UK receives lowest ever score on corruption index as Britain’s reputation suffers after a string of political scandals Public standards Britain has received its lowest ever score and ranking on Transparency International’s annual Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI). The drop “is a powerful indictment” in the decline in public standards, campaigners say, which have been dragged down by a series of recent government scandals around the procurement of PPE during pandemic and multiple ministerial breaches. The [...]
‘No penalties for innocent tax errors’: Head of HMRC piles more pressure on Zahawi Nadhim in trouble? The boss of HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has told MPs there are “no penalties for innocent errors”, as he was quizzed on the tax furore surrounding Nadhim Zahawi. HMRC chief executive Jim Harra, appearing before the Public Accounts Committee where he was due to discuss tax compliance and the pandemic, was pressed on some [...]
PMQs: Sunak to come under fresh scrutiny today amid Zahawi tax row and calls to fire Tory chair Midday face-off Rishi Sunak will come under fresh pressure over Nadhim Zahawi as he resists firing the Tory party chairman despite him being under investigation over his tax affairs. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer is likely to seize on the fallout from Mr Zahawi’s multi-million pound settlement at Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday. The Prime Minister ordered [...]
UK’s ‘science superpower’ dreams at risk due to HMRC crackdown on R&D tax relief fraud January 24, 2023 The UK’s goal to become a ‘science superpower’ is at risk as an increasing number of British firms move their R&D activity abroad, due in part to HMRC’s crackdown on fraudulent tax relief claims, a new report says. More than two-thirds (69 per cent) of UK businesses moved R&D activity abroad last year, figures from [...]
With an average claim in excess of £50k, it really is time to see if you qualify for an R&D Tax rebate January 23, 2023 | Sponsored What are Research and development tax credits? Simply put R&D Tax Credits are a niche, but a lucrative part of the UK tax code that could bring your company significant tax relief. Most companies we speak to at SAS R&D don’t think that they will qualify for these payments with the common misconception amongst business [...]
Nadhim Zahawi tax row: Tory chair faces fresh questions over claims he paid penalty in seven-figure settlement January 20, 2023 Tory party chairman Nadhim Zahawi faces fresh questions over his tax affairs after he was accused of paying a penalty as part of a multi-million pound settlement with HMRC. The former Chancellor, who attends Rishi Sunak’s Cabinet, has been under pressure since it was reported that he paid a seven-figure sum to end a dispute. [...]
Trump Organisation fined £1.3m for tax fraud January 13, 2023 Donald Trump’s company has been fined 1.6 million dollars (£1.3 million) as punishment for a scheme in which the former US president’s top executives dodged personal income taxes on lavish job perks – a symbolic, hardly crippling blow for an enterprise boasting billions of dollars in assets. A fine was the only penalty a judge [...]
Inheritance tax: London property nets HMRC £820,000 in death duties on average, double other regions’ intake January 9, 2023 Property makes up half the wealth of estates in London paying inheritance tax (IHT) – around twice as much as most other regions, according to a retirement specialist. An HMRC Freedom of Information (FOI) request from retirement specialist Just Group revealed that in 2019-20, the latest financial year of available data, property accounted for 50 per cent [...]
Grocers set for £550m tax reduction over next three years January 3, 2023 UK supermarkets and grocers will benefit from an almost £550 million tax cut over the next three years, according to new analysis. It comes after more than half a million retail properties in England and Wales were revalued as part of a shake-up to the business rates system of property taxes. Analysis of official government [...]
Supertax on private jets could raise £1.4bn a year December 30, 2022 A supertax on private jets should be introduced to fund public transport improvements, according to a pressure group. Campaign for Better Transport (CBT) wants private jet passengers to pay £780 in air passenger duty (APD) for every flight from the UK. That could raise around £1.4 billion each year, CBT said. Currently, private jet passengers [...]