John McDonnell at the Labour Party Conference 2015: Here’s what businesses think September 28, 2015 Newly-appointed John McDonnell made his conference debut as shadow chancellor today – and despite promises of a "stultifyingly boring" speech, it actually turned out to be pretty punchy, with attacks on big business and buy-to-let landlords, as well as a hint that the Bank of England's mandate might be up for discussion. But what did business [...]
British firms owe taxman £2.6bn worth of VAT September 27, 2015 British businesses are behind with VAT payments to HMRC to the tune of £2.6bn, due to clients not paying bills on time, according to research from finance firm LDF. It found one of the biggest causes of late payments to the government is that smaller firms are struggling to collect cash from customers, leaving them [...]
How should taxes be spent? Imagine a world where you decide September 24, 2015 Everyone likes to think they have the best ideas for how taxpayers' money should be spent – but what if you actually did get to decide? Academics at Oxford University, Saïd Business School, Harvard Business School and the University of Pittsburgh are proposing Europe's tax authorities try precisely that. They recommend that when individuals carry [...]
London house prices: Flats in the capital cost 67pc more than in 2005 and are set to keep climbing September 23, 2015 London flat prices have outstripped every other property type in every other region of the UK over the last decade, according to research published by a major mortgage provider this morning. Affordability is set to continue falling as data from HMRC yesterday showed the market was hotting up with 106,480 homes sold during August – [...]
UK cider producers fizz upwards to hit record high as sales near £1bn September 22, 2015 The UK cider industry is enjoying the sweet taste of success, as producers have climbed by 50 per cent in the past five years. Medium and large-scale producers numbered 150 across the country last year, up from 97 in 2010, figures from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) show, which also show there are also some [...]
HMRC’s tax probes drag on says law firm RPC September 20, 2015 HMRC takes over a year to wrap up almost a quarter of the 115,000 local tax compliance investigations open at any one time, a City law firm has said. Lawyers RPC today released figures showing that HMRC’s local compliance unit had more than 115,000 investigations ongoing against individual taxpayers and businesses as of March [...]
No more calculus: New real-life maths exam will teach students interest rates for A-Levels September 3, 2015 Maths geared toward real-life situations will now be as a subject for 16-year-olds, the department for education revealed yesterday. Core maths will teach pupils how to apply their maths skills to calculate interest, work out profit margins and get the best currency exchange, and will start being taught in schools today. The course [...]
Pizza Express bows to pressure on tips September 3, 2015 Pizza Express has bowed to growing pressure over its tipping system and agreed to remove the eight per cent administration fee it charges for customers paying their bill with card. The move, which workers and unions have been calling for over the last few months, means staff will receive the full amount left for [...]
Why the government should take outsourcing a radical step further August 17, 2015 Government raids on the methodology of business are commonplace. Some are more successful than others. But as the challenge of George Osborne’s edict to contemplate departmental cuts of as much as 40 per cent sinks in, the search will intensify. As I sat recently in the splendidly refurbished BT Tower – a guest of [...]
City Moves for 11 August 2015 | Who’s switching jobs August 10, 2015 Savills The real estate adviser has appointed Robert Mangan as director in its hotels team. He joins from Michels & Taylor, where he spent five years as a director. Mangan has also held positions at Avestus Capital Partners, Merrill Lynch and BOI. Momentum Global Investment Management Alex Garton has been appointed head of UK institutional [...]