Business News 9th August 2017
Markets Round up
TAX
Rise in dawn raids to catch tax evaders
New figures from Pinsent Masons have shown that dawn raids on suspected tax evaders by HMRC have increased by one-third to 669 over the five years to March. Pinsent Masons noted that despite the long-term increase in dawn raids, there has been a 12% decrease in raids relating to white collar tax evasion – from 761 in 2015 to 669 in 2016. However, this does not indicate a slowing of action, but rather that HMRC are shifting towards using production orders. The number of property raids carried out by HMRC rose from 1,449 in 2015-2016 to 1,563 in 2016-2017, a rise of 8%. Jason Collins, Head of Tax at Pinsent Masons said: “HMRC have shown they are not afraid to come down hard on large corporates they suspect of tax evasion – obviously, the reputational impact of dawn raids can be devastating.” He advised firms to “refresh their raids and critical incident procedures and seek professional advice in order to know what to do in case HMRC officers appear without warning.”
Financial Times, Page: 2 City AM
Time to scrap stamp duty?
Stamp duty is making the housing crisis worse because it is deterring older homeowners from downsizing due to the high cost involved, a new report claims. The research by the London School of Economics and the VATT Institute for Economic Research found the rate of home moving would be 27% higher if the levy was scrapped. Prof Christian Hilber, who co-authored the report: “The key message of our paper is that stamp duty hampers mobility significantly.” Now ministers, peers and think-tanks are urging the Chancellor, Philip Hammond, to cut the duty. An anonymous Cabinet minister told the Telegraph the situation was now so acute it had “a big implication in terms of economic growth”. Former chancellor Lord Lawson added: “The present levels of stamp duty are clearly counterproductive, and need to be reduced.” Mark Littlewood, of the Institute for Economic Affairs, proposed the duty should be scrapped altogether.
The Daily Telegraph, Page: 1, 4
Delays hit online refunds
The Daily Mail looks at how taxpayers waiting for refunds of overpaid tax have turned to twitter to hit out at delays. HMRC is believed to be struggling to cope with high levels of demand. It says 600,000 people have used its online refund service in the past few weeks alone. On its Twitter account, the taxman admits it is aware of ‘issues’ with the site, but does not know when they will be resolved. Its only advice for those affected is to keep an eye on their bank account and personal tax account for updates. “Where’s my tax refund? If I were this late with my payments you’d give me a penalty fee,” one social media user tweets.
Daily Mail, Page: 35
PERSONAL FINANCE
Pension jackpot for baby boomers
Older people’s income has received a massive boost from private and workplace pensions in the last 40 years, official statistics show. In 1977, only 45% of retired households received income from a private pension, compared with 80% last year, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said, noting that as a result the income gap between those only getting the state pension and other pensioners had grown. Elsewhere, a new survey has found that one in 10 over 50s are considering retirement abroad for a better and cheaper lifestyle.
Daily Mail, Page: 18 BBC News Daily Mirror, Page: 38 The Daily Telegraph, Page: 4 The Independent, Page: 9
Tax change killing Isas
Banks have said the introduction of the personal savings allowance (PSA) is responsible for savers pulling away from Isas. The PSA gives basic-rate taxpayers £1,000 of tax-free interest outside Isas and £500 to higher-rate taxpayers. “The change in tax rules, allowing £1,000 of interest to be earned tax-free, has clearly reduced the attraction of cash saving in Isas,” Eric Leenders, head of personal finance at UK Finance, comments.
Daily Mail, Page: 42
FIRMS
Firm secures rugby league contract
Garbutt + Elliott has won a contract to provide accountancy and business services for rugby league club York City Knights. Garbutt + Elliott partner Jeremy Oliver said: “We are two significant organisations in York and it’s great to be working alongside the club in this exciting period of their development and we hope our appointment is the start of a long-term partnership.”
Insider Media
PM+M on course for 10% rise in clients
Blackburn-based chartered accountancy firm PM+M has predicted that it will grow its personal tax clients by at least 10% by the end of the financial year. If the forecast is correct, PM+M will have over 2,000 retained personal tax clients spread across the North West and beyond.
B Daily
Alleged pyramid scheme goes into liquidation
Grant Thornton has been appointed as liquidator to Euro Forex Investment, an alleged million-dollar pyramid scheme.
The Independent
SMEs
Cyber-attacks hit more than 875,000 SMEs
Research by Zurich has found that more than 875,000 British SMEs were hit by cyber-attacks over the last year. The study found that 16% – or roughly one in six – SMEs were attacked over the last year. Zurich said that 21% of the firms said the attacks cost them more than £100,000, while 11% fell victim to attacks that cost them more than £50,000. Despite the figures, 49% of respondents said they would spend less than £1,000 on cyber security over the next year, while 22% were unsure how much they would spend.
SME Web
ECONOMY
Living costs increasing
Tax hikes and rising housing expenses are forcing up living costs at more than twice the inflation rate, new figures from CompareTheMarket.com show. The average household now spends £845 a month on bills, up 5.7% on a year ago. Elsewhere, a survey from the Recruitment & Employment Confederation has found that employers are facing ever more difficulties in recruiting staff as the number of candidates for jobs shrinks in the UK due to Brexit. The survey shows that the availability of workers suffered its biggest fall in a year and a half in July.
Daily Express, Page: 27 The Independent, Page: 58
PEOPLE
Appointments
Huddersfield Town has appointed Darren Bryant as its new finance director, a newly created role following the club’s promotion to the Premier League. Mr Bryant has more than 25 years’ experience in finance and has spent the last eight years as chief financial officer of the Card Factory. Elsewhere, David Newman has stepped down as finance director of health food firm Real Good Food with immediate effect. He will be replaced by Harveen Rai, who was previously chief financial officer at frozen bakery supplier Aryzta. Chemical firm Zotefoams has appointed Doug Robertson, the former finance director of builder SIG, to its board.
Yorkshire Post, Page: 16 Daily Mail, Page: 60
INTERNATIONAL
New York plans millionaire’s tax
The Mayor of New York proposed a “millionaire’s tax” to fix the city’s crumbling subway system. Bill de Blasio said he wanted to raise $800m (£613m) a year from raising taxes on married couples who make more than $1m a year and individuals on more than $500,000.
Evening Standard, Page: 19
Crackdown nets India 25% more tax returns
Following a national crackdown on tax compliance, Indian tax authorities have revealed they received 25% more income tax returns for the last financial year compared to the year before.
Financial Times, Page: 6
OTHER
Jobs blamed for mental health woes
Work is the main factor causing poor mental health among men, the mental health charity Mind has warned. It claimed many men work in industries where a “macho culture” exists which may prevent them from opening up about their feelings. The charity raised concerns that many men do not feel able to speak to their bosses about the impact their job is having on their wellbeing. The comments come following the results of a survey of 15,000 employees – 1,763 of whom said they are currently experiencing poor mental health – who took part in Mind’s Workplace Wellbeing Index. Thirty organisations were involved, including Deloitte, HMRC, the Environment Agency, Jaguar Land Rover and PepsiCo.
The Times, Page: 14 The Scotsman, Page: 8 Yorkshire Post, Page: 9
Previous News pages
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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