Treasury watchdog has huge task ahead October 24, 2019 Westminster isn’t a happy place these days. MPs leave under police escort while protesters from both sides of the Brexit stalemate berate them; conventions in parliament are tested almost to destruction by the Speaker and ministers alike; a domestic legislative agenda exists only on paper; the government cannot govern and the opposition demand an election [...]
A look back at Mel Stride’s parliamentary career October 23, 2019 The new chair of the Treasury Select Committee is no stranger to the hallowed halls of 1 Horse Guards Road. Mel Stride was formerly a treasury minister for two years under ex-prime minister Theresa May. Read more: Mel Stride unveiled as new Treasury Select Committee chair The former Oxford Union president is best remembered during [...]
Goals Soccer Centres: Sports Direct says ‘skulduggery’ wiped out shareholders October 23, 2019 Retailer Sports Direct has today blasted the management of Goals Soccer Centres after the five-a-side football firm delisted from Aim after an accounting scandal. Goals suspended shares in March after saying its financial results contained a misdeclaration of VAT, leaving a black hole in its accounts of more than £12m. Read more: Goals Soccer Centres [...]
Longer prison sentences given out for tax evasion October 14, 2019 Prison sentence lengths for tax evasion rose by 10 per cent on average last year as the taxman pushed for tougher punishments to dodgng payments. The average sentence for the deliberate non-payment of tax rose to two years and seven months in 2018 – an increase of two months on 2017’s figures – according to [...]
Facebook pays just £28m in UK corporation tax in 2018 after sales worth almost £800m October 11, 2019 Facebook paid just £28m in UK corporation tax in 2018 according to its latest filing at Companies House. This is despite it having recognised sales worth £797m with a gross profit of £763.4m for the year. Read more: OECD targets tech giants as it shakes up global tax rules It is the latest example of [...]
London forex trader sues Citigroup for $112m over ‘malicious’ prosecution October 2, 2019 A London-based former Citigroup trader is suing the bank for over $112m (£91m), alleging the bank made materially false and malicious statements to US prosecutors which led to him being tried in New York on foreign exchange rigging-charges. Rohan Ramchandani, former European head of the US bank’s forex spot market trading desk, is alleging Citigroup [...]
Topps Tiles shares sink on fourth quarter sales dip October 2, 2019 Shares in Topps Tiles dipped this morning as the company revealed political uncertainty hurt fourth quarter trading. The tile retailer said like-for-like sales fell 1.9 per cent in the fourth quarter as uncertainty impacted consumer confidence. Shares fell 6.5 per cent this morning. Read more: Brokers urge investors to buy Topps Tiles shares as sales [...]
Goals Soccer Centres warns HMRC black hole could be higher than £12m September 30, 2019 Goals Soccer Centres has warned that a black hole in its accounts could be “materially higher” than the £12m it had previously disclosed as it officially de-listed from London’s Aim stock market. The company suspended shares in March after saying its financial results had contained a misdeclaration of VAT, which have raised suspicions of tax [...]
Authorities continue to question Airbnb as UK tax bill shrinks September 30, 2019 Enquiries into Airbnb’s UK tax structure have continued to plague the short-term holiday rental giant, even as its payouts to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) have decreased. Airbnb said it remains subject to “tax enquiries and proceedings concerning its operations and intracompany transactions”, filings seen by City A.M. reveal. It has also been contacted regarding [...]
Housing market uncertainty persists as property transactions remain flat September 24, 2019 Property transactions in August edged down slightly year-on-year, but buyers and sellers showed some signs of resilience despite the current Brexit uncertainty. There were 99,890 residential deals in August 2019, falling 0.9 per cent from last year but rising 15.8 per cent compared with the previous month, according to new HMRC data published today. Signs [...]