Business News 10th August 2017
TAX
Amazon refuses to reveal tax details
Amazon has refused to reveal how much it paid in UK tax last year after it emerged it actually received a £1.3m rebate. Amazon achieved sales of £7bn from UK customers during the year but it has only made public details of what it paid on its biggest UK arm, Amazon UK Services Limited, accounting for £1.5bn. Amazon UK Services Limited, which employs 14,000 warehouse and logistics staff, paid just £7.4m corporation tax after declaring £24.5m in profits. Rules around share handouts to staff meant it was owed tax credits and ended up receiving money from the taxman. Following the news Labour’s Margaret Hodge called on shoppers to boycott the site, while the Daily Mirror’s editorial claims it is taking customers for a ride by handing over such a tiny part of its turnover in tax and says if firms such as Amazon will not pay their fair share of tax the government should step in.
The Sun, Page: 1, 2 Daily Mirror, Page: 7, 10
VAT fraud mastermind investigated
The Times looks at how Paul Bell, an investor behind the collapse of two listed companies Heywood Williams and Ultrasis, has been accused of being the mastermind of a tax avoidance group that made at least £21m. It says that Mr Bell is currently being investigated by HMRC for an alleged massive VAT fraud carried out through payroll companies that processed hundreds of millions of pounds in wages for legitimate businesses. The paper adds that details of the HMRC investigation emerged during a court hearing in the Isle of Man and moves on to profile Mr Bell’s business dealings.
The Times, Page: 42
World’s first ‘robot tax’ introduced
South Korea has introduced a tax on robots amid fears that automation could lead to mass unemployment. The country will limit tax incentives for investments in automated machines as part of a newly proposed revision of its tax laws. It is hoped the policy will make up for lost income taxes as workers are gradually replaced by machines. Industries most at risk from automation, according to PwC, include transportation, manufacturing and waste management.
The Daily Telegraph, Page: 29
Tax rows to lead to Irexit?
The Daily Express ponders whether the EU’s meddling in Ireland’s tax affairs might make the country consider leaving the EU. It says that Irish politicians are unhappy that the EU has called on the country to raise its corporate tax rates and with the ongoing row over Apple’s tax affairs in the country.
Daily Express
PROPERTY
Call for stamp duty holiday for elderly movers
A YouGov study conducted on behalf of the retirement homebuilder McCarthy & Stone has found that more than 1m pensioners would be encouraged to downsize if the Government offered them an exemption on stamp duty. Ministers, peers and think-tanks are now urging Philip Hammond, the Chancellor, to cut the duty in his Autumn Budget. “Many older people realise the house they are living in is probably too big for their needs, but the biggest barrier is the cost of moving. Stamp duty acts as a significant deterrent… A stamp duty holiday for older people who recognise they want to move would definitely free up some of the log-jam in the property market that is hampering families from moving up,” Baroness Altmann comments. The Daily Telegraph, which has been campaigning to scrap stamp duty, welcomes the findings with James Bartholomew, author of the Welfare of Nations, writing a guest column for the paper in which he outlines why he believes that stamp duty is actually a tax on freedom and happiness rather than a tax on the rich.
The Daily Telegraph, Page: 1 The Daily Telegraph, Page: 14 The Daily Telegraph, Page: 15
Extra stamp duty hitting certain businesses hard
The Telegraph’s Sam Meadows examines how some business owners with residential properties attached are being hit by the 3% stamp duty surcharge on second home purchases. Nimesh Shah at Blick Rothenberg explains: “There are lots of professions where you need to live close to work, or where the property you operate is attached to a flat. It’s unfair that these people are being penalised because of the trade they are in”. One way people can avoid the surcharge, he suggests, is to have the residential part of the property valued at less than £40,000, as the surcharge only applies above that threshold, but people must have such partitions officially valued, Mr Shah cautions.
The Daily Telegraph
House price falls spread beyond London
A survey from the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors has found that its members are reporting that the fall in house prices is beginning to extend beyond London as political uncertainty and tax changes continue to weigh on the top end of the market.
Financial Times, Page: 3 Independent I, Page: 41 The Guardian, Page: 23
SMEs
Rates relief fund trickles slowly
An FoI request to 99 councils has revealed that just two local authorities have so far paid out money from the Government’s £300m fund to provide relief for firms hit by a hike in business rates. Only £197,000 has been used so far, by Amber Valley Council in Derbyshire and Tandridge in Surrey. Some councils have blamed errors including a lack of suitable software to distribute the money. The FSB has branded the situation a “shambles.”
The Sun, Page: 20
INDUSTRY
Insolvencies fall in Scotland but risks still loom
The number of corporate insolvencies in Scotland fell by 16% in the year to June 2017. Despite the fall experts from Johnston Carmichael have warned businesses that they are not out of the woods yet as Brexit and the oil and gas downturn continue to provide market uncertainty.
The Press & Journal, Page: 33
FIRMS
Accountants smell foul play at Lowcost
Smith & Williamson, which has already indicated “sufficient cause” for a detailed investigation into the collapse of Lowcosttravelgroup, which was turning over £500m per year, has escalated its enquiries. Lead administrator Finbarr O’Connell said: “It is true to say that we are continuing to investigate whether to take legal action against various parties involved with the travel group”.
TTG Media
Hart helps with buy-in
Hart Shaw and hlw Keeble Hawson have represented the shareholders in a management buy-in of Chesterfield-based businesses NiTEC UK and Spire Laboratories led by Cooper Brown Enterprises.
Yorkshire Post, Page: 4
ECONOMY
Could pay rises be around the corner?
Pay could be about to pick up as Bank of England’s agents, who study economic conditions across the UK, observe hints that wages are rising as companies seek the employees they need. The index tracking recruitment difficulties has risen to its highest level since the end of 2015, the Telegraph notes, and manufacturers are facing the tightest capacity constraints since 2007, pointing towards rising wages.
The Daily Telegraph
Summer exports up
New trade figures from HMRC reveal that Britain exported more than £302m worth of summer essentials in 2016, including £160m worth of sunglasses and £16m worth of ice-cream. Overall, British exports rose 6% to £547.6bn last year.
Independent I, Page: 42
PEOPLE
Former Tech Data CFO banned
Philip John James, former financial director at Tech Data, has admitted misconduct and agreed to a fine and exclusion from profession after admitting 12 allegations that his conduct fell short of standards expected of a member of ACCA. The Financial Reporting Council’s investigation into Tech Data Limited (formerly known as Computer 2000 Distribution Limited) related to the preparation and approval of the financial statements for the financial years ended 31 January 2012 and 31 January 2013.
Economia The Times, Page: 46
Appointments
MHA MacIntyre Hudson has appointed Toby Stephenson as a partner in its Birmingham office. Mr Stephenson was previously a partner at BDO and has more than 25 years’ of experience in the industry.
The Birmingham Post, Page: 55
INTERNATIONAL
Eon to boost dividend after tax refund cuts debt
German utility Eon will increase its dividend next year after a €2.85bn tax refund allowed it to significantly reduce debt.
Financial Times
OTHER
Real Madrid may suffer penalty
The Daily Telegraph’s Sam Wallace explores Real Madrid’s tax affairs and the possibility the club may have to pay a £100m tax bill.
The Daily Telegraph, Sport, Page: 9
Previous News pages
Business News 9th August 2017
Business News 7th August 2017
Business News 3rd August 2017
Business News 2nd August 2017
Business News 1st August 2017
Business News 31st July 2017
Business News 28th July 2017
Business News 27th July 2017
Business News 26th July 2017
Business News 25th July 2017
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