Vodafone appeals again over capital gains tax on its Indian acquisition June 7, 2010 BRITISH mobile phone operator Vodafone yesterday filed an appeal against the Indian tax department’s latest court order over its purchase of a local mobile phone company. Vodafone bought a majority stake in Hutchison Essar for $11.2bn (£7.7bn) in 2007. It contends that the sale did not take place on Indian soil, as it acquired the [...]
G20’s failure was all too predictable June 6, 2010 IT is funny how quickly moods change. It was not that long ago that the G20, courtesy of Gordon Brown’s spin machine, was being hailed as a quasi-mythical authority that was about to solve all of the world’s economic problems. There would be a new era of enlightened global coordination, we were told – in [...]
Entrepreneurs back our campaign on CGT hike June 6, 2010 TWO of Britain’s most recognisable entrepreneurs have thrown their weight behind City A.M.’s campaign against plans to hike capital gains tax (CGT). Julie Meyer, the founder of First Tuesday, chief executive of Ariadne Capital and City A.M. columnist, added her name to the growing list of supporters, as did Shaf Rasul, the founder of E-net [...]
UK must learn from Australia’s error June 3, 2010 IT is not just Britain that is about to shoot itself in the foot with a crippling and destructive tax hike on investors. In our case, it is capital gains that are being targeted; in Australia’s case, however, it is the mining industry that is the being subjected to a weird experiment in irrationality. It [...]
Think-tank: CGT hike won’t make tax fair June 3, 2010 A LEADING economic think tank has rubbished the coalition government’s claims that proposals to alter capital gains tax (CGT) would improve the fairness of the UK’s tax policy. Business secretary Vince Cable yesterday told the Commons that the reforms would “lift very large numbers of low-earners out of tax” and “make the tax system fairer”. [...]
Modest gains for house prices June 3, 2010 HOUSE prices rose just 0.5 per cent in May on the previous month, indicating that after a sharp recovery, the UK property market is finally starting to level off. The latest monthly figures from mortgage lender Nationwide revealed that house prices are now up 12.2 per cent from their trough last February and are less [...]
No lament for the end of the family-run firm June 3, 2010 THE days of family-run firms could be numbered according to a survey carried out by Haines Watts, the accountancy firm. It found that out of the 650 small business owners it asked, a paltry 16 per cent responded that they planned to hand control of their business to another family member. So, what has led [...]
House prices up in May – but pace slows June 3, 2010 HOUSE prices rose by 0.5 per cent in last month, according to a survey by Nationwide. The lender said the increase meant prices had risen 12.2 per cent since February 2009. House prices have risen in 12 of the past 13 months on the Nationwide index, although the pace of growth appears to be slowing. [...]
Slow growth: the UK’s fate for 2010 June 2, 2010 THERE are many problems facing the UK economy – inflation is far too high, the crisis at BP, which accounts for one pound out of every seven paid out in dividends in the FTSE 100, is trashing the stock market, while the belt-tightening about to be announced at the emergency budget will include destructive measures [...]
Economist Arthur Laffer slams proposals to raise cap gains tax June 2, 2010 ARTHUR Laffer, the celebrated economist who created the Laffer curve to show how dropping tax rates could result in increased revenue, has warned hiking capital gains tax (CGT) will cause an “inordinate amount of damage” to the UK economy. “Raising capital gains tax rates will reduce total capital gains; it will lower total profits; it [...]