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 [...]
Scientists have proved you only need two brain cells to be properly decisive – while snails’ decision making abilities could help us train robots June 3, 2016 Consider yourself the indecisive type? Consider again: scientists have just proved it only takes two brain cells to make a good decisions – information which could help us to design robots. The scientists, from the University of Sussex, studied the brain activity of freshwater snails as they chose which direction to go in in pursuit of [...]
Dumbed down Brexit row patronises voters June 3, 2016 Like clockwork, yesterday brought another slew of extreme projections about the impact of Brexit. It would “destroy” young people’s hopes of getting on the housing ladder, says Remain, apparently forgetting George Osborne’s warning last month that house prices could fall dramatically if the UK quits the EU (surely a boon for first-time buyers). Leave has [...]
The EU’s efforts to save the failing euro will cost Britain dear if we vote to remain June 3, 2016 In the Eurozone, austerity rules. The poorer countries are kept in straitjackets, stopping the state from spending more and the banks from increasing lending to boost their economies. Half of all young people are out of work in Greece and in Spain. A quarter of all working age people have no job in much of southern [...]
Brexonomics: The five most insidious anti-EU myths debunked June 3, 2016 Eurosceptics peddle a raft of myths about the economic costs of EU membership. These have little, if any, empirical basis, but Brexiteers cling to them doggedly however many times they are refuted by proper academic research. Let’s take a look at the five most insidious ones: One: we keep being told that quitting the EU [...]
First date flutters come at a hefty cost for Londoners June 3, 2016 If you were planning on going on a hot first date this weekend, you might want to count your pennies first. New research has revealed, perhaps unsurprisingly, that London is the most expensive city in the UK to go on a first date. While prospective lovers in Bristol will spend £43 on the crucial first [...]
Race review: A moving and uplifting biopic that sadly fails to fully address America’s own historic hurdles June 2, 2016 Dir. Stephen Hopkins | ★★★☆☆ It’s disappointing but not surprising, given Hollywood's unfortunate record with diversity, that it's taken 80 years for the fascinating story of Jesse Owens to get a biopic. After all, it's only a couple of years since both Martin Luther King (Selma) and Jackie Robinson (42) were given the big screen treatment. [...]
Cuttin’ It at the Young Vic review: A powerful 21st century take on an age-old tragedy June 2, 2016 Young Vic | ★★★☆☆ At just over an hour long, Cuttin’ It is a compact yet ambitious play that takes on the complex issue of female genital mutilation. Our guides through this painful subject are two 15-year-old girls, Muna (Adelayo Adedayo) and Iqra (played by newcomer Tsion Habte), Somali-British schoolgirls who seem to hail from different [...]
Property of the Week: We may have found the only bungalow in central London tucked inside a courtyard in Marylebone June 2, 2016 If you’re torn between living centrally in squished conditions or braving a suburban commute for a quainter way of life, then The Bailey in Marylebone may be the solution. Its sales agent Kay & Co claims it’s the only bungalow in central London. Bungalows – self-contained, single level houses – became popular in the inter-war [...]
Holiday Homes: Sussing out the property market in Barcelona, the Spanish city proving popular with cash-strapped millennials June 2, 2016 Barcelona is the millennials’ Paris. There are scores of city-wide events aimed at a younger demographic, the art galleries are overwhelmingly modern, and a cursory glance through social media will net you far more pictures of young couples standing atop one of Barcelona’s several hills than the Eiffel Tower. The city’s growing popularity means property [...]