City law firms repay furlough cash following strong business during pandemic October 14, 2020 Several large British law firms have handed back government furlough cash after seeing stronger-than-expected business during the pandemic. Square Mile-based firms Norton Rose Fulbright, Osborne Clarke and Herbert Smith Freehills have all paid back wage subsidies handed out by the chancellor, following strong demand for their legal services during the coronavirus crisis. Chancellor Rishi Sunak [...]
Leicester factory scandal: Boohoo supplier involved in ‘multi-million-pound’ fraud scheme October 13, 2020 Leicester clothing factories with links to Boohoo and Select Fashion have been involved in a “multi-million pound” money laundering and VAT fraud scandal, an investigation has found. Firms based in the city’s garment manufacturing district, some of which were suppliers to the fast fashion retailers, were revealed to have been involved in fraudulent activity relating [...]
BR Shetty seeks India probe into NMC Health and Finablr bosses October 12, 2020 Indian entrepreneur BR Shetty has filed a complaint with federal investigative agencies in India, seeking a probe into two former top executives of his companies and two Indian banks linked to the multibillion dollar scandal engulfing his business empire. Several firms linked to Shetty including UAE hospital operator NMC Health and payments firm Finablr have [...]
Rishi Sunak set to announce furlough extension in local lockdown areas October 9, 2020 Chancellor Rishi Sunak is set to announce a limited extension to the furlough scheme today as the government faces mounting criticism over fresh local lockdown restrictions across the country. Sunak will outline new support for people and businesses in England facing strict new measures set to come into force next week, including the closure of [...]
Dominic Chappell evaded tax after buying BHS for £1, court told October 9, 2020 Businessman Dominic Chappell “dishonestly chose” to evade tax on the £2.2m income he received from buying failing retailer BHS for £1, a court heard yesterday. Chappell, who led BHS when it collapsed in 2016, is on trial at Southwark Crown Court on three charges of cheating public revenue relating to him and his bankrupt firm [...]
How mid-market businesses can keep on top of their evolving VAT obligations September 24, 2020 In this article, I ask my VAT colleague, Mitchell Piper, for his views on how businesses can keep up to date with VAT changes. Value Added Tax (VAT), like all taxes, evolves over time to adapt to changes in society, technology and business practices. Good examples of this are the recent VAT rate reductions in [...]
Impersonation frauds soar 85 per cent during pandemic as scammers exploit government loan websites September 24, 2020 Impersonation frauds almost doubled during the pandemic, as scammers scooped up around £208m from fake government loan forms, phishing emails and bogus websites. More than 15,000 impersonation scams were reported in the first half of 2020, marking an 84 per cent increase compared to the same period last year, according to a report released today [...]
Bank and government support to UK firms tops £100bn September 22, 2020 Struggling UK companies have now received more than £100bn worth of support from banks and the government through various coronavirus stimulus schemes, official figures have shown. UK banks have lent out more than £58bn to hard-hit companies through the government-backed coronavirus loan schemes, according to Treasury figures out today. HMRC figures showed that companies have [...]
Businesses voluntarily return £215m in furlough cash September 21, 2020 UK firms have voluntarily returned more than £215m of furlough money to the government either because they did not need it or they took it in error. HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) figures released today showed that 80,433 employers have so far returned furlough cash totalling more than £215m handed to them to cover staff [...]
HMRC to receive powers to enforce disclosure of assets September 19, 2020 HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) will be given new powers that will allow it to force financial institutions to provide information about people’s assets. The firms will be required to pass on customer information if served with a “financial institution notice” by HMRC under new measures proposed in the next finance bill. It will mean [...]