FRC chief Jon Thompson to leave audit watchdog to lead HS2 project February 9, 2023 The head of the UK’s audit watchdog, Jon Thompson, is set to step down to take up a new position as the chair of HS2. Thompson has handed in his notice to leave his job as head of the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) and will now serve out his six-month notice period, Sky News first [...]
HMRC delays are hindering UK growth, accounting body warns February 8, 2023 Major hold ups at HMRC are “acting as a drag on the UK’s economic growth,” the head of one of Britain’s top accounting bodies has said. The “unacceptable” delays, caused by backlogs at the UK’s tax authority, “need to be addressed promptly,” ICAEW chief executive Michael Izza said, as he called for the launch of [...]
100,000 civil servants to walk out on Budget Day, union says February 7, 2023 Around 100,000 civil servants are set to strike on Budget Day, their union has announced, amid a campaign of walkouts over pay disputes. The Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) said it was escalating action after a “lack of movement” from the government over its concerns over pay, pensions and job security. Walkouts will take [...]
Sunak’s reshuffle: Shapps, Badenoch, Hands and Donelan in new cabinet roles after Zahawi’s sacking February 7, 2023 Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has appointed Greg Hands, a former trade minister, as the chair of the Conservative party after Nadhim Zahawi was sacked last month. The Department for Business, Energy, Industry and Strategy has also been broken up into two separate bodies. Grant Shapps, the former Business Secretary has been appointed Secretary of State [...]
Forget writing letters to stay at home mums, we need to rethink tax-free allowances February 7, 2023 Britain has a productivity and employment problem and the government, try as it might, can't get the over 50s or parents back to work. Changing tax-free allowances might be the ticket, writes Alex Petropoulos
EY says it does not owe ‘duty of care’ to taxman in fight over property magnate’s tax affairs February 6, 2023 EY has said it is under no obligation to help HMRC collect more taxes in defending itself against a High Court lawsuit over a British property magnate’s tax affairs. The Big Four accounting firm said it owed no “duty of care” to HMRC to have given it information that could have helped it collect more [...]
PMQs sketch: Starmer’s speechwriters on strike February 1, 2023 Train drivers, teachers, civil servants and apparently Keir Starmer’s speechwriters are on strike today. It’s the only explanation for the Labour leader trying yet again to get a non-answer out of Rishi Sunak about when he knew Nadhim Zahawi paid a penalty to HMRC. Trying to point out that Sunak probably did know the thing [...]
In this recession, it’s the tail end set of kids starting work who aren’t alright February 1, 2023 People who started work during lockdowns escaped the fate of those entering the labour market in 2008, but it’s the young people still at university we need to be worried about, writes Sascha O’Sullivan.
Self assessment: Over 2 million people still need to file their tax return with the deadline falling at midnight today January 31, 2023 Taxpayers have until the end of Tuesday (31 January) to submit their self-assessment returns. The deadline for submitting online tax returns and paying any tax owed is midnight. The most recent figures from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) show that fewer than 2.7 million customers still needed to file their self-assessment returns, as of January [...]
Zahawi ditched by Rishi Sunak as Conservative chair over £5m tax bill January 29, 2023 Nadhim Zahawi has today been sacked by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak as Conservative party chair after weeks of speculation about his tax affairs. Sunak told Zahawi, 55, that, after an independent investigation, “it is clear that there has been a serious breach of the Ministerial Code,” forcing him to ditch the MP for Stratford-on-Avon. Sunak’s [...]