House sales drop by almost a third as market braces for slowdown in mortgage approvals May 31, 2023 The number of houses sold in the UK has fallen by almost a third as the market struggles to upkeep the momentum from a surge in sales at the start of spring. UK residential transactions fell 32 per cent in April with 67,220 homes sold, figures from HMRC show, 32 per cent lower than April [...]
Ladbrokes-owner Entain likely to face “substantial financial penalty” after bribery investigation May 31, 2023 Entain said it could face a “substantial financial penalty” following investigations into its business practices in Turkey by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). The Ladbrokers owner said the offences under investigation at its Turkish facing business, which it held between 2011 and 2017, include breaching the bribery act. Entain admitted that “historical misconduct involving former [...]
HMRC looks to sniff out more British firms abusing tax havens May 30, 2023 The UK’s tax authority is tracking an increasing number of firms suspected of using tax havens, new data reveals. HMRC is now tracking 512 UK firms that are suspected of failing to conduct enough business activities in those tax havens to legitimately claim they operate there, according to data obtained by law firm Pinsent Masons [...]
Record number of Brits return to workforce but inflation continues to wipe out pay growth May 16, 2023 A record number of Brits are returning to the workforce in a sign that labour shortages that have held back economic growth and pushed up inflation are starting to unwind, official figures out today show. A net 251,000 people flowed out of economic inactivity in the three months to March compared to the previous quarter, [...]
Our tax system is not as bad as we think – but it won’t be our magic bullet for growth May 16, 2023 Our taxes are not attracting nor repelling many businesses; they sit somewhere in the middle. It's not that bad, but we shouldn't rely on our tax system to boost our economy any time soon, writes Tim Sarson
Protect your business should the worst happen May 15, 2023 Since the retreat of the Covid-19 pandemic and the winding down of the government furlough scheme, HMRC has secured funding in order to focus on setting prosecution targets in relation to both on- and off-shore activity. With record numbers of criminal tax investigations, and prosecutions being brought, it is prudent to ensure your business has appropriate access [...]
Calls for a social tariff obscure wider energy issues May 15, 2023 Energy bills will finally fall this summer after nearly 18 months of sustained hikes, softening a painful cost of living squeeze for millions of Brits. This year’s drop in wholesale gas prices on the spot market, thanks to Europe’s successful scramble for supplies last winter and China’s flagging economic growth, will soon be reflected in [...]
Mark Kleinman: Vodafone’s CEO call, audit watchdog delays and a wave of insolvencies May 4, 2023 It's the column that gets the Square Mile talking, from the man who talks to everybody - Sky News' Mark Kleinman
Westminster council boss vows to crack down on illicit American candy stores May 3, 2023 The boss of Westminster City Council has called for “greater transparency” about who operates in the city as it looks to crack down on the business owners behind illicit American Candy stores which litter Oxford Street, with the chief urging for more progress from central government to tackle the issue. Cllr Adam Hug told members [...]
Covid cash lost to fraud down by third because we’re ‘going after everybody’, Sunak claims May 3, 2023 Government cash lost to fraud and error via Covid-19 business and jobs support schemes has been reduced by a third thanks to “hundreds of criminal investigations”, Rishi Sunak has claimed. The prime minister defended the pandemic business loans and job support and vowed his government was “going after everybody” in a bid to reclaim the [...]