Lord Stanley Fink: The Godfather of the hedge fund industry February 12, 2015 Despite being labelled a tax avoider by Ed Miliband, there’s more to Lord Fink than meets the eye. Lord (Stanley) Fink came under fire from Ed Miliband in Parliament this week, who accused the Tory donor and former party treasurer of tax avoidance. But as the spat continued through yesterday, a number of high-profile tweeters [...]
Lord Fink vs Ed Miliband: When is nasty tax avoidance just sensible tax planning? February 12, 2015 The bitter parliamentary row on tax avoidance is a funny old spat – nobody caught in the cross-fire seems to have broken the law, and most of the supposedly nefarious avoidance is making use of rules that were deliberately brought in by governments to cut tax bills. So The Capitalist wants to know when does good [...]
Lord Fink’s “vanilla” tax avoidance: What does it mean, and how is it different from HSBC’s alleged practices? February 12, 2015 Tory peer Lord Fink has admitted avoiding paying tax while working in Geneva, but says his actions were “vanilla” in nature and that he was not involvement in the allegations currently plaguing the Swiss arm of HSBC. The former hedge fund manager is a client of the bank, which came under fire earlier [...]
Treasury Select Committee to launch HSBC tax inquiry as HMRC calls in the police February 12, 2015 The Treasury Select Committee has confirmed it will launch an inquiry into HSBC's Swiss private bank. The committee, headed by Conservative MP Andrew Tyrie, will take oral evidence from both the bank and HMRC executives as it attempts to get to the bottom of the hot potato issue that has dominated this week. Tyrie [...]
Ed Miliband clashes with Lord Fink over HSBC tax avoidance claims February 11, 2015 Labour leader Ed Miliband yesterday pointed the finger at Conservative party treasurer Lord Fink alleging he was involved in tax avoidance as part of the growing scandal surrounding HSBC’s Swiss private banking arm. “Let’s take Stanley Fink who gave £3m to the Conservative Party. He [David Cameron] actually appointed him as Treasurer of the Tory [...]
Taxman gives leaked HSBC data to the police and fraud squad February 11, 2015 MORE tax dodgers could face prosecution as HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) yesterday said it would give a trove of leaked data to the police. MPs rowed viciously with tax officials over the case, which involved information from HSBC’s Swiss private banking arm. HMRC has raised £135m for the exchequer, but only prosecuted one tax evader. [...]
PMQs descends into mud-slinging match as Cameron and Miliband attempt to distance themselves from HSBC tax taint February 11, 2015 HSBC dominated Prime Minister's Questions today as David Cameron and Ed Miliband traded insults over which party had closest ties to those clients on the list of alleged tax evaders. The two took turns to sling mud at each other over the matter, with the Labour leader describing his counterpart as a "dodgy Prime [...]
HSBC “not protected” from criminal investigation by DoJ money laundering deal, says prospective attorney general Loretta Lynch February 11, 2015 HSBC could face prosecution by the US's Department of Justice, as it comes under renewed pressure over the actions of its Swiss subsidiary. Loretta Lynch, Barack Obama's nominee for attorney general, was part of a team that secured nearly $2bn (£1.3bn) from HSBC over charges that it refused to prevent money laundering by drug [...]
Politicians slam HMRC and FCA for HSBC tax evasion failure February 10, 2015 Senior MPs criticised the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and Revenue and Customs (HMRC) yesterday, after it was revealed the FCA was unaware of the wrongdoing at HSBC, and that HMRC had failed to pass on its concerns to the City watchdog. The chairman of the FCA, Martin Wheatley, made a pre-arranged appearance in front of [...]
Martin Wheatley says FCA was not informed of HSBC tax allegations February 10, 2015 The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) did not know about the HSBC tax allegations until media reports released details on Sunday, according to the watchdog's chief executive. Earlier today, Martin Wheatley told the Commons Treasury Select Committee that no formal information regarding claims of tax evasion was passed on to the body. "I am [...]