Hodge to quiz Google on tax amid questions about her family firm November 11, 2012 LEADING companies will today appear in parliament to answer questions on their alleged tax avoidance – but the Labour MP who summoned them faces questions about financial arrangements at her own family company. Margaret Hodge, head of the public accounts committee, is set to quiz representatives of Google, Starbucks and Amazon following claims the multinational [...]
HMRC crackdown raises £21bn as companies feel the pressure November 11, 2012 HMRC’s total yield from investigations into tax avoidance and evasion jumped by a third to £21bn in the year to March – the highest level on record, according to research published today by UHY Hacker Young. That compared with just £16bn the previous year, while in 2004-5 – the first tax year handled by the [...]
Xstrata races to persuade investors on Glencore deal November 11, 2012 MINING giant Xstrata has redoubled its efforts to get investors onside for its merger with commodities titan Glencore. The board of Xstrata, which will put the latest version of the tie-up to shareholders on 20 November, took out advertisements over the weekend to publicly repeat its enthusiasm for the deal. With proxy voting on the [...]
No EU carbon cash for UK November 11, 2012 THE government will not get EU funding under the first round of a subsidy scheme for carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects because it has failed to provide the required financing guarantees, EU sources said yesterday. CCS technology captures carbon emissions from power plants before they enter the atmosphere and stores them in long-term storage [...]
Profit hopes at Royal Mail pave way for float November 11, 2012 ROYAL Mail Group is expected to post a bumper set of profits tomorrow led by strong growth in its parcel delivery business – opening the door for a possible float of the state-owned business by government next year. The postal group, which increased operating profit after costs to £211m last year from £39m the year [...]
Waiting for a special delivery to bring home the goods November 11, 2012 THE Royal Mail’s privatisation has been lost in the post for too long to get your hopes up right now. But if Royal Mail delivers first class half-year results tomorrow, it will pave the way for an initial public offering (IPO) next year. The state postal giant, which employs 159,000 people in the UK, has [...]
Troubled bank note producer eyes separate London listing November 11, 2012 SWISS based banknote printer Landqart could be hived off by its Canadian parent company Fortress Paper and listed in London to help boost the flagging firm’s fortunes. It is thought Fortress, made up of three separate paper pulping, wallpaper production and bank note printing businesses, is considering plans to split up firms and list the [...]
Heathrow to set out its stall for hub status November 11, 2012 HEATHROW will this week lay out its arguments for a single hub airport to serve Britain, putting further pressure on the coalition to consider allowing the airport to expand. Heathrow is expected to say on Wednesday that only a major hub airport can offer the transfer links and overall capacity needed to support soaring traffic [...]
London council pension funds criticised for bad management November 11, 2012 BADLY managed council pension funds in London are increasing the risk of fee hikes for taxpayers, a damning report today concludes. The council pension schemes across London, run by councillors and underwritten by taxpayers, have weak governance standards and make poor investment decisions, the Pensions Institute report claims. It adds that without change taxpayers will [...]
Global IT giant warns of skills crisis in Britain November 11, 2012 BRITAIN faces a looming computing skills shortage over the coming years, a director at one of the world’s biggest IT companies has warned. BG Srinivas, the European head of global software consultancy Infosys, told City A.M. that “the number of people wanting to get into IT has dropped” and that he sees a shortage of [...]
