HSBC rocked by report into tax evasion scheme February 8, 2015 HSBC’s Swiss private banking arm helped wealthy customers evade millions of pounds in tax, documents have revealed. The files, which relate to accounts holding more than $100bn, show how the UK’s biggest bank helped clients evade tax, even collaborating with some to hide undeclared “black” accounts from their domestic tax authorities. Thousands of pages of [...]
Solicitor general denies movie investment is for tax avoidance February 8, 2015 SOLICITOR general Robert Buckland QC MP is facing questions after it emerged he is a partner in a film investment scheme currently being investigated by HMRC. The Conservative MP for South Swindon denies that he invested in order to receive the tax breaks available to some film investors. Buckland, who has been a partner in [...]
PwC rejects Margaret Hodge’s claims that it promotes “tax avoidance on an industrial scale” February 6, 2015 PwC has rejected the findings of the Public Accounts Committee, which has accused the financial services firm of promoting “tax avoidance on an industrial scale”. The committee, led by Labour MP Margaret Hodge, published a report this morning slamming PwC for “artificially diverting profits to Luxembourg through intra-company loans”. She claimed its activities “bear [...]
HMRC to fine 890,000 people for missing self-assessment deadline February 2, 2015 HM Revenue and Customs has said that as many as 890,000 people are facing fines for missing the deadline for submitting self-assessment returns. People who missed the deadline, which was midnight on 31 January, will be £100 out of pocket and even more if they fail to submit a self-assessment form over the course of [...]
Ingenious hits back at tax avoidance criticism of celebrity film investment scheme February 1, 2015 Ingenious has hit back at critics of its film investment scheme after more celebrities were named as having received tax breaks from investing in the plan, through rules brought in by Labour. A spokesman for Ingenious said: “Ingenious film partnerships run by Ingenious Media have already generated over £1bn in taxable income for the UK [...]
City Moves for 30 January 2015 | Who’s switching jobs January 29, 2015 Standard Chartered Aaron Russell-Davison has been appointed head of debt capital markets at the bank. He joined Standard Chartered in 2009, and has worked as head of Asian bond syndicate, global head, bond syndicate, and most recently as head of capital markets, ASEAN. UBS Global Asset Management Rachel Hill has been appointed UK business development [...]
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 [...]