UK scores top marks in anti-money laundering review December 7, 2018 The UK’s finance sector scored top marks in a review by a global anti-money laundering watchdog published today. However, due to its status as the largest financial services provider in the world, it still faces a “significant risk” of money laundering, the Paris-headquartered Financial Action Task Force said. While Britain has a “robust” regime to [...]
Why a river of dirty money flows through the United Kingdom December 4, 2018 Britain first passed a law allowing for the creation of limited-liability companies – described by the Economist in 1999 as “the key to industrial capitalism” – in the mid-19th century. They quickly exploded in popularity. Those arrangements are now under close scrutiny, after landing at the heart of the money-laundering scandal that has enveloped Danish [...]
House of Lords slams HMRC over ‘unfair’ tax avoidance crackdown December 4, 2018 Powers given to HMRC to crack down on tax avoidance risk undermining the rule of law and access to justice, a House of Lords report has concluded. The House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee has called for a review of the UK tax authority’s powers, which have gradually grown over recent years. Lord Forsyth, the [...]
Multiple ‘dashboards’ to give savers access to pensions data, first planned for next year December 3, 2018 The government has confirmed it will introduce multiple so-called pension dashboards, with the first hoped to come into effect next year, giving savers the ability to access access their pension information for several schemes at once on their smartphone. Publishing a consultation on the measure this morning, however, the government could not confirm state pensions would be included. But pensions [...]
City Moves for 30 November – who’s switching jobs at DWF, Legal & General and Relendex? November 30, 2018 DWF DWF has appointed regulatory specialist Richard Burger as a partner in its regulatory, compliance and investigations team in London. Richard joins from corporate and insurance firm Reynolds Porter Chamberlain (RPC). Richard has 20 years’ experience in UK and international regulatory enforcement, criminal and internal corporate investigations. A former regulatory enforcement lawyer with the FSA [...]
Finally, the inheritance tax system is getting cleaned up – here’s what you need to know November 28, 2018 Inheritance tax (IHT) is not a modern phenomenon – in fact, the first “death tax” dates back to the late 1700s. Since then, IHT has been tweaked and amended, adding layer upon layer of rules. Now, in 2018, we’re caught in a system that is ridiculously confusing, riddled with legacy issues, and in desperate need [...]
Over a third of companies totally in the dark about HMRC’s controversial new tax scheme November 25, 2018 Following a call by the House of Lords to delay the government’s rollout of a key new tax policy, a survey has found over a third of businesses have not even heard of the scheme. With just over five months until the deadline for companies to digitise their VAT tax processes as part of the [...]
UK’s customs system would not work properly for two years in no-deal Brexit, MPs told November 21, 2018 A 'no deal' Brexit would see the UK without a fully functioning customs system for two years, MPs were told on Wednesday. Senior officials from HM Revenue & Customs told the Treasury committee the moment to start planning for the talks collapsing passed months ago" in a sobering warning. MPs heard the UK would struggle [...]
Max fac is back to help solve Irish backstop worries, Downing Street reveals November 20, 2018 Theresa May is reviving plans to use technology to prevent a hard border with Ireland in a bid to win support for her under-fire Brexit deal. The so-called maximum facilitation proposal – dubbed ‘max fac’ – was one of the customs arrangements considered by the Government last year before being dismissed. It has support among [...]
City Moves for 13 November – who’s switching jobs at 23 Capital, Ayming and Howard Kennedy? November 13, 2018 Who’s switching jobs today? 23 Capital 23 Capital, a leading capital and solutions provider to the Sports, Music and Entertainment (SM&E) sectors headquartered in London, has announced the appointment of Jack MacDonald as the Head of Music and Entertainment Origination for the UK. Jack joins 23 Capital’s global team of music and entertainment specialists who [...]