Pensioners warned not to splash all their cash on a Lamborghini as Treasury unveils pension rules July 21, 2014 Pensioners tempted to splash all of their cash in one go on a new Lamborghini are being warned they would face a tax bill of £63,000, ahead of today’s confirmation from the government that it will push ahead with the biggest shake-up of the pensions industry in a century. Research by financial services provider NFU [...]
The Aussie boss eyeing an M&A avalanche July 14, 2014 Progility boss Wayne Bos tells Michael Bow how he plans to take on the UK M&A market In the late 1990s Wayne Bos, the Australian executive chairman of training provider Progility, had just helped complete the management buyout of a division from London blue chip ICI when the telephone rang. It was a corporate adviser [...]
Exclusive: Osborne tax grab snares key adviser July 10, 2014 A government adviser charged with ensuring taxpayers get value for money from public investments is embroiled in an alleged tax-avoidance scheme being pursued by HM Revenue and Customs. Anthony Odgers is deputy chief executive of the Shareholder Executive, a part of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) that offers corporate finance advice to [...]
Government adviser Anthony Odgers snared by Osborne tax crackdown July 10, 2014 A government adviser charged with ensuring taxpayers get value for money from public investments is embroiled in an alleged tax-avoidance scheme being pursued by HM Revenue and Customs. Anthony Odgers is deputy chief executive of the Shareholder Executive, a part of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) that offers corporate finance advice [...]
Forget the celebrity tax allegations: Our complex system is the real issue July 9, 2014 Take That’s Gary Barlow has again been reported to have participated in complicated tax avoidance schemes. And as ever, discussion on the subject has been clouded by inaccurate reporting. Many have claimed that personal tax avoidance “costs the economy” £5bn a year. This is confused nonsense, based on an HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) estimate [...]
UK house prices see rare fall this June: But the trend still sees values soar July 9, 2014 House prices have surprised analysts with a slight fall this June. Prices are 0.6 per cent lower, according to the latest Halifax house price index data. It's only the fourth time that Halifax has recorded a monthly house price in the last year. And while home sales are some three per cent lower in May, [...]
City MP Mark Field slams new tax grab July 8, 2014 George Osborne’s plan to grab millions of pounds of tax back from a host of high-profile City names was criticised yesterday as concerns grew over the impact of tough new tax rules. Mark Field, Conservative MP for the City of London, said: “To take a retroactive approach to schemes that have already been approved seems [...]
HMRC got tax sums wrong July 3, 2014 THE TAXMAN last year accidentally overstated the performance of its drive to raise more funds, the National Audit Office reported yesterday. The accounting watchdog found HM Revenue and Customs had hit its targets on compliance – but £1.9bn in 2011-12 and £2bn in 2012-13. The mistake occurred as HMRC had inadvertently understated previous years’ tax revenue, meaning [...]
HMRC denies new pay up front powers will cause bankruptcies July 2, 2014 HMRC yesterday dismissed claims that its proposed new powers to force firms and individuals to pay up front any disputed tax associated with a “tax avoidance” scheme will spark a rash of insolvencies. Accountancy firms have claimed that as many as 10,000 businesses could be affected by the accelerated payment notices, which are part of [...]
We urgently need simpler taxes: National Insurance is a good place to start July 1, 2014 JUST days after the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee published a damning report, describing tax authorities as “unable to cope” with the number and complexity of UK tax reliefs, it has emerged that the chancellor is considering abolishing employee’s National Insurance and merging it into income tax. This is genuinely great news. With a [...]