Osborne puts the 50p top rate for high earners under review March 23, 2011 GEORGE Osborne yesterday confirmed that the 50p tax rate on high earners will stay in place for the time being, but reassured that it won’t exist for much longer. The chancellor said that he would consult HMRC to look at whether the high earner income tax was financially viable, or whether scrapping it would tempt [...]
It pays to know HMRC’s stance on trading gains March 20, 2011 ONE of the biggest draws of spread betting over traditional share dealing is the former’s tax status. Although the Treasury is currently searching under each and every rock and stone in the search for revenue, it is highly unlikely that spread betting will lose this position. Spread betting is tax free for the consumer in [...]
PROPERTY NEWS March 17, 2011 OPEN HOUSE DAY AT STRUTT & PARKER The estate agents Strutt & Parker will be opening the doors of properties across the UK for buyers on 26 March. Prospective buyers will be able to view a range of properties, from quaint cottages to grand manor houses, in a relaxed, pressure-free environment, from 10am to 4pm. [...]
Ireland to fight tax harmony by the back door March 16, 2011 IRELAND is to fiercely oppose what its Prime Minister Enda Kenny has called an EU attempt at “harmonisation of taxes by the back door”. Proposals published by the European Commission (EC) yesterday aim to offer companies a single set of rules for calculating their corporate tax across the whole EU. But the proposals have been [...]
Japan counts the cost of a truly horrific tragedy March 14, 2011 SLOWLY but surely, more horror stories are emerging from the rubble that is Tsunami-hit Northern Japan. The death toll will undoubtedly be many orders of magnitude higher than the few thousand so far confirmed by the authorities, while the big issue last night was the extremely serious problem at several Japanese nuclear power plants. While [...]
Begbies lowers its outlook March 10, 2011 British restructuring specialist Begbies Traynor said it lowered its expectations for full-year results due to a fall in demand for its tax planning services, sending its shares down eight per cent. The company also said restructuring of its insolvency, tax and support areas was expected to cost about £3m for the year ending 30 April. [...]
Time to tackle our terrible tax code March 3, 2011 AMAZINGLY, the world’s fastest talker can speak 637 words aloud a minute. Yes, seriously. The record-holder is a Londoner called Steve Woodmore, who has featured repeatedly in the Guinness Book of Records. Tolstoy’s War and Peace comes in at a hefty 1,204 pages; it would therefore take 12 and a half hours for our record-holder [...]
Time to tackle our terrible tax code March 2, 2011 AMAZINGLY, the world’s fastest talker can speak 637 words aloud a minute. Yes, seriously. The record-holder is a Londoner called Steve Woodmore, who has featured repeatedly in the Guinness Book of Records. Tolstoy’s War and Peace comes in at a hefty 1,204 pages; it would therefore take 12 and a half hours for our record-holder [...]
Why gazelles and giants both matter March 1, 2011 SHOULD you work for a big company or a small one? To me, the answer is simple: the smaller, nimbler and the more entrepreneurial the firm, the better. But as figures out yesterday demonstrate, there is a reason why many people would prefer to work for larger institutions. The top 100 firms in the UK [...]
BP sues HMRC for mistaken tax payment February 27, 2011 BP has brought a lawsuit against the UK government to try and reclaim taxes it paid “by mistake” in 1999, City A.M. can confirm. The oil giant is claiming almost £300m in refunds, interest and compensation for paying the controversial 1.5 per cent stamp duty reserve tax on its purchase of ARCO in 1999. BP [...]