Spring Budget 2017 at-a-glance guide: All of chancellor Philip Hammond’s big announcements you need to know March 8, 2017 Chancellor Philip Hammond has delivered his first (and last, thanks to a shift around in dates) spring Budget speech. But, as not everybody has the time to go back and listen to his words of wisdom in full, here's an at-a-glance breakdown of the biggest announcements you need to know: Economics, public spending and politics [...]
Budget 2017 UK predictions: What you can expect from the chancellor’s Spring Budget March 7, 2017 It's that time of year again: the chancellor is getting set to dust off his little red box and deliver the Spring Budget. It's the last one we'll see at this time of year, as Philip Hammond decided to move the major announcements to an Autumn Statement schedule. It's likely to be a more staid [...]
Downing Street says Theresa May won’t be publishing her tax return this year March 6, 2017 Prime Minister Theresa May has “no plans” to publish her tax return, Downing Street said today, despite the former home secretary previously doing so as part of her leadership campaign. May published a summary of her earnings last July as she battled it out to become Tory leader and Prime Minister, but Number 10 has [...]
HMRC gets tough on finance directors at big firms March 6, 2017 British tax authorities are clamping down hard on failures in tax accounting from top executives, with penalties against finance directors rising steeply to record highs. Finance directors at large businesses have seen a 17 per cent year-on-year rise in actions under the senior accounting officer regime, according to law firm Pinsent Masons. Revenue and Customs [...]
Raise a glass: Britain’s beer exports rose in 2016, making it the third most valuable food or drink export March 4, 2017 British beer exports rose six per cent in 2016 according to new figures published by the HMRC, making beer the UK's third most valuable food and drink export. Chinese interest in British beer skyrocketed last year, rising 500 per cent following pictures of Chinese President Xi Jinping enjoying a pint with former Prime Minister David Cameron in [...]
The real business rates scandal is that the government is abolishing accuracy March 3, 2017 How much income tax should you pay? The question is not about the tax rate but the accuracy of the amount. Should HMRC take from you a sum which, plus or minus a margin of error, reflects your earnings, investments and reliefs? Or should your contribution be an accurate assessment? Why settle for anything less [...]
Budget 2017: Philip Hammond could raise the pensions Lifetime Allowance to fund social care and end inheritance tax discrimination to improve the nation’s finances March 1, 2017 The weeks leading up to George Osborne’s Budget statements were filled with frenzied speculation. Famed for his tinkering, the former chancellor’s Budgets enshrined a number of eye-catching and popular reforms, including landmark pension freedoms, and some not so popular ones, such as a reduction in the amount an individual can put into their pension and [...]
Government raises awareness of workers’ rights ahead of minimum wage increase February 27, 2017 The government is preparing for the upcoming increases to the national minimum wage and living wage by kicking off an awareness-raising campaign today. The new initiative aims to increase low-paid workers' understanding of their rights to fair pay, following a poll showing that workers earning less that £15,000 a year were confused about what their [...]
Ladbrokes Coral loses £71m tax avoidance court case after long standing battle with HMRC February 25, 2017 Bookmaker Ladbrokes Coral has lost a £71m tax avoidance court battle with the taxman after using a once-legal loophole to minimise its tax bill. Ladbrokes drafted in Big Four beancounters Deloitte in 2008 to create a scheme that artificially manufactured a fall in the value of the shares of one of the group subsidiaries. This generated [...]
HMRC hits back at suggestions by Andrew Tyrie of heavy handed tactics in cracking down on tax avoidance February 25, 2017 Tax authorities have dismissed claims by the chairman of the Treasury Select Committee that it acted in a heavy handed manner, causing people "very severe financial distress". Andrew Tyrie has written to chancellor Philip Hammond to highlight concerns about the way HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) cracked down on people who had arranged their financial affairs by using tax [...]