IMPACT OF VAT September 16, 2010 Q.As a small business-owner, what do I need to know about the VAT increase? A.The standard rate of VAT is 17.5 per cent at the moment but this will be rising to 20 per cent in three months time. If you are a business that issues VAT invoices, then you must use the 20 per [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING September 15, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES BOND STRATEGY LED TO BIG WIN AFTER LEHMAN The collapse of Lehman Brothers and central banks’ unorthodox monetary policies distorted markets to create some of the biggest pricing anomalies ever documented in bond trading, according to research from leading US academics. A paper from the US National Bureau of Economic Research claims to [...]
Tax boss performs U-turn to apologise for PAYE blunders September 12, 2010 BRITAIN’S top tax official was forced into an embarrassing U-turn this weekend after initially refusing to apologise to more than a million people facing surprise bills. Dave Hartnett, permanent secretary for tax at HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), said he was “deeply sorry” that administrative errors meant 1.4m people would have to pay an average [...]
How to deal with an HMRC letter September 9, 2010 LETTERS have started to drop onto the doormats of Britons advising them that they did not pay the correct amount of tax through the pay as you earn (PAYE) system during the tax years 2008-10. Those affected are likely to be those with complex streams of income. The government argued that the state of the [...]
Diamond is the right man for the job September 7, 2010 GOOD on Barclays for promoting Bob Diamond, head of the bank’s investment banking unit, to be the firm’s overall chief executive. He is the best man for the job, proving himself again with the successful integration of Lehman’s US operations. Yet given Diamond’s demonisation in the broadcast media and popular press, not least by the [...]
Pack a tax plan if you want a retirement on the beach September 2, 2010 IF YOU are tempted to spend your golden years in the sun and escape overcrowded, polluted London, you are not alone. Emigration from the UK reached a record high in 2008 and that was before the introduction of a 50 per cent higher tax rate and the impending austerity measures. But planning is essential if [...]
PERSONAL FINANCE NEWS August 12, 2010 BEWARE PHONE CALL SCAM HM Revenue & Customs has issued a warning to taxpayers after reports that thieves were making phone calls pretending to be the taxman. According to reports, fraudsters say that you are due a tax rebate and ask for your bank details over the phone. They then try to gain access to [...]
Victory for Portsmouth in tax battle August 5, 2010 PORTSMOUTH claimed a monumental victory yesterday after it was saved from the brink of liquidation by a High Court ruling. The debt-ridden club were handed a lifeline after HM Revenue and Customs lost an appeal to block a proposed Company Voluntary Agreement (CVA) to help the club out of administration. Instead, Mr Justice Mann ordered [...]
We’ll go bust if we lose in court, say Portsmouth August 4, 2010 PORTSMOUTH say they could go out of business if they lose their court case against the tax authorities today. HM Revenue & Customs are challenging a Company Voluntary Agreement (CVA) to allow the club to come out of administration, claiming it is owed £13m more than the £24m stated by the club’s administrators. And Portsmouth’s [...]
Why unemployment remains so high August 3, 2010 UNEMPLOYMENT in the UK is far higher than most commentators realise. The figures used by economists and the media only include people who are looking for work, thus missing out several million benefit claimants who are on the dole in all but name. The latest official statistics (from last November) reveal that there are 5.87m [...]