Capital Gains Tax (“CGT”) was introduced by Harold Wilson’s Labour Government in 1965. Its purpose was simple: To tax the profit or “gain” made on the sale or “disposal” of an asset by individuals. Companies do not pay CGT but instead any gain is taxable as part of their Corporation Tax bill. The original reason [...]
After ten years of negotiation the three “nuclear nations” – the United States, the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union – signed a Treaty prohibiting all test detonations of nuclear weapons except those carried out underground. The Treaty was developed both to slow the arms race (nuclear testing necessary for continued nuclear weapon development), and to [...]
The UK Coalition Government have today proposed a number of initiatives designed to reduce the burden of bureaucracy and red tape for business. Proposals from the Department for Business include the re-publicising of the Your Freedom website, a “beefing up” of the Regulatory Policy Committee’s role and the provision of greater detail on the nature [...]
On 30th July 1930 Uruguay won the inaugural soccer World Cup by beating Argentina 4-2 in the final, which was held, like all the matches, in Montevideo. On 30th July 1966 England beat West Germany in that year’s World Cup Final held at Wembley Stadium in London. In 1928 FIFA (the football world governing body) [...]
The streets of London were packed with some 600,000 people eager to catch a glimpse of Prince Charles, heir to the throne of the United Kingdom, and Lady Diana Spencer daughter of one of England’s premier Peers, Earl Spencer, on their wedding day. The couple were married by the Archbishop of Canterbury at St Paul’s [...]
Following the unseemly debacle surrounding Kraft’s takeover of Cadbury (and some of us remember similar issues many years ago in the Guinness/Distillers takeover) the Takeover Panel have launched a review into certain aspects of the regulations concerning takeovers and have invited comments. Here are mine. Any changes to the Takeover Code must ensure that the [...]
UK tax law is among the most complex in the world, and it has been getting more complex every year. Despite the fact that I earn a fair amount of my income advising on tax matters I welcome the announcement by Chancellor George Osborne of the establishment of the Office of Tax Simplification. The problem with UK [...]
The United Kingdom Ministry of Justice today announced that the UK Bribery Act, including the new strict liability corporate offence of failing to prevent bribery, will come into effect in April 2011. This is later than originally proposed, but reflects more recent anticipation as to the likely timetable for implementation. Under the new corporate offence, [...]
Vince Cable, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation & Skills, has today launched the coalition government’s consultation paper A Strategy for Sustainable Growth. In doing so he stated: “This government has put decisive action on the fiscal deficit at the centre of its agenda. Business in the UK cannot prosper while the risk of a [...]
University tuition fees could be replaced by a new “graduate tax” under new proposals put forward by business and skills secretary Vince Cable. He proposed that the government would pay fees directly to universities instead of lending money to students to cover the cost and then having them pay these loans back by an extra [...]
Despite all his tough talk when he was in opposition as the Liberal Democrat Shadow Chancellor, since becoming Business Secretary in the Coalition Government Vince Cable has been singularly unable to get banks and building societies to open their wallets and start lending to businesses or individuals. There is no doubt that Dr Cable is [...]
In the latest edition of Pulse – UK Economic Outlook, the IoD forecasts Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth of only 0.9 per cent in 2010 and 1.8 per cent in 2011. The IoD describes this as “one L of a recovery”. The L shaped cycle does not mean there will be continued zero quarter-on-quarter growth [...]
The Financial Reporting Council (“FRC”) published The UK Stewardship Code yesterday. The declared purpose of the Code is “to enhance the quality of engagement between institutional investors and companies to help improve long-term returns to shareholders and the efficient exercise of governance responsibilities”. The FRC sees the UK Stewardship Code as complementary to the UK [...]
One of the constant complaints of British businesses and individuals is the huge amount of outdated laws and irritating regulations they face. Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg today issued a call to arms against pointless regulation and unnecessary bureaucracy, and is inviting the public to have their say about how they want the Government to [...]
Since I first raised this issue in April of last year (see UK Budget Bombshell for Second Home Owners) I have had occasion to return to the subject several times. To recap, as part of the 2009 Budget, measures were slipped into the small print of the budget by the then Government to withdraw the [...]
It has long been accepted that businesses can and do make mistakes on their VAT returns from time to time. As long as the amount of VAT in question was under £2,000 they didn’t have to declare the error but could just correct it on the next return they filed. If the amount involved was [...]
As criticism of Tony Hayward grows and with President Obama throwing his toys out of the pram with increasing regularity, many people are wondering what this shows us about the leadership qualities – or lack thereof – of both men. But who is to blame for this disaster? This post has grown from several comments [...]
The Enterprise Investment Scheme offers generous income tax and capital gains tax reliefs to investors in certain companies. These reliefs are available to “qualifying individuals” who subscribe for “eligible shares” in “qualifying companies” undertaking “a qualifying business activity”. Simple, isn’t it? The purpose behind the scheme is to encourage investment in start up companies and [...]
Yesterday, the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) published a revised version of the UK Corporate Governance Code (formerly the Combined Code). This new edition of “the Code” takes effect for financial years beginning on or after the 29th June 2010. The Code applies to all companies with a Premium Listing on the London Stock Exchange including [...]
The Institute of Directors has today called on George Osborne to consider and adopt seven “keys to success” which they say will need to be delivered by the Chancellor in the forthcoming emergency Budget. By adopting the 7 keys to success the IoD say that the Chancellor would help accelerate economic recovery. However failure to [...]
