Minimum wage needs radical reform, says free market think-tank September 3, 2018 The UK's minimum wage structure should be simplified to just one or two different hourly rates for workers aged 18 and over, the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) said today. The UK has five different minimum hourly wage rates, more than almost any other country. In a new report the IEA said the complicated structure [...]
Green Man Gaming lines up £100m London float September 2, 2018 Tech player Green Man Gaming is set to announce its intention to float this week in a listing that could be valued at £100m. The float is expected to reap rich rewards for Green Man’s backers which include lastminute.com co-founder Brent Hoberman, Zoopla boss Alex Chesterman and Moshi Monsters co-creator Michael Acton Smith. Read more: [...]
Celebrity tax avoiders banned from honours award list September 1, 2018 Celebrity tax avoiders have been banned from being awarded with knighthoods and other honours, it has been revealed. Nominees for the awards are judged by HM Revenue and Customs and the Cabinet Office, according to a memorandum of understanding, which states that "poor tax behaviour is not consistent with the award of an honour", The Times [...]
ISA saver numbers fall to lowest level since 2000 August 31, 2018 The number of savers using ISAs has fallen to an 18-year low as consumers seek alternative investment methods. New account numbers fell to 10.8m in 2017/18, the lowest number since 2000, according to new figures published by HMRC today. However, although there are fewer accounts, the amount of money being saved in ISAs has increased hugely – [...]
City law firm criticises HMRC’s use of informants to claw back receipts from tax evaders August 28, 2018 A city law firm has criticised HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) for paying informants to provide details on possible tax evasion, saying there were "ethical risks" tied to the practice. RPC said the practice of paying informants opened up the risk of increased data theft as disgruntled employees with an axe to grind could be persuaded into [...]
House transactions slide lower amid ‘stagnant’ property market August 21, 2018 The number of houses being bought and sold edged further down last month, as fears of a stagnant property market continue to loom large. Residential transactions were 3.2 per cent lower in July 2018 compared with the same month last year, according to the latest data from HMRC’s property transaction statistics. Read more: There is [...]
A further 39 distilleries opened in the UK last year as the taste for gin grows | City A.M. August 6, 2018 Hogarth will be turning in his grave to learn a further 39 distilleries opened up in the UK last year, as the popularity for craft spirits shows little sign of abating. Gin remains a key driver of micro-distillery growth, especially in urban environments, while Scotland has seen a boom in new whiskey makers. Other spirits, [...]
The taxman should go easy on people who take advantage of pension freedoms | City A.M. August 1, 2018 Britain’s demographic timebomb threatens to send the national debt soaring in coming decades, as an ageing population takes its toll on our fiscal health. Even now, with government under pressure to pledge billions of extra pounds for the NHS, the Treasury is in desperate need of finding a few extra bucks. Thus there was some [...]
Brexit white paper revealed: What it means for financial services, customs and immigration July 12, 2018 The government is no longer seeking mutual recognition as the basis for the City’s future trading relationship, its Brexit blueprint revealed this morning. Despite chancellor Philip Hammond having made an impassioned speech defending mutual recognition and rejecting equivalence as a land grab in which the EU could have final say on access just three weeks [...]
Pensioners in the UK shelling out over £24bn in income tax July 9, 2018 The amount pensioners in the UK pay in income tax has ballooned to over £24bn, figures out today have shown. Insurer Royal London obtained the information through freedom of information (FOI) requests to find out how much people over the state pension age were paying to the tax man in different parts of the [...]