Housebuilders pledge to end advance sales of homes overseas December 18, 2013 A TOTAL of 11 housing developers have signed a pledge to market their properties to UK buyers first, or at the same time, as marketing abroad. Concerns about properties being sold to foreign investors who then choose not to live in them have led to claims that many London streets are unoccupied while demand in [...]
Bitcoin faces second wave of regulation December 18, 2013 China has announced a fresh wave of regulation for the use of the virtual currency Bitcoin. Bitcoin exchanges will be blocked from accepting new inflows of cash. Exchanges such as BTC China, the world's largest Bitcoin marketplace will no longer be able to accept renminbi from potential buyers. Third party payment companies have been instructed [...]
Bitcoin under attack as Norway introduces new tax December 16, 2013 Bitcoin users have been dealt a blow as Norwegian authorities have announced that they will be placing a tax on the virtual currency. Hans Christian Holte, director at the Norwegian tax administration said in an interview: Bitcoin don’t fall under the usual definition of money or currency. We’ve done some assessments on what’s the right [...]
Bitcoin under attack as Norway introduces new tax December 13, 2013 Bitcoin users have been dealt a blow as Norwegian authorities have announced that they will be placing a tax on the virtual currency. Hans Christian Holte, director at the Norwegian tax administration said in an interview: Bitcoin don’t fall under the usual definition of money or currency. We’ve done some assessments on what’s the right [...]
CGT exemption rules clarified by Treasury December 10, 2013 HOMEOWNERS selling a property in which they previously lived will be given until April 2015 to complete the sale before they must pay capital gains tax on the property, the Treasury confirmed yesterday. The news comes after George Osborne announced in the Autumn Statement last week that the tax-free period for people letting their former [...]
The real reason the chancellor should not let the OBR audit party manifestos December 9, 2013 IT HAS been a tough week for Ed Balls. Many within Labour are said to be questioning his position as shadow chancellor following his disastrous response to George Osborne’s Autumn Statement. While Balls claims he “couldn’t give a toss” about the speculation, he needs to repair his party’s economic credibility, and fast. That’s one reason [...]
Our at-a-glance guide to Osborne’s mini-budget December 5, 2013 Growth up, borrowing down, yet the debt is still rising. Another raid on the banks, but shops to gain from reduced business rates THE UK ECONOMIC OUTLOOK● The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has revised up its forecast for economic growth and revised down its prediction for inflation. It expects unemployment to drop quickly next [...]
DS Smith profit soars as market share increases December 5, 2013 PACKAGING firm DS Smith saw its share price soar over six per cent yesterday morning, after posting a 52 per cent rise in half-year profits that showed its European expansion plan is paying off. The FTSE 250 company, which packages McVities Hobnobs among other popular brands, said pre-tax profits rose to £85m and revenue rose [...]
Timid new policies do little to address the risks behind Osborne’s good news December 5, 2013 FOR THE first time since before the financial crisis, the chancellor of the Exchequer was able to stand up and announce some good news at the Autumn Statement yesterday: the deficit, the labour market, and growth are all better than expected. Alistair Darling started by predicting a “trampoline” recovery when the recession first hit, with [...]
Local government excluded from more spending cuts December 5, 2013 Local government will be excluded from a further £1.1bn of cuts to departmental budgets, with the intention of helping local authorities to freeze council tax from 2014 to 2016. Chancellor George Osborne suggested yesterday that the average household would save £1,100 during the course of the current government because of the repeated freezing of council [...]