Brits are sleep-walking into an inheritance tax nightmare April 13, 2016 If you've been fortunate enough to accumulate significant wealth during your lifetime, then you still face one major headache: you can’t take it with you. Yes, estate planning is in the headlines once again, with the news that David Cameron’s parents wanted to pass on more of their wealth to him, rather than leave it to [...]
Multinationals including Facebook, Google, and Amazon could be forced to make their EU tax documents public April 12, 2016 Multinationals such as Google, Amazon, and Facebook are in danger of being forced by the European Commission to disclose in exactly which European Union countries they pay tax and how much. Under the proposals, announced this afternoon by EU Financial Services Commissioner Jonathan Hill, all multinational companies with a turnover greater than €750m (£600m) would have to comply [...]
David Cameron has set a dangerous precedent by opening up his tax returns to public scrutiny: Business, liberty and civility will all suffer April 12, 2016 The Prime Minister’s decision to open his tax returns to public scrutiny, while understandable, sets a precedent we may come to regret. However entertaining it is to see our leaders squirm under the searchlight, it’s a shallow pleasure. Longer-term consequences could include a further increase in the power of the state, reduced individual liberties, poorer [...]
HMRC to analyse lower-than-expected uptake on Alcohol Wholesaler Registration Scheme April 11, 2016 The government's Alcohol Wholesaler Registration Scheme has suffered a blow after it was revealed it received only a quarter of the sign-ups as HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) had predicted. The scheme received around 4,800 applications before its deadline of 31 March, although HMRC had previously estimated around 20,000 businesses might need to register and had directly [...]
Panama Papers scandal: What we know about the new UK tax taskforce so far April 10, 2016 Earlier today, Prime Minister David Cameron announced that a new tax taskforce would be set up to deal with the fallout from the Panama Papers report. (He also shared a letter from his accountant, which you may have heard about.) While the precise details of the taskforce are still foggy, here's what we've discovered so far: [...]
Panama Papers scandal: Mossack Fonseca says it is still waiting for a call from the taxman April 10, 2016 Ramon Fonseca, the founding partner of the law firm at the centre of the Panama Papers scandal, is showing the world that you're never too well known to find yourself sat by the phone, waiting for it to ring. The founding partner of Mossack Fonseca said in an interview on Saturday that his firm is still yet to [...]
Panama Papers: David Cameron did nothing wrong, says City grandee April 10, 2016 David Cameron acted with the “utmost financial probity” over his use of an offshore investment fund, Blairmore Holdings, established by his father and exposed in the Panama Papers revelations, according to City grandee, David Buik. The prime minister has been embroiled in the scandal after it emerged that he held shares in the company between [...]
Could you be unwittingly involved in the Panama tax-avoidance scandal? April 8, 2016 What do you, David Cameron and Vladimir Putin have in common? Panama. Don’t wait for another punchline, it’s not a joke. Although the world’s great and not-so-good have been caught up in the sensational "Panama Papers" revelations, the latest twists and turns have revealed an even more intriguing side to the life of offshore finance – [...]
UK financial services watchdog gives firms until next week to carry out their reviews into the Panama Papers April 7, 2016 The UK's financial services watchdog has given firms until next week to scrabble through their back offices and find out if they can be linked to Mossack Fonseca, the law firm at the centre of the Panama Papers scandal. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) confirmed to City A.M. today that it had sent a letter to [...]
Panama Papers prompt US Treasury Department to speed up rule change of bank treatment of company ownership April 7, 2016 The leak of more than 11m files from a Panama-headquartered law firm which implicated various household names in offshore tax dealings has prompted the US government to hurry through a rule change on how banks treat company ownership, it was revealed early this morning. On Sunday, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) published its Panama Papers report [...]