AstraZeneca settles £505m tax dispute February 23, 2010 AstraZeneca has paid Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) £505m to settle a tax dispute. The Anglo-Swedish drugs company owes the Government over so-called transfer pricing – the price at which a group sells goods or services from one section to another. Astra will pay £350m next month and a second installment of £155m in [...]
UK tax exiles under threat February 17, 2010 Thousands of UK tax exiles may face large tax demands after an entrepreneur lost a bid to overturn a decision by the taxman to hit him with a £30m bill. Millionaire Robert Gaines-Cooper lost an appeal against a ruling by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) that he was liable to pay UK tax despite his [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: WILL MORE UK TAX EXILES HAVE TO PAY TAX AFTER THIS RULING? February 17, 2010 SEAN DURY | PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS We expect increasing movements of employees out of the UK. While companies may take some comfort from the viewpoint of the courts, the withdrawal of IR20 in April 2009 and only draft guidance in place since means terms around the meaning of residency in the UK are unclear. TINA RICHES | [...]
Affluent tax dodgers pay out £373m as HMRC tightens net February 16, 2010 HM REVENUE & Customs’ (HMRC) crackdown on wealthy tax evaders is gathering pace after investigators clawed back £373m last year, an increase of 21 per cent on 2008’s haul. Hedge fund managers and investment bankers were among those targeted by HMRC teams who examined the affairs of more than 50,000 people earning in excess of [...]
Two offers push Portsmouth survival bid into extra time February 10, 2010 PORTSMOUTH pulled off their most significant victory of the season yesterday when they succeeded in obtaining an extra seven days to fight a winding-up order. The Premier League’s bottom club, who have debts of around £60m, were granted more time to prove they can afford to pay creditors at a hearing at the High Court. [...]
Portsmouth given stay of execution February 10, 2010 PORTSMOUTH have been given seven days to provide documents proving they can pay their creditors. The club now have until 4pm on 17 February to file a “statement of financial affairs” or face going out of business. Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) took Portsmouth to court over an unpaid tax bill of £7.4m. They [...]
Pompey bid to cut deal over winding-up hearing February 9, 2010 DESPERATE Portsmouth appeared to lurch closer to becoming the first top flight club to go into administration last night when talks with HM Revenue and Customs were believed to have broken down. The south coast outfit is expected to ask for an adjournment when they appear in the High Court this morning to face a [...]
New Pompey owner applies for stay of execution February 4, 2010 PORTSMOUTH have appealed for next week’s potentially fatal winding-up hearing to be delayed after being taken over by Hong Kong businessman Balram Chainrai. Chainrai’s company Portpin was yesterday confirmed as the financially-stricken club’s fourth owner in the space of six months. The 51-year-old took charge after previous owner Ali Al-Faraj defaulted on a loan repayment, [...]
Paternity leave threat to firms February 4, 2010 FOR years employers have been wary about giving jobs to women of child-bearing age, but they might soon be casting nervous glances at the males in their offices, too. As of 6 April next year a father will be allowed to take up to 26 weeks additional paternity leave in the first year of their [...]
Brokers stuck in limbo over the bonus tax February 2, 2010 UK TAX authorities have demanded access to fresh information about the risk profiles of the City’s independent stockbrokers to determine if they will be hit by the government’s Bank Payroll Tax (BPT), City A.M. has learned. Brokers are still in limbo as they await a decision on the tax, two months after it was first [...]