HMRC told to hurry up and produce “tangible results” by Treasury Committee chairman December 5, 2016 A Tory heavy-hitter said workers with life-threatening diseases could miss out on compensation pay-outs because of failings by the taxman and today urged authorities to speed up the process. Victims of occupational diseases can only claim compensation from employers once they have received a full record of their employment. However, tax records are a vital part [...]
Public Accounts Committee: MPs raise concerns over HM Revenue & Customs’ annual performance December 2, 2016 A key parliamentary oversight committee has criticised the taxman's plans to cut costs and urged authorities to lead the way in combating the opaqueness of multinational corporations' tax affairs. The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) today revealed its conclusions within its annual report on HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC). Plans are being implemented by HMRC to cut costs by [...]
As the ONS reveals net migration stayed near record levels before Brexit, is it even possible to reduce it? December 2, 2016 Alp Mehmet, vice chairman of Migration Watch UK, says Yes. It is most certainly possible for the UK to reduce migration levels. Our vote to leave the EU gives the government an opportunity to end the free movement of workers, which is what has been driving migration from the EU. The majority (about 80 per [...]
Housebuilder shares fall on a quiet day on the markets November 25, 2016 It's so quiet on the markets today you can hear a pin drop – but that didn't stop housebuilders from being hit after this week's Autumn Statement. On the FTSE 100, Persimmon and Barratt were among the biggest fallers – they were both 0.8 per cent lower, at 1,715p and 469.6p respectively. Tayler Wimpey, the other [...]
Financial advisers rile at plans to shift offshore tax notification burden November 23, 2016 Financial advisers will have to tell UK authorities about clients' complex offshore tax structures, according to new government proposals. Today's Autumn Statement contained plans to consult "on a new legal requirement for intermediaries arranging complex structures for clients holding money offshore to notify HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) of the structures and the related client lists". Read more: Brexit [...]
Autumn Statement TL;DR? Here’s our at-a-glance guide November 23, 2016 Chancellor Philip Hammond spoke for around an hour while delivering today's Autumn Statement. If you don't have time for that, here's our at-a-glance overview of the announcements you need to know: Economics, public spending and politics The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) forecast for growth increased to 2.1 per cent, up from two per cent, for 2016, but [...]
Property transactions fell eight per cent in October November 22, 2016 Property transactions fell eight per cent year-on-year in October, according to figures from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). Read more: London's house prices won't rebound until 2020, according to JLL When accounting for seasonal changes in property sales, the number of residential property transactions in October came to 97,640, as compared to 106,120 in the [...]
Alcohol industries call for duty freezes in Autumn Statement to distill Brexit fears November 18, 2016 The beer and spirit industries are hopeful for another year of duty freezes, while the wine sector looks for a levelled playing field ahead of Philip Hammond’s Autumn Statement. Earlier this year, George Osborne froze the duty rates on beer, spirits and most ciders, but most wines and higher strength sparkling cider were set to go up, [...]
Sadiq Khan is facing more pressure over his controversial new Night Tsar November 18, 2016 London Assembly Tories are heaping fresh pressure on mayor Sadiq Khan over the controversial appointment of his new Night Tsar by demanding the chance to grill Amy Lame over her new role. Khan has already had to defend the appointment after Assembly Members raised questions over controversial comments made by Lame on Twitter. The mayor stressed on [...]
The government must get serious about simplifying Britain’s complex tax laws November 16, 2016 With British business awash with Brexit uncertainty, it has never been more important for the government to simplify our complicated tax system. The UK tax code is now more than 20,000 pages long. It’s made up of over 1,000 tax reliefs and exemptions. At around 10m words, it is 12 times the length of the [...]