HSBC, SocGen and BNP Paribas raided in France as part of ‘cum cum’ tax probe March 28, 2023 French authorities today raided the Paris offices of five major banks – including HSBC, BNP Paribas, and Société Générale – in relation to an ongoing fraud and money laundering investigation. In a statement, France’s national fraud prosecutor said the raids relate to a preliminary investigation into so-called ‘cum cum’ schemes, which was opened in December [...]
Tax vote in 2016 saved Sunak £300k: Number 10 insists PM backed it ‘in national, not personal interest’ March 24, 2023 Downing Street has insisted Government decisions are made “in the national interest, rather than personal interest”, after reports that Rishi Sunak saved more than £300,000 due to a cut in capital gains tax he voted for in 2016. The Prime Minister released a summary of his tax affairs on Wednesday, showing that he had paid [...]
Rishi Sunak publishes tax return and reveals he paid £430k last year March 22, 2023 Rishi Sunak has published his tax returns and revealed he paid more than £430,000 in the UK last year. The prime minister paid £227,350 in 2019/20; £393,217 in 2020/21; and £432,493 in 2021/22. The prime minister’s documents, published on gov.uk, cover his time as prime minister and chancellor. Sunak first pledged to reveal his tax [...]
Budget: Chancellor abolishes lifetime pension allowance saying ‘no one should be pushed out of the workforce for tax reasons’ March 15, 2023 Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has abolished the pension lifetime allowance and increased the annual tax free pension allowance by 50 per cent to £60,000 a year. The measure was one of several unveiled in the Budget and aimed at encouraging an estimated 3.5m people of pre retirement age back into the workforce. Hunt said: “Turning 50 [...]
Budget: Hunt considering pension changes to encourage over 50s back to work March 14, 2023 The Chancellor is understood to be looking at increasing the pension lifetime allowance (LTA) in a move that is being interpreted as attempting to reverse the trend of early retirements. The PA news agency understands Jeremy Hunt is considering allowing workers to put more money into their pension pot before being taxed as part of [...]
Almost all London councils set to raise taxes as funding situation becomes ‘unsustainable’ March 7, 2023 More than half of local councils in England are set to make cuts to services while raising council tax by the highest possible amount amid an “unsustainable” funding system. A fifth of London councils say budget cuts will be evident to the public and almost 95 per cent will raise residents’ council tax bills, the [...]
Labour backs 25 per cent corporation tax rate amid calls to scrap rise ahead of budget March 6, 2023 Labour will back the government’s bod to keep the planned corporation tax rise to 25 per cent amid “siren calls” to scrap the move ahead of the budget. It comes as the shadow chancellor is set to say Britain must be in “lockstep” with the G7 and work to “incentivise investment”, at the announcement of [...]
UK public services struggling despite near 70-year tax high, report warns February 23, 2023 UK public services can no longer match people’s expectations despite the tax burden being on course to hit a 70-year high, a think tank report has warned. Government decisions to date have done “little to shift the dial,” the Institute for Government (IfG) and CIPFA warned today in their latest performance tracker on the state-run [...]
Jeremy Hunt faces calls for March budget giveaways after UK borrows £30bn less than forecast February 21, 2023 The UK government spent less than it reaped in from taxpayers last month helping to push yearly borrowing £30bn lower than projected by forecasters, officials figures out today reveal. The difference between what the government generated in revenue and spent hit a positive £5.4bn, meaning the UK’s public finances were in surplus last month, according [...]
Inheritance tax brought in nearly £600m a month, as experts warn that frozen threshold is punishing taxpayers February 21, 2023 Inheritance tax (IHT)receipts for January 2023 totalled £578m up from £443m in the same month a year ago, according to HMRC figures. It takes the total inheritance tax take for the 2022-23 Financial Year to date to £5.9 billion, £853 million higher than through the same period last year. The total IHT take for 2021-22 [...]