Government price tag for making tax digital has ballooned, report warns June 12, 2023 The credibility of the government’s plans to allow people to file their tax bills digitally has been undermined by repeated delays and a bill that has increased about sixfold, the National Audit Office (NAO) has said. The official auditors said that the final bill is currently expected to be £1.3bn, an increase of more than [...]
Prepare for a dawn raid June 9, 2023 Even if your business is legally beyond reproach and fully compliant with its processes and procedures, a surprise dawn raid from regulatory or law enforcement agencies such as HMRC, the FCA, SFO or NCA can happen to anybody. Perhaps a client or customer is being raided simultaneously. In any case, it makes sense to be [...]
Exclusive: Rishi Sunak plans shake-up of worker ownership schemes June 4, 2023 Rishi Sunak and Jeremy Hunt are drawing up plans to revamp schemes designed to hand workers a stake in their employers, City A.M. can reveal. The Treasury will today ask businesses for their view on the effectiveness of government-sponsored programmes that steer staff toward taking stakes in their employer by offering financial incentives. The Prime [...]
Prospective buyers hit with fresh blow as mortgage approvals continue to fall June 1, 2023 Prospective buyers continue to suffer setbacks as fresh data reveals that mortgage approvals fell during April. Net mortgage approvals for house purchases fell from 51,500 in March to 48,700 in April, figures from the Bank of England show, with experts predicting that the figure could fall further following the central bank’s decision to hike interest [...]
Interest rate hikes triggers house price fall and analysts think there’s further to go June 1, 2023 House prices remain below their August peak as demand softens following a spike in interest in early spring. The annual rate of house price growth slipped back to -3.4 per cent from -2.7 per cent in April, figures from Nationwide show, as the Bank of England’s decision to hike interest rates rattled buyers confidence. In [...]
House sales drop by almost a third as market braces for slowdown in mortgage approvals May 31, 2023 The number of houses sold in the UK has fallen by almost a third as the market struggles to upkeep the momentum from a surge in sales at the start of spring. UK residential transactions fell 32 per cent in April with 67,220 homes sold, figures from HMRC show, 32 per cent lower than April [...]
Ladbrokes-owner Entain likely to face “substantial financial penalty” after bribery investigation May 31, 2023 Entain said it could face a “substantial financial penalty” following investigations into its business practices in Turkey by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). The Ladbrokers owner said the offences under investigation at its Turkish facing business, which it held between 2011 and 2017, include breaching the bribery act. Entain admitted that “historical misconduct involving former [...]
HMRC looks to sniff out more British firms abusing tax havens May 30, 2023 The UK’s tax authority is tracking an increasing number of firms suspected of using tax havens, new data reveals. HMRC is now tracking 512 UK firms that are suspected of failing to conduct enough business activities in those tax havens to legitimately claim they operate there, according to data obtained by law firm Pinsent Masons [...]
Record number of Brits return to workforce but inflation continues to wipe out pay growth May 16, 2023 A record number of Brits are returning to the workforce in a sign that labour shortages that have held back economic growth and pushed up inflation are starting to unwind, official figures out today show. A net 251,000 people flowed out of economic inactivity in the three months to March compared to the previous quarter, [...]
Our tax system is not as bad as we think – but it won’t be our magic bullet for growth May 16, 2023 Our taxes are not attracting nor repelling many businesses; they sit somewhere in the middle. It's not that bad, but we shouldn't rely on our tax system to boost our economy any time soon, writes Tim Sarson