Parliaments across Europe intensify calls for more corporation tax transparency, as Public Accounts Committee unveils open letter asking for just that June 28, 2016 Parliaments across Europe are today urging their respective governments to do more to make tax transparent. The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has unveiled an open letter, signed by the chairs of parliamentary finance committees of Germany, Hungary, Finland, Norway and Slovakia, along with senior MPs from the Netherlands, Czech Republic and Bulgaria. The letter calls on governments [...]
Now Microsoft’s UK corporate tax arrangements are under scrutiny June 19, 2016 Microsoft is the latest US tech company to come under scrutiny in the continuing row over corporation tax after it was revealed that it made a deal with UK authorities. The company, founded by Bill Gates, avoided paying £100m in corporation tax it's claimed, by revenue from Britain being recorded in Ireland where the tax rate is 12.5 [...]
Scrapping tax havens would be unrealistic, experts tell MPs June 14, 2016 It would be unrealistic to think low corporation tax jurisdictions, or so-called tax havens, could be eradicated, the Treasury committee was told today. Responding to a question from the committee on whether tax havens are a relic, Steve Edge, a tax partner at Slaughter and May, pointed out that different jurisdictions had different "packages" on what they could offer businesses. He added [...]
Seven months after apologising to MPs, HMRC is now boasting of a “significant recovery” in its call-handling services June 13, 2016 HMRC has stressed a dramatic improvement in its call handling processes, with 90 per cent of calls answered, and the average call answered inside of six minutes. Speaking to MPs at the Public Accounts Committee earlier today, HMRC chief executive Jon Thompson, said that the performance represented “a significant recovery”. Last year, HMRC was slammed by a [...]
Seven months after being blasted by MPs, HMRC is now boasting of a “significant recovery” in its call handling services June 13, 2016 NULL
HMRC tells accountants it’s business as usual for routine tax planning June 8, 2016 The taxman has written to a leading accountancy firm to reassure it that it's business as usual for routine tax planning. Accountancy firm RSM, which has offices in the City, previously wrote in its weekly tax bulletin that it was concerned about a report that HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) had published in May. The report [...]
Sports Direct debacle: “I’m not Father Christmas,” says Mike Ashley June 8, 2016 Sports Direct boss Mike Ashley admitted to MPs yesterday that some of the working conditions at the firm were “unacceptable”, arguing that he could not control every aspect of his company. Addressing the Business, Innovation and Skills Select Committee, which is investigating the retailer for poor working practices, Ashley said: “I can’t be responsible for [...]
Mike Ashley admits he can’t control Sports Direct June 7, 2016 Mike Ashley has spoken candidly about the working conditions at Sports Direct, saying he cannot know everything occurring in his company and that some practices were unacceptable. Ashley said: "I can't be responsible for everything that goes on at Sports Direct." "This is a process of growth, and the growth has been too big." Ashley said the success of [...]
Referendum campaigners must do more to explain the implications for tax June 6, 2016 Both sides of the EU referendum campaign have failed to explain how the vote will affect individual and corporate taxes, according to accountancy experts. While Remain campaigners have been hitting out at their Brexit peers for failing to articulate a vision for the future, accountancy software expert TaxCalc had said neither side has presented a compelling answer [...]
HMRC claim it is winning the battle to crackdown on corporation tax June 6, 2016 HMRC believe that that they have turned a corner in catching companies trying to avoid paying corporation tax after subjecting large businesses “to an exceptional level of scrutiny”. Data released following a Freedom of Information Act request by UHY Hacker Young showed 15 per cent decrease in the number of high value cross border investigations [...]