Q&A: UPDATED BANK BONUS TAX RULES December 21, 2009 Q.WHAT CHANGES HAVE BEEN MADE TO THE ORIGINAL BANK BONUS TAX RULES? A.The main clarification put out by HM Revenue & Customs surrounds independent financial services firms such as asset managers, insurers and stockbrokers, which had all expressed concern about being potentially caught by the bonus levy. The government has now confirmed that such firms [...]
Rank demands £26m in overdue VAT payments from the tax authorities December 15, 2009 GAMING and bingo group Rank demanded £25.9m in overdue VAT payments from Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs (HMRC) yesterday after a tribunal ruled again in its favour. The tribunal concluded that the group had been overcharged over their gaming machines between 2003 and 2005. Rank has now called for HMRC to repay the money within [...]
Tax rebate could ease UK out of recession December 6, 2009 A short-term tax rebate would help the UK out of recession, a report out today from the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) think-tank will say. Ahead of Wednesday’s pre-Budget report, NIESR claimed a rebate of around one per cent of GDP would boost economic growth by 0.2 per cent next year. It [...]
Hexagon readjusts its forecasts downwards December 2, 2009 HEXAGON Human Capital reported yesterday that it has been over-optimistic in its cash flow forecasts and that the group now expects its full-year earnings to be below market expectations. Hexagon, which saw a stabilisation in its trading in recent months, announced that it was in default on previously arranged payments with the tax authorities as [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING November 26, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES US RETAILERS TURN TO SOCIAL MEDIA ON “BLACK FRIDAY”US retailers will on Friday unleash a traditional barrage of post-Thanksgiving holiday shopping promotions, with the National Retail Federation expecting 134m Americans to head for the stores. This year however, the retailers have reinforced their traditional efforts with a new array of social-networking weapons including [...]
Pre-budget tax rises are likely to hit City workers November 24, 2009 WE HAVE all become accustomed to woe-filled stories about the economy. Last week’s headlines included news of a budget deficit of over £11bn for the month, or £87bn in the fiscal year to date. Attempts to bridge the gap through better enforcement of existing tax laws may not be helping – rumours suggest that HM [...]
CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS November 18, 2009 LaSalleThe property investor has appointed Uwe Rempis as head of asset management for Northern Europe. Rempis has been at the firm since 2007 and has been actively involved with asset management and acquisition for a number of its German and European funds. He originally joined from Allianz Immobilien, where he also worked in property and [...]
ROCKY TIMES ARE AHEAD FOR UK PLC November 4, 2009 PETER COOPERLONDON HEAD, BAKER TILLY RESTRUCTURING & RECOVERY LLP NEWS of the UK’s economic contraction for a sixth consecutive quarter startled economists and captains of industry. We believe that administrations could rise once again in the immediate future. One reason is that the number of companies suffering late payment from customers has more than doubled [...]
The numbers man on why London needs to give the right message October 21, 2009 John Griffith-Jones definitely comes across as a man on a mission. Whether he’s talking about hooking accountancy giants KPMG up with as many of its European partners as possible, helping the banks through one of the most catastrophic crises in their history, preserving the status of London as a financial centre, or teaching young children [...]
House sales up, says taxman October 21, 2009 HOUSE sales in the UK lifted over the summer despite the downturn, according to figures released yesterday by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC). Sales of residential properties costing more than £40,000 rose from 80,000 in August to 82,000 in September. And sales in the three months to the end of September were 11 per cent [...]