Bonus row now completely irrational February 22, 2012 UTTERLY absurd: that is the only way to describe the debate on bonuses. Here is why. Imagine a salesperson at a widget company so brilliant that she brings in £10m a year for her firm. She is the best widget salesperson in the UK and her firm’s biggest asset. Her company, unfortunately, is loss-making – [...]
House sales up 23% on last year February 21, 2012 There were 64,000 UK property sales in January, up 23 per cent compared the same month last year, according to figures from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). Sales numbers endured the traditional post-Christmas dip, falling from 86,000 in December. But the January figures are the highest since 2008. Yesterday the Council of Mortgage lenders said [...]
Changes to the lifetime pension allowance February 19, 2012 IN LESS than two months the lifetime pension allowance, i.e. the maximum value that can be accumulated within all pensions before incurring an exceptional tax charge, will fall from £1.8m to £1.5m. If the total value of all an individual’s pension schemes exceeds this amount, the surplus will incur an exceptional tax charge of 55 [...]
It’s business as usual for Rangers, say administrators February 14, 2012 ADMINISTRATORS insist Rangers’ fixture against Kilmarnock on Saturday will go ahead despite the club entering into administration yesterday. The Scottish champions became the biggest British club yet forced to take the step, which carries an immediate 10-point penalty in the Scottish Premier League. Paul Clark, of London-based administrators Duff and Phelps, said the move would [...]
A nation of tax cheats changed by new rules February 13, 2012 TAX evasion is rife in the UK. In the last few months a friend of mine has spent over £1,000 on various household jobs. On each occasion the labourer was paid in cash. Was VAT included? Did the workman pay income tax? I have other acquaintances who consider themselves left of centre politically, but do [...]
Bankers held in tax probe into film cash February 12, 2012 A SERIES of City bankers have been arrested in a probe into tax evasion related to film financing. Four current and one former member of staff at the investment banking arm of Royal Bank of Scotland, as well as three London workers from US bank Jefferies and one from commodities broker Marex Spectron are believed [...]
NEWS IN BRIEF February 5, 2012 TAXED ON TIME According to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), this year saw a record 9.45m self assessment tax returns filed on time, with a record 7.65m filed online. This means that 90.4 per cent of taxpayers met the deadline – an increase of 4 per cent on last year and the highest on-time filing [...]
How to survive these taxing times January 29, 2012 AS THE dreaded 31 January rolls around for the self-employed – in fact, 1 February this year following planned industrial action – tax is once again top of the agenda. Nick Clegg, the deputy Prime Minister, has upped the ante by calling for the personal allowance to be raised to £10,000. In these taxing times, [...]
HMRC extends its tax deadline January 26, 2012 TAXPAYERS will have an additional two days to fill in their self-assessment forms after workers at HM Revenue & Customs announced plans to strike on 31 January, the official deadline for submissions. As a result the taxman has announced that no fines will be given to those who submit their return online by 2 February, [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING January 24, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES WATCHDOG TO PROTECT IRRATIONAL INVESTORS Investors cannot be counted on to make rational choices so regulators need to “step into their footprints” and limit or ban the sale of potentially harmful products, the head of the UK’s new consumer protection watchdog said yesterday. In his first big interview since starting work last autumn, [...]