HMRC claims its online tax evasion crackdown has clawed back £200m January 11, 2019 The government claims to have recovered more than £200m of lost VAT from overseas sellers since gaining new powers, saying its crackdown on online tax evasion is paying off. HMRC has issued over 4,600 ‘red flag’ notices to online marketplaces such as Amazon and Ebay since 2016. The flags, called Joint and Several Liability (JSL) [...]
City Moves for 7 January – who’s switching jobs at Cushman & Wakefield, Immunocore and Colliers? January 7, 2019 Who’s swapping jobs today? Cushman & Wakefield Cushman & Wakefield has appointed Angus Currie as an international partner in its market-leading London occupier representation team. Angus, who will start work at Cushman & Wakefield in spring, joins from JLL where he was head of south east England tenant representation. Angus first joined JLL as a [...]
From sugar to saving, this government is treating us like a nation of children January 4, 2019 The morning I turned eight, I woke up and told my father that I was “halfway there”. This, in my home state of Connecticut, was in reference to getting my driving licence, a process I could start on my sixteenth birthday. As a kid, this was the milestone that I was most excited to reach, [...]
Iceland to fight £21m claim that it pays staff less than the national minimum wage January 2, 2019 Iceland could be hit with a £21m fine after HM Revenue and Customs ruled that its Christmas savings scheme technically results in staff being paid less than the national minimum wage. The supermarket disputes the finding, which relates to a scheme whereby the company allows employees to voluntarily set aside money from their weekly wages over [...]
DEBATE: Should the government’s Making Tax Digital initiative be delayed? December 13, 2018 Should the government’s Making Tax Digital initiative be delayed? Suren Thiru, head of economics and business finance at the British Chambers of Commerce, says YES. The Making Tax Digital initiative represents a significant overhaul to the UK’s tax system, which could not be happening at a worse time for both business and government. HMRC already [...]
The government must resist micro-managing our EU exit December 10, 2018 Unlike many commentators, I believe that a no-deal Brexit still very possible. It is the default as the clock ticks, and parliament must vote for government-backed legislation to change path. For all the threats about a second referendum, the Conservatives would implode if they rowed back on delivering Brexit. And as regrettable as a no-deal [...]
Cambridge sees off likes of Oxford, Coventry and Bristol to be crowned the top city for UK innovation | City A.M. December 8, 2018 Cambridge has been crowned the UK’s most innovate city, according to a new ranking that underlines the area’s current scientific and technologic boom. Famed for being the birthplace of the reflecting telescope, IVF, hovercrafts and iris recognition, the university city has topped a new innovation index released today by MHP global. According to the data, [...]
UK scores top marks in anti-money laundering review December 7, 2018 The UK’s finance sector scored top marks in a review by a global anti-money laundering watchdog published today. However, due to its status as the largest financial services provider in the world, it still faces a “significant risk” of money laundering, the Paris-headquartered Financial Action Task Force said. While Britain has a “robust” regime to [...]
Why a river of dirty money flows through the United Kingdom December 4, 2018 Britain first passed a law allowing for the creation of limited-liability companies – described by the Economist in 1999 as “the key to industrial capitalism” – in the mid-19th century. They quickly exploded in popularity. Those arrangements are now under close scrutiny, after landing at the heart of the money-laundering scandal that has enveloped Danish [...]
House of Lords slams HMRC over ‘unfair’ tax avoidance crackdown December 4, 2018 Powers given to HMRC to crack down on tax avoidance risk undermining the rule of law and access to justice, a House of Lords report has concluded. The House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee has called for a review of the UK tax authority’s powers, which have gradually grown over recent years. Lord Forsyth, the [...]