Liechtenstein cuts tax deal August 10, 2009 HM REVENUE & Customs (HMRC) is set to sign a ground-breaking deal today with the tax haven of Liechtenstein designed to unlock £2bn to £3bn of cash from the secret bank accounts of British citizens in the tiny European principality. HMRC will ask around 5,000 UK investors to volunteer the details of their deposits. Banks [...]
TAX CODE THREATENS UK BANKING August 4, 2009 ARABELLA SAKERPARTNER, MAURICE TURNOR GARDNER LLPHM Revenue & Customs recently published a consultation on a new code of practice on taxation for banks, setting out new rules with which banks are expected to comply “in light of the significant taxpayer support” that has been given to the industry. Although voluntary, banks which don’t sign up [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING July 28, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES FINES CALL FOR AIRBUS AND EADS EXECUTIVESSeven current and former executives of Airbus and its parent company EADS, including Noel Forgeard, former EADS co-chief executive, should be fined for alleged insider share dealing offences according to a provisional report prepared for the French financial markets regulator. The 381-page report has recommended a total [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING July 21, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES WYNN RESORTS LEADS IN RACE TO LIST IN HONG KONGA Las Vegas-based casino company has taken the lead in a race to become the first international casino operator to list in Hong Kong, taking advantage of investor appetite for stocks with links to the world’s biggest gambling market. Wynn Resorts, controlled by Steve [...]
Worst decline in UK tax take since 1920s buried as MPs go on holiday July 20, 2009 THE GOVERNMENT buried a slew of bad news yesterday, the day before politicians went on summer recess, including a giant £32bn slump in Treasury tax income due to the disastrous effects of the financial crisis. Dire accounts from several departments were released in one go, where they would normally be staggered over time, in a [...]
It would be mad to hike capital gains tax July 5, 2009 FOR all of Gordon Brown’s increasingly laughable attempts at dissembling on the matter, there is absolutely no doubt that public spending will have to be slashed after the general election, regardless of who wins. Alistair Darling said as much yesterday, and that was also the implication of the comments from John Hutton, the former defence [...]
Lawson: The Tories need to find the bottle to cut public spending July 2, 2009 FORMER chancellor Lord Lawson is feeling hot under the collar. It’s not just because he’s finished delivering a lecture in a stuffy, airless room at the London Stock Exchange. He’s also fed up with travelling on the underground in the sweltering heat. “The problem with the tube is not so much the heat,” he tells [...]
Banks told to comply with tax reforms June 29, 2009 BANKS will be expected to manage their tax affairs in a way that is consistent with the government’s aim to crack down on tax avoidance, under plans laid out by the Treasury in a consultation document on its new code of practice on tax for banks. The voluntary code aims to ensure that banks “comply [...]
Q & A : CODE OF PRACTICE ON TAX June 29, 2009 Q.What is the objective of the code?A.The government wants banks to “comply with the spirit, as well as the letter, of tax law”.Effectively, this places the onus on banks not to deny the government tax revenue. Q.What will banks be required to do?A.Banks will have to have a formal, documented strategy on tax, with directors [...]
Banks await new tax guidelines June 28, 2009 The Treasury will announce a new framework of guidelines on tax avoidance tomorrow, with the publication of its code of practice for banks. The code, which will be voluntary, will see banks agree to abide by the “spirit” of the code, or face being named and then investigated by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). Lenders [...]