There isn’t any debate: Voters want openness January 25, 2012 THIS bar stool observation from a stranger on Monday evening may well have nailed it. “I’d like to see Mitt Romney as my president, but I’d love to see Newt Gingrich debate Barack Obama.” Gingrich has something the Republican base values – combativeness, as well as a veneer of near-invincibility on the stage before a [...]
Why capital gains tax isn’t too low January 24, 2012 RARELY have I seen such a nauseating US presidential election. All the candidates are poor, especially on the Republican side; but it is what passes for debate that is truly pathetic. Particularly depressing has been the vitriol directed at Mitt Romney, one of the two top Republican candidates, for deriving much of his income through [...]
THE BEST LAID PLANS OF SOME ENTREPRENEURS January 22, 2012 JOHN, Jeremy and Joan had a plan. A good plan. A plan to start a business. They were so sure that the business would succeed that each used £100,000 of their own money to fund the start-up costs and take the inevitable losses until they turned the corner into profit. Their hunch was right, and [...]
Vodafone victory in India tax battle January 20, 2012 India’s tax office has no jurisdiction over Vodafone’s purchase of mobile assets in India, the Supreme Court ruled on Friday, in a big relief to the telecom giant that has been fighting a $2.2bn (£1.4bn) tax bill in a long-running dispute anxiously watched by foreign investors in India. Vodafone, challenging the tax bill over its [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS January 19, 2012 APR ENERGY Goldman Sachs initiates coverage of the temporary power group with a “buy” rating and a target price of 1,320p, implying a 24 per cent upside. Ahead of full-year results on 22 March, the broker forecasts revenue of $208m (£134m) and earnings before interest, tax, deductions and amortisation of $107m. It also says that [...]
Pay slashed as Goldman shields its bottom line January 18, 2012 GOLDMAN Sachs has been forced to slash pay as the turmoil engulfing the banking industry led to its revenues plummeting last year. The bank revealed that returns on equity fell to their lowest level since it went public over a decade ago, generating just 3.7 per cent for shareholders in 2011 – well below the [...]
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 [...]