http://www.milsted-langdon.co.uk/blog/index.php Copyright 2013, Milsted Langdon LLP Milsted Langdon LLP en-US SPHPBLOG 0.5.1 http://www.milsted-langdon.co.uk/blog/index.php?entry=entry130619-104206
Speaking at the conference about the declaration, Prime Minister David Cameron said it would help to ensure "proper tax justice in our world" and "fight the scourge of tax evasion".

He added that the leaders had agreed a declaration at the summit that has the potential to rewrite the rules on tax and transparency for the benefit of countries right across the world, including the poorest countries.

The participating countries will also require shell companies, which are often used to exploit tax loopholes and invest money anonymously, to identify their effective owners.

Mr Cameron stated that the leaders have commissioned a new international mechanism that will identify where multinational companies are earning their profits and paying their taxes so that governments can track and expose those who are not paying their fair share.

However, Mr Cameron’s statement did not contain a firm pledge to create registers of the so-called beneficial or true owners of companies, which has angered campaigners aiming for greater financial transparency.

The Tax Justice Network blasted the Prime Minister for failing to get Russia and Germany to publish national action plans to combat tax evasion and to get the G8 leaders to agree that an agreement on automatic exchange of tax information should be open immediately to developing countries.

Other commentators have given cautious approval to the announcement, calling it an important first step towards greater tax transparency, but the consensus appears to be that it will do little in the short-term to increase tax fairness.

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]]> http://www.milsted-langdon.co.uk/blog/index.php?entry=entry130619-104206 Milsted Langdon LLP Wed, 19 Jun 2013 10:42:06 GMT http://www.milsted-langdon.co.uk/blog/comments.php?y=13&m=06&entry=entry130619-104206 http://www.milsted-langdon.co.uk/blog/index.php?entry=entry130618-112425
Economists had predicted a rise, as there had been a sharp fall in the annual rate of inflation in May 2012, but the consensus was for 2.6 per cent. The ONS put the larger rise down to the cost of flights, which rose by more than a fifth between April and May, the biggest jump over the two-month period since records began in 2001.

In fact, the only “notable” downward contribution to inflation in May, according to the ONS, was a modest fall in food prices.

However, since the overall outlook for inflation is more benign than it seemed a few months ago, economists are saying they still believe inflation is on track to return to its 2 per cent target sooner than the Bank of England had expected in March because the pound has strengthened and commodity prices have weakened.

Last month the Bank forecast that inflation would peak at just over 3 per cent later this year before falling back to 2 per cent by early 2015, which still broadly concurs with economists’ reaction to the figures.

Meanwhile, separate figures published by the ONS showed a relatively muted outlook for consumer price inflation. Factory gate prices, which act as a leading indicator for some parts of CPI, rose by an annual 1.2 per cent, a smaller increase than economists had forecast.

However, unusually cold weather in the UK this year so far may push up food prices, with the ONS reporting a 19.2 per cent annual rise in the cost of home-grown food, with potatoes and other fresh vegetables being particularly hit.

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]]> http://www.milsted-langdon.co.uk/blog/index.php?entry=entry130618-112425 Milsted Langdon LLP Tue, 18 Jun 2013 11:24:25 GMT http://www.milsted-langdon.co.uk/blog/comments.php?y=13&m=06&entry=entry130618-112425 http://www.milsted-langdon.co.uk/blog/index.php?entry=entry130617-110237
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.

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]]> http://www.milsted-langdon.co.uk/blog/index.php?entry=entry130617-110237 Milsted Langdon LLP Mon, 17 Jun 2013 11:02:37 GMT http://www.milsted-langdon.co.uk/blog/comments.php?y=13&m=06&entry=entry130617-110237 http://www.milsted-langdon.co.uk/blog/index.php?entry=entry130614-105653
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.

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]]> http://www.milsted-langdon.co.uk/blog/index.php?entry=entry130614-105653 Milsted Langdon LLP Fri, 14 Jun 2013 10:56:53 GMT http://www.milsted-langdon.co.uk/blog/comments.php?y=13&m=06&entry=entry130614-105653 http://www.milsted-langdon.co.uk/blog/index.php?entry=entry130613-105742
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.

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]]> http://www.milsted-langdon.co.uk/blog/index.php?entry=entry130613-105742 Milsted Langdon LLP Thu, 13 Jun 2013 10:57:42 GMT http://www.milsted-langdon.co.uk/blog/comments.php?y=13&m=06&entry=entry130613-105742 http://www.milsted-langdon.co.uk/blog/index.php?entry=entry130612-111259
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.

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]]> http://www.milsted-langdon.co.uk/blog/index.php?entry=entry130612-111259 Milsted Langdon LLP Wed, 12 Jun 2013 11:12:59 GMT http://www.milsted-langdon.co.uk/blog/comments.php?y=13&m=06&entry=entry130612-111259 http://www.milsted-langdon.co.uk/blog/index.php?entry=entry130611-102853
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.

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]]> http://www.milsted-langdon.co.uk/blog/index.php?entry=entry130611-102853 Milsted Langdon LLP Tue, 11 Jun 2013 10:28:53 GMT http://www.milsted-langdon.co.uk/blog/comments.php?y=13&m=06&entry=entry130611-102853 http://www.milsted-langdon.co.uk/blog/index.php?entry=entry130610-110201
According to the latest figures, business activity increased from 52.2 in April to 54.8 in May of this year, remaining comfortably above the all-important fifty mark which separates growth and contraction.

In addition to remaining comfortably above the fifty-mark, the latest figures posted are the best recorded since March 2012.

Along with highlighting the growth in business activity as a whole, the recent survey also revealed that for the first time since January last year, activity within all nine English regions increased.

The latest figures have shown that in the East of England, business activity climbed for the sixth month running; whilst Yorkshire and Humber, and London were the two best performing regions, posting figures of 57.6 and 56.4 respectively.

Meanwhile, output growth for private sector firms throughout the West Midlands increased from 49.8 in April to 53.9.

The latest data adds to the growing optimism surrounding the UK economy and businesses, following positive results from construction and service sector surveys earlier this month.

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]]> http://www.milsted-langdon.co.uk/blog/index.php?entry=entry130610-110201 Milsted Langdon LLP Mon, 10 Jun 2013 11:02:01 GMT http://www.milsted-langdon.co.uk/blog/comments.php?y=13&m=06&entry=entry130610-110201 http://www.milsted-langdon.co.uk/blog/index.php?entry=entry130607-112257
Mr Osborne made the comments in a letter responding to complaints about the proposed tax from major EU financial services trade bodies, including the European Banking Federation and the International Capital Markets Association (ICMA).

The current EU proposals state that any trade in euro-dominated financial instruments and any transaction with a bank from the 11-nation group that has signed up to it, or one of its overseas branches, would be subject to the tax, regardless of where the deal took place.

However, the Chancellor feels that this aspect of the levy would have serious implications for financial institutions in non-participating member states, such as the UK. Indeed, the Government is so opposed to this that it launched legal proceedings against the tax in protest at how the knock-on effects could adversely impact the economy

Mr Osborne added that the proposed tax calls into question the EU's commitment to growth and its standing in key global talks on regulatory reform, saying it would “disrupt the diverse markets used by corporates to raise financing for long-term investment”.

In the Chancellor’s view, the single market would also be undermined by the tax, which would split the tax treatment of derivatives into two regimes and would also "conflict with G20 regulatory reforms in numerous ways including in relation to collateral and bank funding instruments.”

There have already been suggestions that some of the 11 member states that signed up originally to the tax may be having a change of heart, amid predictions that it could end up only raising a tenth of the €35bn originally forecast.

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]]> http://www.milsted-langdon.co.uk/blog/index.php?entry=entry130607-112257 Milsted Langdon LLP Fri, 07 Jun 2013 11:22:57 GMT http://www.milsted-langdon.co.uk/blog/comments.php?y=13&m=06&entry=entry130607-112257 http://www.milsted-langdon.co.uk/blog/index.php?entry=entry130606-111719
The PMI for the services sector, which accounts for around 75 per cent of the economy and covers things like transport, communication, business services and the leisure industry, rose to 54.9 in May from 52.9 in April, easily beating the forecast of 53 expected by most economists. Any reading above 50 indicates growth.

The latest figures were boosted by the arrival of better weather during the month and the sharpest rise in new business growth since February 2010. The upturn in new work was helped by a willingness among customers to commit to new business, the survey panel found.

The combination of results also suggests that growth in the economy in the second quarter of the year will at least match the 0.3 per cent recorded in Q1 and some economists are even predicting a modest rise to 0.5 per cent.

The fact that all the major sectors have shown growth for the first time in a year led a senior Markit economist to comment that the UK economy has "all cylinders now firing".

The economist added that the increasingly buoyant picture and improved outlook suggested by the data effectively “kills off” any chance of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MCP) voting for more stimulus, such as asset purchases, for the foreseeable future.

The MCP will announce today (June 6) whether or not it will boost the economy with further quantitative easing but the news this week means that this is now very unlikely.

The meeting will be the last attended by Bank of England Governor Sir Mervyn King, before Mark Carney replaces him on July 1.

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]]> http://www.milsted-langdon.co.uk/blog/index.php?entry=entry130606-111719 Milsted Langdon LLP Thu, 06 Jun 2013 11:17:19 GMT http://www.milsted-langdon.co.uk/blog/comments.php?y=13&m=06&entry=entry130606-111719