Mr Cameron said that the programme for the world powers was about "proper companies, proper taxes and proper global rules ensuring that openness delivers the benefits it should for rich and poor countries alike”.
The Government has already secured the agreement of the UK’s overseas territories and Crown dependencies to sign up to an international initiative against tax avoidance and evasion, although Shadow Business Secretary Chuka Umunna, has said that the rules that currently exist there are not being enforced.
However, the Isle of Man and Jersey in particular have hit back at accusations from countries such as the US that they facilitate tax evasion and avoidance, and argue that they are more open about their tax regimes than people think.
Chief Minister of the Isle of Man, Allan Bell, said the fact that larger nations are ‘pointing the finger’ at the islands often described as ‘tax havens’ is politically motivated, and added that large countries, such as the US, should get their own tax house in order before attacking the UK’s offshore jurisdictions.
The Prime Minister has also announced plans to require all UK companies by law to register full details of their beneficial owners, including any offshore subsidiaries, with Companies House. He also added that every other country participating in the G8, namely the USA, Russia, France, Germany, Canada, Italy and Japan would be signing up to an action plan on beneficial ownership.
For more information, please contact Glazers, Chartered Accountants London or visit www.glazers.co.uk
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( 3 / 443 )According to a Bank of England official, the squeeze currently being experienced on small business lending could be eased, if banks shared data on credit worthiness.
The Bank of England official has suggested that if more detailed information was provided in regard to a SMEs credit history, it would allow banks to make a more informed decision on credit risks involved; which in turn could boost lending by banks to businesses – and therefore boost the economy.
The comments come following the release of an official report which has suggested that small businesses are failing in their attempts to secure finance from banks, as a result of “personal issues” with founders’ credit ratings, rather than problems with the business plans submitted.
According to the report, which looked at appeals by businesses who had been rejected finance, small and medium sized businesses are being judged on the personal credit score of the business founder, which is leading to them being turned away before a proper exchange has taken place.
The data within the report has highlighted that over half of those who were rejected a loan of less than £25,000 were turned away as a result of a personal credit score.
In an effort to help tackle the issue, HMRC have already began a pilot scheme to share data on a company’s VAT payments with credit ratings agencies, enabling more reliable information being provided to banks and other finance providers.
For more information, please contact Glazers, Chartered Accountants London or visit www.glazers.co.uk
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( 3 / 510 )Ahead of the G8 Summit which begins on Monday (June 17th) in Northern Ireland, the European Commission have unveiled its latest plans to tackle tax evasion within the European Union.
The issue of tax avoidance and evasion has been hotly debated over recent weeks, and the European Commission are now urging European Union governments to automatically exchange information on a wide range of financial income which is earned in their country by non-residents.
Under the proposals, governments would automatically exchange information on income including dividends and capital gains of non-residents, with the residents’ home country, enabling the correct tax to be taken.
The latest proposals by the European Commission, if approved, will build on existing agreements in place to tackle tax evasion, including the automatic exchange of non-residents’ savings – which is set to be strengthened by the end of the year.
In addition, the latest proposals by the European Commissions will build on the pilot multilateral exchange facility, which was set up in April between Britain, Germany, Spain and France; and sees the five countries share similar information to the information they share with the United States as part of FATCA, amongst themselves.
It is now widely expected that the European Union will push at the G8 Summit for a similar system to tackle tax evasion to be rolled out worldwide, enabling developing countries to collect more tax.
For more information, please contact Glazers, Chartered Accountants London or visit www.glazers.co.uk
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( 3 / 494 )A leading think-tank, the National Institute of Economic and Social Research have suggested that after two years of stagnation, the UK economy is set to grow this year, after gathering pace over the last few months.
In recent weeks, various surveys have reported growth in a number of sectors, including construction and the service sectors, prompting renewed hope that the economy is beginning to recover.
Following the significant improvements which have been seen in the economy, the think-tank have updated their original forecast for April, from 0.8 percent to 1 percent.
In addition, the National Institute of Economic and Social Research have also said that their earlier estimates for the economies growth during this year and 2014 – which currently sit at 0.9 percent and 1.5 percent respectively – could be revised upwards.
Although the think-tank are optimistic that the economy is beginning to show signs of recovery, their recent report has suggested that the economic output still remains two percent below its pre-recession levels, and is not likely to reach such figures until 2015 at the earliest.
The latest figures from the National Institute of Economic and Social Research come after the British Chamber of Commerce revised their own forecasts upwards, from 0.6 percent growth this year, to 0.9 percent growth.
For more information, please contact Glazers, Chartered Accountants London or visit www.glazers.co.uk
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( 3 / 489 )Ahead of the G8 summit, where tax avoidance is likely to be a hot topic, results of a new poll have found that forty-percent of UK consumers would consider boycotting a company or brand, over claims of tax avoidance.
The results of the poll come following news over the weekend that one of the UK’s largest water companies has deferred their tax, in the year where bills rose by over six percent; and a leading telephone provider also paid zero corporation tax, despite UK profits of over £200 million.
According to the results of the poll, as many as twenty-one percent of consumers said they were “very likely” to refuse to use brands who are associated with tax avoidance; whilst a further twenty-percent said that it was “quite likely” that they would boycott a brand.
In addition, the results of the poll have shown that the likelihood of boycotting a brand over tax avoidance allegations depends on the consumers’ age, with twenty-eight percent of 18 – 24 year olds claiming that they would support a boycott; compared to forty-one percent of 35 – 64 year olds.
Although the poll suggests that many consumers would support a boycott, the findings also suggest that thirty-one percent were not very likely to stop using a brand based on tax avoidance claims.
For more information, please contact Glazers, Chartered Accountants London or visit www.glazers.co.uk
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