Romney hints at his tax rate January 17, 2012 US Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, under increasing pressure to release his tax returns now, insisted yesterday he planned to make them public in April but said he “probably” pays a rate of around 15 per cent. Romney, who used to lead Bain Capital, said most of his income came from his investments, suggesting he [...]
Miners rise on China stats despite lingering euro fear January 17, 2012 BRITAIN’S top shares rose yesterday, aided by mining stocks after data from top metals consumer China eased worries over the demand picture, although fears of a Greek default kept a lid on the gains. The UK benchmark closed up 36.51 points, or 0.7 per cent, at 5,693.95, having earlier baulked just above the near-term 5,720 [...]
The Deputy Prime Minister thinks we are irresponsible – the feeling is mutual, Nick January 16, 2012 NICK Clegg wants to give tax breaks to John Lewis style, employee-owned companies. This is just the latest salvo in the “responsible capitalism” debate. But when a government dictates which forms of capitalism are responsible, and which ones aren’t, it overrides the individual morality of its citizens – and not for the better. After all, [...]
A scheme to help cut the cost of schooling January 15, 2012 WE HAVE devised a model that can significantly reduce, and potentially eliminate, the tax burden that comes with privately educating children, which is aimed primarily at higher rate taxpayers who own their own businesses. Since it was introduced a year ago, we have saved our clients tens of thousands of pounds. For families interested in [...]
Six reasons this rail plan is a mistake January 10, 2012 IF money grew on trees, the government’s London-Birmingham HS2 high-speed rail scheme would be a good thing. Unfortunately, the nation faces fiscal Armageddon; so here are six reasons (there are many more) why the coalition is wrong to back HS2. 1) Like virtually all government infrastructure projects, the costs of this grandiose white elephant will [...]
To revive a weak economy small firms must be able to become tomorrow’s giants January 8, 2012 AT THE dawn of a New Year, one bright spot across the gloom of the economic horizon remains Britain’s army of entrepreneurs – those remarkable men and women who have the drive and passion to launch and run their own business. For it is these often family-owned ventures – the small and medium enterprises (SME) [...]
The City of London needs a Europe strategy that does not lead to it being sidelined December 18, 2011 FEAR is stalking parts of the city that Brussels is determined to undermine its competitiveness. But ask any senior banker or businessman what particular measure it is that Britain needs saving from, they draw a blank. The implementation of a Financial Transactions Tax (FTT) in the EU alone, and not on a global level, would [...]
Cameron must persist with EU reform strategy December 11, 2011 NOW that the dust is beginning to settle on last week’s tumultuous EU summit, where Prime Minister David Cameron blocked a change in the EU treaty, we can start to assess the consequences of his decision. So, what could the summit outcome actually mean for UK financial services? Despite the clamour in much of the [...]
Only fools rush in where angels fear to invest December 7, 2011 THE government is offering a 50 per cent tax incentive to try to get high rollers to throw their money behind Britain’s most risky businesses. But even those earning enough to benefit from the tax break will mostly conclude that the threat of losing it all would be too great to take. The Seed Enterprise [...]
Coalition is confused about business December 6, 2011 WE love you – actually, no, we hate you. That, roughly speaking, seems to be the government’s attitude to business and business leaders. The signals are so mixed that they are utterly incomprehensible. Take tax policy and incentives. The official position is – well, there isn’t really one. The coalition is likely to retain the [...]