Jose Mourinho receives prison sentence for defrauding the Spanish state February 5, 2019 Former Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has received a one-year prison sentence for defrauding the Spanish state of €3.3m (£2.8m). A Spanish court filing revealed the sentence today, although Mourinho will not serve prison time as under Spanish law jail terms of less than two years can be served under probation. The Spanish tax ministry [...]
Time to appreciate the perks of the job? February 4, 2019 For full-time office workers blinking out of the window onto the cold, grey, concrete City, the advantages that they enjoy over the self-employed might not seem obvious. You daydream about rocking up at one of those shared workspaces at 11am in your jeans, laptop on your back, ready for a self-managed day of freelancing, and [...]
The taxman collected an extra £3.75bn from VAT investigations into small businesses last year February 4, 2019 The taxman collected an extra £3.75bn from small and mid-sized businesses (SMEs) last year through investigations into the underpayment of VAT, up 12 per cent on the previous year. The extra revenue HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) collected through VAT investigations made up half of all revenue collected through investigations into SMEs in 2017/18, according to [...]
MPs launch inquiry into impact of business rates on high street retailers February 1, 2019 An influential committee of MPs is launching an inquiry into the government's policy towards business rates, amid mounting pleas for tax relief from embattled retailers on the high street. Parliament’s Treasury committee has revealed today that it is set to scrutinise the impact of Downing Street’s business rates tax, which has been at the centre [...]
Campaigners clash over World Bank report into high tobacco taxes February 1, 2019 Campaign groups have clashed over a World Bank report promoting the benefits of tobacco tax amid claims high taxation drives people to the black market. The report into the global illicit tobacco trade outlines the benefits of high tobacco taxes, which it states improve public health, increase revenues and reduce the economic burden related to [...]
Britain’s trade bodies must confront challenges of their own January 31, 2019 What does the future hold for Britain's trade bodies? We hear a great deal about the disruption that poses huge challenges to their members but what of the disruption facing membership groups themselves? Many are struggling with declining membership rates, or the competing interests of the members who do remain. Take the British Retail Consortium [...]
Sweating under today’s tax return deadline? It might be time to let your accountant go… January 31, 2019 Left your tax return until the last minute? Desperate to avoid a fine? Take a few tips from me, an award-winning financial technology journalist. Well, okay, the “award” came from Guildford Magistrates Court – in the form of compensation against my useless accountant at the end of a small claims hearing. That verdict was an [...]
On climate change, good economics sadly does not make good politics January 30, 2019 Economists, of all people, should understand the power of specialisation. They are taught early that prosperity is founded on the division of labour: individuals becoming more productive in specific tasks. Yet when dispensing policy advice, they seem to ignore that lesson, presuming that they know better than politicians about good politics. Economists frequently claim that [...]
City Hall and BBC under fire over stamp duty agreement for new Olympic Park studios January 29, 2019 City Hall has come under fire for agreeing to underwrite half of the stamp duty that could be levied on the BBC when it opens new studios in the £1.1bn Olympic Park development. Last summer the broadcaster announced it would build a brand new set of studios at the east London site by 2022/23, in concert [...]
Brexit shows it’s time for an economic shake-up from the Tories January 28, 2019 The Brexit weather forecast remains distinctly foggy in all areas as we enter yet another crucial week in Westminster. Will we ever see daylight and opportunity out of this sickening political morass? As I said to the BBC Question Time audience last week, I think this parliament ranks as the most dismal in living memory. [...]