Business pushes government once again on airport decision after Gatwick records largest ever month of traffic August 11, 2016 Business groups have jumped on data showing Gatwick recorded its busiest ever month in its 80 year history to push for a decision on aviation capacity. Some 4.6m passengers travelled through the airport in July, up 6.9 per cent on the same month last year, while long-haul jumped 23 per cent. Business groups welcomed the news, but indicated it [...]
Harry Potter star fails to conjure up a win in tax case August 10, 2016 One of the stars of the Harry Potter movies has discovered magic is no match for the taxman, after losing his case at a tribunal. Rupert Grint had attempted to include two tax accounting periods in his filings for tax year 2009-10, which would have prevented a proportion of his income from being taxed at the [...]
That’s a wrap: Taxman wins big on film tax case August 7, 2016 HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) had reason to celebrate late last week, when it won two tax avoidance scraps worth more than £820m combined in tax owed and interest. HMRC announced on Friday it had successfully argued a scheme by Ingenious Film Partnership had attempted to use artificial losses generated from investments in blockbusters, including Avatar, Life of Pi and [...]
More or less? What needs to be done to get control of Britain’s pension scheme deficits August 7, 2016 Even before last Thursday’s interest rate cut, pension deficits were at record levels with the total gap between assets and liabilities for Britain’s companies estimated at a mind-boggling £390bn. The rate cut exerted further downward pressure on gilt yields – a key determinant in pension liability valuations – meaning that the gap is likely to grow further. [...]
One in three London civil servants should be relocated outside the M25 to boost productivity August 4, 2016 One in three civil servants should be relocated outside London to boost productivity in public services, according to new report from think tank Policy Exchange, which comes as HMRC signs a lease for new offices in Croydon. According to Policy Exchange, roughly 25,000 civil servants could leave the capital in a bid to deliver more [...]
The UK has been “a difficult friend” to efforts to clamp down on tax evasion, Margaret Hodge has claimed August 4, 2016 International efforts to tackle tax evasion amount to little more than a sticking plaster, according to MPs, with the UK taking the blame. A new report from an all-party group chaired by Labour’s Margaret Hodge has slammed efforts by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to tackle corporate tax planning. In particular, the group [...]
Legislators must not be fooled by the latest insolvency figures July 29, 2016 The latest insolvency statistics released yesterday by the Insolvency Service paint a positive picture for UK businesses, renewing hopes that struggling firms can gain access to the help they need. However, business owners and legislators must look beyond the figures and act now to prepare for future market shocks. In the second quarter of 2016, the total [...]
Sports Direct’s share price soars as it announces £90m share buyback July 28, 2016 Sports Direct's share price was up 13 per cent this morning after the company announced a £90m share buyback. The buyback represents roughly five per cent of the fitness retailer's share capital and will be taking place in the lead-up to the company's annual general meeting (AGM) on 7 September. Read more: Four of the most jaw-dropping [...]
MPs warn HMRC cost cutting could lead to another customer service “collapse” July 27, 2016 MPs have slammed HMRC over its levels of customer service, and warned that cutting costs will lead to further lowering of standards. The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said in a report today that customer service levels "collapsed" to such a degree last year that at one point in October the average time taken for HMRC to answer the [...]
Trying to sell your property? Here’s everything you need to know about the UK’s housing market after the Brexit vote July 22, 2016 Before the EU referendum, politicians were forecasting a housing market crash. We've now had a fair bit of data post-Brexit – here's everything we know so far. The market is slowing down You can't understand the housing market without looking at transaction volumes. While surveys have suggested asking prices have fallen over the past few weeks and [...]