher’s March 25, 2010 Spending cuts under a Labour government will be tougher for Britain than those imposed by Thatcher, according to Alistair Darling. He said he was prepared to make “deep” cuts in order to slash the UK’s yawning budget deficit. Figures released by the Institute for Fiscal Studies suggest the budget is far more austere than those [...]
Charities hit by Vat charges on postal services March 25, 2010 CHARITIES and not-for-profit organisations will be among those most likely to be hit by Vat charges on certain postal services from 31 January 2011. Businesses which are unable to recover Vat in full will also be affected. These changes, which will potentially cost thousands of pounds a year, were introduced as part of yesterday’s Budget. [...]
CITY VIEWS: HOW WAS THE BUDGET FOR YOU? March 25, 2010 BOB TARZEY | QUOCIRCA “The Budget didn’t address the country’s problems. It did not tackle the national debt or the Budget deficit and frankly, it all seems like a bunch of smoke and mirrors. We’re still borrowing and still increasing our borrowing which is not good for the country.” DAN RUSSON | XCEED CONSULTANT SERVICES [...]
INM hands Lebedev £9m to take Indy March 25, 2010 THE Independent newspapers were yesterday sold to Russian billionaire and former KGB spy Alexander Lebedev for £1. Independent News and Media (INM) will pay Evening Standard owner Lebedev £9.25m over the next 10 months, effectively compensating him for taking the beleaguered newspapers off its hands. Lebedev has set up a new vehicle, Independent Print Limited, [...]
The spy who loves papers needs deep pockets March 25, 2010 JOURNALISTS at the Independent cheered when they found out that former KGB spy Alexander Lebedev had finally bought the newspaper. Their reaction couldn’t have been more different to the doomed silence that descended on the Evening Standard offices in January 2009, when hacks at that title learned of its sale to the Russian billionaire. But [...]
Saatchi to work with Tories as profits dip 27pc March 25, 2010 The Saatchi brothers will renew their long-standing relationship with the Conservative party in the run up to the general election. Their advertising agency, M&C Saatchi, has signed a new contract to help kick the Tories out of their polling rut, decades after launching their iconic “Labour isn’t working” campaign. The announcement came as the agency [...]