The populist crusade against tax avoidance has turned into an assault on justice January 26, 2015 If “tax avoidance” is the answer, what is the question? For many years it might have been: “what subject excites only a small number of tax lawyers and HMRC officials?” But in the age of attempted deficit reduction, “tax avoidance” – or rather “clamping down on tax avoidance” – is the answer you hear every [...]
Balls hits back at Labour critics of mansion tax January 20, 2015 A ROW erupted in the Labour party yesterday over its key mansion tax proposal. The shadow chancellor Ed Balls insisted that “there’s a tried and tested way to do this. People will be able to get an independent evaluation, which HMRC will use….Of course it will work.” He was forced on to the defensive in [...]
London cabbies demand government clampdown on Uber’s tax arrangements January 13, 2015 Over 20,000 taxi and minicab drivers are demanding the government clamp down on American taxi app service Uber in what may be the first major conflict between cabbies and Uber in London this year. The drivers, many of whom are represented by the Licensed Private Hire Car (LPHCA), say they want to put an end [...]
Government makes hefty return on tax investigation investment January 11, 2015 INVESTIGATIONS into the tax affairs of large businesses is yielding more revenue, figures released today reveal. The high rate of return on tax investigations may also prompt greater investment into them, which could create uncertainty for businesses, a law firm has warned. The total amount of revenue collected by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) from [...]
Easdale provides £500k loan to keep wolves at bay for Rangers January 5, 2015 RANGERS have taken a £500,000 short-term loan from key shareholder Alexander Easdale to avoid being wound up by HMRC, it emerged yesterday. The beleaguered club is thought to have received a seven-day notice letter at the end of December demanding the payment of national insurance. Rangers said in a statement the loan would be used [...]
HMRC helplines put callers seeking tax advice on hold for up to 41 minutes December 14, 2014 The government yesterday pledged to improve services for people seeking tax advice, after a survey found almost 30 per cent of calls to two helplines were cut off. The consumer watchdog Which? found 29 out of 100 callers seeking advice before a tax return deadline received instead an automated message. Callers were put on hold [...]
Google Tax to prompt tech giants to kill Irish tax deals as government cracks down on avoidance tactics December 10, 2014 Rules, detailed by the government yesterday, aimed at clamping down on tax avoidance by tech giants including Google and Apple, could force US multinationals to start winding down “artificial arrangements” used to divert profits abroad. “What they’re trying to do is say ‘if you have a UK presence and if you are making UK sales, [...]
Britain needs Multinational Monday – not yet more arbitrary tax hikes December 8, 2014 BRITAIN has just celebrated “Small Business Saturday”. Perhaps yesterday should have been declared “Multinational Monday”. Multinationals are often the engine of poverty reduction in under-developed countries; and they promote technology transfer and transform lives all around the world. Indeed, it is difficult to imagine what life would be like without them. Of course, multinationals deserve [...]
Tory veteran David Davis attacks government tax avoidance crackdown as threat to the rule of law December 4, 2014 The government has become the biggest threat to the rule of law, according to veteran Tory backbencher and former minister David Davis. Speaking at a briefing organised by the Taxpayers' Alliance and the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) he slammed the government's attempts to limit tax avoidance through laws such as the General Anti Avoidance [...]
Stamp duty calculator: Don’t try it if you just bought a house- you don’t want to know how much you missed out on saving December 4, 2014 If you have just bought a house and are patting yourself on the back for getting in at the right time in an ever pricier market, the new stamp duty just rained on your parade. Do you enjoy seeing your hard earned cash disappear before your very eyes? No? Then don’t try out HMRC’s Stamp [...]