POLL: UK FACING INSURER EXODUS September 15, 2009 OVER 60 per cent of top executives at Britain’s insurance firms are feeling tempted to leave the UK because of high taxes, a poll reveals today. The survey of 75 chief executives and finance directors also showed growing pessimism about the competitiveness of the City, with 80 per cent predicting the number of insurers based [...]
Seven arrested in tax fraud case August 19, 2009 The British tax office arrested seven people in London yesterday in a suspected £38m value-added tax fraud in the European market in carbon allowances, it said. Officers from HM Revenues and Customs (HMRC) searched 27 properties around London and arrested six men and one woman in early morning raids, the HMRC said in a statement. [...]
HMRC gets access to offshore funds August 12, 2009 HM REVENUE and Customs (HMRC) will be able to access the offshore accounts of UK citizens with accounts at more than 300 banks, after it secured “production orders” forcing lenders to disclose the information. HMRC continued its campaign against tax evasion with the orders, which will also see the 308 affected banks required to pass [...]
UK signs deal with Liechtenstein over tax data disclosure August 11, 2009 THE UK has signed a landmark deal with Liechtenstein to aid the recovery of tax revenues from British people with bank accounts in the tiny mountainous principality. HM Revenue and Customs reached an agreement with the Liechtenstein authorities to encourage 5,000 Britons to hand over data on an estimated £3bn stashed in secret accounts. UK [...]
A BONUS CAN BE A RIGHT August 11, 2009 SPEAKER’S CORNERROBERT JAMES WASHINGTONASSOCIATE, HOGAN & HARTSON PEOPLE who have lost their jobs as a result of the current recession might not like it, but as the reports of banking profits last week suggested, bonuses are back. Or in any case, they will be soon. This bonus season, though, PR might dictate that some firms [...]
Liechtenstein cuts tax deal August 10, 2009 HM REVENUE & Customs (HMRC) is set to sign a ground-breaking deal today with the tax haven of Liechtenstein designed to unlock £2bn to £3bn of cash from the secret bank accounts of British citizens in the tiny European principality. HMRC will ask around 5,000 UK investors to volunteer the details of their deposits. Banks [...]
TAX CODE THREATENS UK BANKING August 4, 2009 ARABELLA SAKERPARTNER, MAURICE TURNOR GARDNER LLPHM Revenue & Customs recently published a consultation on a new code of practice on taxation for banks, setting out new rules with which banks are expected to comply “in light of the significant taxpayer support” that has been given to the industry. Although voluntary, banks which don’t sign up [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING July 28, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES FINES CALL FOR AIRBUS AND EADS EXECUTIVESSeven current and former executives of Airbus and its parent company EADS, including Noel Forgeard, former EADS co-chief executive, should be fined for alleged insider share dealing offences according to a provisional report prepared for the French financial markets regulator. The 381-page report has recommended a total [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING July 21, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES WYNN RESORTS LEADS IN RACE TO LIST IN HONG KONGA Las Vegas-based casino company has taken the lead in a race to become the first international casino operator to list in Hong Kong, taking advantage of investor appetite for stocks with links to the world’s biggest gambling market. Wynn Resorts, controlled by Steve [...]
Worst decline in UK tax take since 1920s buried as MPs go on holiday July 20, 2009 THE GOVERNMENT buried a slew of bad news yesterday, the day before politicians went on summer recess, including a giant £32bn slump in Treasury tax income due to the disastrous effects of the financial crisis. Dire accounts from several departments were released in one go, where they would normally be staggered over time, in a [...]