Pack a tax plan if you want a retirement on the beach September 2, 2010 IF YOU are tempted to spend your golden years in the sun and escape overcrowded, polluted London, you are not alone. Emigration from the UK reached a record high in 2008 and that was before the introduction of a 50 per cent higher tax rate and the impending austerity measures. But planning is essential if [...]
PERSONAL FINANCE NEWS August 12, 2010 BEWARE PHONE CALL SCAM HM Revenue & Customs has issued a warning to taxpayers after reports that thieves were making phone calls pretending to be the taxman. According to reports, fraudsters say that you are due a tax rebate and ask for your bank details over the phone. They then try to gain access to [...]
Victory for Portsmouth in tax battle August 5, 2010 PORTSMOUTH claimed a monumental victory yesterday after it was saved from the brink of liquidation by a High Court ruling. The debt-ridden club were handed a lifeline after HM Revenue and Customs lost an appeal to block a proposed Company Voluntary Agreement (CVA) to help the club out of administration. Instead, Mr Justice Mann ordered [...]
We’ll go bust if we lose in court, say Portsmouth August 4, 2010 PORTSMOUTH say they could go out of business if they lose their court case against the tax authorities today. HM Revenue & Customs are challenging a Company Voluntary Agreement (CVA) to allow the club to come out of administration, claiming it is owed £13m more than the £24m stated by the club’s administrators. And Portsmouth’s [...]
Why unemployment remains so high August 3, 2010 UNEMPLOYMENT in the UK is far higher than most commentators realise. The figures used by economists and the media only include people who are looking for work, thus missing out several million benefit claimants who are on the dole in all but name. The latest official statistics (from last November) reveal that there are 5.87m [...]
HMRC under fire for backlog of tax cases July 21, 2010 HM REVENUE & Customs (HMRC) has been criticised by the National Audit Office (NAO) for failing to deal with its huge backlog of more than 18m unresolved income tax cases. The NAO said about half the 18.2m cases might involve underpayment or overpayment of tax. It warned that as much as £4.4bn was at stake. [...]
LISTED PRODUCT NEWS July 21, 2010 RBS FREE SEMINAR ON EUROPE TONIGHT Europe has never been far from the headlines and the falls in European stock markets have garnered lots of interest from investors. RBS is holding another free seminar tonight where David Stevenson will be discussing why he feels that Europe and especially Euroland could be looking good value compared [...]
Our tax code needs a total overhaul July 19, 2010 LET us hope the coalition is serious about tax simplification. Britain’s taxes are not only far too high; they are also extraordinarily complicated. I was recently talking to a very senior tax lawyer who admitted to me that no single person understands more than a small proportion of our tax code. His views were all [...]
The new Office for Tax Simplification won’t turn the UK into a low-tax state July 19, 2010 ANOTHER week, another independent body that could prove a headache for the chancellor. Hot on the heels of the creation of the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), which has had a less than illustrious start, George Osborne will today launch an Office for Tax Simplification. It has been charged with lighting a bonfire under Britain’s [...]
HMRC scuppers Pompey bid to exit administration July 15, 2010 PORTSMOUTH face more months of uncertainty after the taxman blocked their attempt to come out of administration. HM Revenue and Customs yesterday lodged an appeal at the High Court against Pompey’s proposed Company Voluntary Arrangement. A hearing is not expected to be held before October, leaving the club hampered by a transfer embargo as they [...]