Environmental taxes: Will the Chancellor break with history, raise fuel duty and go further? March 6, 2020 | City Talk Looking to the manifesto, it would be hard to predict what the Budget would contain on environmental taxes. In common with the other main political parties, there were few direct commitments among the rhetoric. Beyond a statement on plastics packaging tax, we saw only a promise to “prioritise the environment in the next Budget, investing [...]
EY strengthens tax controversy and risk management team with five key appointments March 3, 2020 | City Talk EY has announced the arrival of five key appointments to its tax controversy and risk management team, expanding its tax litigation and corporate crime service offerings to clients. The new arrivals are all practicing solicitors. James Wilson, EY Partner and head of the Tax Controversy and Risk Management team comments: “We’re delighted to welcome these [...]
Chancellor Rishi Sunak needs to step back and rethink IR35 February 27, 2020 When Philip Hammond announced in 2018 that IR35 would be extended to the private sector, he heralded it as a move that would “open a new chapter in our country’s economic future”. But fast-forward two years, and the new chancellor, Rishi Sunak, is still facing a huge headache over the tax legislation changes, effective from [...]
The EIS-y hall of fame: Four companies that wouldn’t have existed without the Enterprise Investment Scheme February 26, 2020 While EIS and SEIS offer meaningful tax advantages to investors, it’s important to remember that their main function is to help kickstart new businesses and ventures. As the independent trade body for the EIS and SEIS industry, our core aim at the EIS Association is to help small and medium-sized enterprises obtain the funding that [...]
The chancellor could use the Budget to help both startups and investors February 26, 2020 Ahead of any Budget, there is always great speculation on what may be announced. This year, the focus thus far has been on when a Budget would happen and who will deliver it. But with the new chancellor Rishi Sunak confirming that it will go ahead on 11 March, all attention has turned to the [...]
This Morning star Eamonn Holmes faces hefty bill after losing IR35 tax case February 25, 2020 Veteran TV presenter Eamonn Holmes could be facing a hefty tax bill after losing a case against HMRC over his employment status. Holmes, who hosts ITV’s This Morning, had argued he was a freelancer as he received payments from the broadcaster through his company Red, White and Green Limited. However, a judge ruled that the [...]
EY adds two key appointments to its Business Rates team February 24, 2020 | City Talk As the debate around business rates continues and speculation that it may be subject to one of the Chancellor’s key announcements on Budget day increases, EY has announced the arrival of two key appointments to its Business Rates team. Alex White joins the team as Associate Partner, having been a business rates specialist for the [...]
France warns of tech tax chaos if global deal not reached this year February 23, 2020 Failure to reach a global agreement on how to tax tech giants such as Google and Facebook would lead to a chaotic mix of different tax regimes, France’s finance minister has warned. Bruno Le Maire today called on international leaders to reach a consensus over tax reform by the end of the year or risk [...]
How to break up big tech? Regulating technology companies is more easily said than done February 20, 2020 Over the last few years, the public perception of technology companies has shifted quite dramatically. Large tech firms such as Google, Facebook and Amazon are no longer the darlings of the world. They are attracting the same kind of ire that financiers attracted a decade ago. At the political level, this translates into a broad [...]
The clock is ticking: Why it’s time to address IR35 February 5, 2020 There has been a lot of noise around IR35, the updated government intermediaries legislation. Generally, it seems to be leaving a bad taste in people’s mouths. And that’s the trouble with some taxation changes: their interpretation and intent can be tarnished with a negative brush. Instead of fuelling the current conversation, is it time to [...]