George Osborne’s marginal revolution: Why Britain’s top rate of tax is unsustainable July 1, 2015 The so-called marginal revolution in economics occurred in the nineteenth century. George Osborne’s marginal revolution in taxation needs to start next Wednesday, with decisive steps towards a more sensible tax system. In many ways, next week’s Budget will reveal the real Osborne. Freed from the shackles of coalition politics, will we see a markedly free [...]
Savills claims mortgage rules are dampening London transactions June 30, 2015 NEW GOVERNMENT data show the London home sales trailing the rest of the country. The capital saw the smallest uplift in transaction volumes last year, compared to other regions of the UK, according to new figures published by HMRC yesterday. The number of transactions in London went up from 145,000 in 2013 to 155,000 in 2014, [...]
City Moves for 1 July 2015 | Who’s switching jobs June 30, 2015 EY Scott McCubbin has been appointed IPO leader for the UK & Ireland at the professional services firm. He has been at the firm for 10 years, most recently as transaction advisory services partner. McCubbin has particular experience negotiating the IPO process for FTSE and Aim clients. Cantor Fitzgerald Europe The financial services group has [...]
Greek debt crisis: George Osborne vows to help British pensioners, businesses and holiday makers June 29, 2015 Chancellor George Osborne has said that the government will protect British pensioners, businesses and holiday makers who stand to lose money in the ongoing Greek debt crisis. In a special statement to the House of Commons yesterday, Osborne said that Britain is “prepared” in a “rapidly changing situation”. “Britain’s attitude to the developing [...]
HMRC looks to shut down thousands of businesses due to unpaid tax bills June 28, 2015 HMRC applied to shut down 3,000 businesses last year to meet unpaid tax bills, according to research released today by online finance market Funding Options. The tax authority was successful in gaining court orders to wind up 1,887 businesses over their tax debts, a four per cent rise from 2013’s 1,816. Once a business is [...]
UK property prices: Property sales tick up in May – but the outlook is uncertain June 23, 2015 The number of UK residential properties sold climbed in May, new data show. A total of 98,540 properties changed hands, according to figures released by HMRC yesterday. It marks a rise on April’s 97,610. However the market is slower than it was a year ago when 101,710 properties were sold. The figures translate to a [...]
Raids on premises treble in HMRC tax evasion crackdown June 21, 2015 The number of raids carried out on premises has trebled in the last four years, as part of government investigations into tax evasion. Almost 600 property raids were carried out this year by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), following increased pressure from the government to meet its target of 1,165 tax evasion prosecutions set out [...]
Expats beware: Working abroad could lose you money in the long run June 18, 2015 Moving abroad for work can be a very appealing prospect – there are higher salaries, lower tax rates and an undeniable sense of excitement. But doing so can often lead to financial losses down the line, according to financial advice firm AES International. They calculate that many of the 78,000 Britons leaving the [...]
Government fails to meet civil service cut pledge: DWP employs more than 81,000 while DCMS has just 570 June 17, 2015 The coalition government failed to meet its pledge to cut the number of civil servants, new figures show. There were 406,140 civil servants employed across government departments in the first quarter of this year – a slight increase on the back end of 2014, and a 15 per cent reduction since 2010, according to [...]
HMRC pays out its highest ever amount to tax whistleblowers June 14, 2015 HMRC paid a record amount to tax informants in the year ending 31 March, City law firm RPC said today. The state tax collector paid out £605,000, up 50 per cent on the previous year. Experts suggest it is because of increased awareness of the rewards available for information. “HMRC does not widely publicise the [...]