Number of taxpayers falling six months behind on bills increases September 9, 2019 The number of British taxpayers who are falling well behind on their tax bills has continued to climb, according to research. About 117,000 people are now more than six months behind, according to accountancy Moore Stephens, meaning they have received the second of two penalties of five per cent of the tax they owe. This [...]
Forex firm hit with record £7.8m fine by HMRC for anti-money laundering failures September 4, 2019 West London money transmitter Touma Foreign Exchange has been fined a record £7.8m by HMRC for breaching anti-money laundering regulations. The taxman said today it fined the Greenford-based firm “for breaching strict regulations, which could have left them at the mercy of criminals looking to wash dirty cash”. Read more: Serious Fraud Office prosecutes just [...]
Investigations into wealthy individuals boost tax coffers September 2, 2019 Taxes collected from investigations into wealthy individuals soared to a record high in the last year, with leaks from the Panama Papers and new global data sharing agreements boosting Britain’s Treasury coffers. HMRC’s yield from probes into wealthy individuals jumped 58 per cent to a record £1.9bn in 2018/19, according to new research from law [...]
Brexit turmoil takes toll on FTSE housebuilder share prices August 28, 2019 Britain’s housebuilding stocks fell across the board this morning as Brexit turmoil dented investor confidence in the property sector. FTSE developer giants including Berkeley Group, Taylor Wimpey and Persimmon all suffered a drop in their share price as markets reacted to the news that Boris Johnson is planning to suspend parliament next month. Read more: [...]
Probate delays are leaving vulnerable people at risk August 22, 2019 The delays at the probate registries are causing problems for families across the country. It is particularly the elderly and vulnerable who are experiencing undue distress as a result of these delays, which have been going on since the beginning of the year. The issues are related to the introduction of a new computer system, [...]
Summer house deals dip amid Brexit uncertainty August 21, 2019 Britain’s property market suffered a sharp fall in the number of transactions made between June and July, as the traditional summer slowdown and growing uncertainty over Brexit dented activity. Figures released by HMRC this morning show a marked reduction in the number of property transactions over the summer months, with a drop of 8.5 per [...]
Business groups hail ‘long overdue’ move on customs system August 21, 2019 Businesses are to be automatically enrolled in a new customs system, as part of government efforts to keep British firms trading after Brexit. HMRC will allocate more than 88,000 firms with an Economic Operator Registration and Identification (EORI) number in the next fortnight – double the existing number. Letters informing companies of their EORI number [...]
It’s a bittersweet apology from Hargreaves Lansdown August 21, 2019 With a hat-trick of senior figures set to leave Hargreaves Lansdown, one can’t help wondering how the investment company is going to revive its reputation. Prolific analyst and commentator Laith Khalaf started the trend last week, and yesterday saw the firm’s proposition manager and chair of its investment committee reveal that they were also stepping [...]
Government proposals to fix the NHS pension crisis still miss the mark August 14, 2019 It has been an unfortunate theme over recent years that public services have to reach crisis point before the government is stirred to take action. And here we have the mother of all crises (that is, the NHS crisis) made worse by a desperately confusing pensions system. When a tax rule is effectively stopping doctors [...]
Businesses vent fury at handling of Brexit after economy shrinks August 9, 2019 UK business organisations have condemned the continuation of Brexit uncertainty after it helped push the economy into contraction in the second quarter. They called for “decisive action” to turn the situation around. Read more: UK economy shrinks for first time in six years GDP fell by 0.2 per cent in the first quarter, data from [...]