HMRC, FCA and PRA tell George Osborne they’ll work more closely together to share information at regular meetings after Banking Standards Review November 14, 2014 Financial regulators and HMRC have outlined plans to work more closely together in the wake of the government investigation into banking standards. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) will hold regular meetings with HMRC to better share information and expertise on “taxation, regulatory, prudential and consumer implications” that result from policy [...]
British American Tobacco whacked with £650,000 fine by HMRC for “oversupplying” Belgium cigarette market November 13, 2014 British American Tobacco (BAT) has been hit with a fine of £650,000 by HM Revenue & Customs for oversupplying cigarettes to Belgium, which has substantially lower tobacco taxes than Britain. Apparently, that causes more low-cost cigarettes to be smuggled into the UK. According to papers seen by the Wall Street Journal, it is the first [...]
City Moves for 13 November 2014 | Who’s switching jobs November 12, 2014 Pinsent Masons The law firm has announced the appointment of Meriam Alrashid as an international arbitration partner in its global construction practice in London. A fluent Arabic speaker, she joins from Crowell & Moring and has particular experience in the Middle East and North Africa. Hermes Investment Management Vincent Nobel has been appointed head of [...]
HMRC recovers record £3.65bn in unpaid taxes from avoidance schemes, evasion and fraud November 9, 2014 A record amount of unpaid tax has been recovered from avoidance schemes, evasion and fraud by HMRC’s top team of specialist investigators – up by almost a quarter in the past year, says Pinsent Masons, the international law firm. According to Pinsent Masons, the compliance yield from HMRC’s specialist investigations team hit £3.65bn in 2013/14, [...]
Super-SMEs are Britain’s growth dynamo: They deserve our support November 9, 2014 A NEW report from Octopus Investments and the Centre for Economics and Business Research reveals that high growth small businesses (HGSBs) are the driving force behind recent growth in the economy and employment. The High Growth Small Business Report shows that HGSBs – firms with an annual turnover of between £1m and £20m, growing at [...]
HMRC to detail its spend November 3, 2014 HM REVENUE and Customs’ (HMRC) first annual tax summary – breaking down exactly how tax is spent by the exchequer – will become available to 24m taxpayers from today. Some 8m taxpayers who have completed self-assessment returns will be able to access their tax summaries online, while the remaining 16m PAYE taxpayers, who received a [...]
Government launches poster campaign to crack down on benefit fraud October 21, 2014 Benefit fraud is to be the target of the government's latest ad campaign with posters to be extended across almost 50 towns and cities. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) wants claimants who have a change of circumstances to report it, so they don't fall foul of the rules. Over the course of the [...]
Taxi app Uber referred to HMRC by TfL over tax complaint by Margaret Hodge October 15, 2014 Uber, the smartphone taxi app, has been referred to HM Revenue & Customers by London’s taxi and minicab regulator Transport for London (TfL). The referral follows a complaint by Labour MP Margaret Hodge that Uber’s Dutch operating firm Uber BV does not pay tax in the UK and was “opting out of the UK tax [...]
The crackdown on no win, no fee risks handing a victory to dodgy directors October 15, 2014 One of the hazards of policymaking is that many of the best-laid plans can have curiously unintended consequences. In implementing policy, meanwhile, government can often find its left hand undermined by its right. So it has been with the Ministry of Justice’s laudable bid to halt spurious and costly civil litigation, an initiative which now [...]
Sportech to appeal against £93m VAT charge October 13, 2014 BETTING operator Sportech has lodged an application to appeal against HM Revenue & Customs’ (HMRC) case that forced the group to pay back £93m in tax over its Spot the Ball game. Last month, it was ruled a game of skill not chance and therefore subject to VAT.