Business &amp; Accountancy Daily

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Tax | Plan for ‘enabling’ rules puts tax advisers at double risk

HMRC’s proposals to introduce fines for accountants and other tax specialists for ‘enabling’ tax avoidance under new rules could result in them being punished simply for giving their opinion on the legality of tax arrangements, City law firm RPC is warning

12 Oct 2016

| NAO investigates £30m government grant to Garden Bridge Trust

The National Audit Office (NAO) has questioned the viability and taxpayer risk following an investigation into the Department for Transport’s £30m grant towards the development of the Garden Bridge, the proposed plan for a new pedestrian bridge over the Thames, following an internal audit of the Garden Bridge Trust

12 Oct 2016

Tax | Treasury lost £300m over stamp duty property tax ‘forestalling’

The government’s decision to pre-announce its intention to introduce the 3% stamp duty land tax (SDLT) surcharge on additional residential properties in April resulted in a net tax loss of over £300m according to a report by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), which looked at the ‘forestalling’ effect on changes in property taxes

12 Oct 2016

Tax | HMRC boss to face MPs over Concentrix contract

Jon Thompson, HMRC chief executive, has been asked to appear before the Treasury select committee as part of an inquiry into the decision not to renew an outsourcing contract with Concentrix contract for checking tax credits, following widespread criticism of the company’s performance

12 Oct 2016

Tax | HMRC releases more Making Tax Digital webinars

HMRC has set up more Making Tax Digital webinars that will run throughout October, providing tax advisers, businesses and landlords with the opportunity to find out more about the move to digital tax accounts and ask further questions on the six consultations, which are still ongoing

12 Oct 2016

Finance | Snapshot: how has accounting changed for LLPs under New UK GAAP?

Limited liability partnerships (LLPs) have always had two sources of primary accounting guidance: accounting standards and the LLP SORP, the latter updated to be consistent with FRS 102 Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK. Anne Cowley ACA, CCH senior technical writer, and Helen Lloyd FCA give a snapshot of significant changes

12 Oct 2016

Business | FCA fines Sonali Bank UK £3.25m over anti-money laundering failure

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has levied penalties on Sonali Bank (UK) Ltd (SBUK) and its former money laundering reporting officer for serious anti-money laundering (AML) systems failings, with the bank required to pay a £3.25m fine and prevented from accepting deposits from new customers for 168 days

12 Oct 2016

| Record year for enforcement at Securities and Exchange Commission

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed 868 enforcement actions exposing financial reporting-related misconduct and accounting abuse in fiscal year 2016, an all-time high for the US regulator

12 Oct 2016

11 Oct 2016

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Finance | FRS 102 company accounts rejection rate is 2.5%, says Companies House

A surge in rejections of company accounts prepared under the new UK GAAP rules, identified by ICAEW, has been refuted by Companies House, which reports that only 2.5% of accounts have been returned, despite hitting the peak reporting period

11 Oct 2016

Tax | Izza: stop attacking accountants

Following Theresa May’s speech to the Conservative Party Conference last week, ICAEW chief executive Michael Izza has made a bullish response, repeating calls for the government to approve the profession’s ethical code

11 Oct 2016

Finance | FRC issues tips for preparers of annual reports at listed companies

The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has issued guidance for listed companies highlighting key issues to focus on when preparing annual reports from revenue recognition reporting to performance measures and business model reporting

11 Oct 2016

Tax | Mali government escalates tax dispute with FTSE 100 gold miner

Jersey-headquartered Randgold Resources has criticised the government of Mali after the latest phase in a $280m (£227m) tax dispute saw the gold mining company’s offices in the capital of the West African country shut down

11 Oct 2016

Business | ‘Hard’ Brexit risks £66bn tax revenues

As the government begins the process of withdrawal from the EU, there are reports that the Treasury could see a drop of up to £66bn a year in tax revenues depending on the terms agreed for future trade deals

11 Oct 2016

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Business | $90m fine for Credit Suisse ‘reverse engineered’ finance metrics

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has slapped a $90m (£73m) penalty on Credit Suisse AG which has admitted it misrepresented how it determined a key performance metric of its wealth management business

11 Oct 2016

Law & Guidance

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Business | Pension tax complexity challenges HR departments

HR departments are increasingly having to deal with inquiries about tax issues from employees as new pension rules increase the complexity of retirement planning, research from employee benefits consultancy Portus shows

11 Oct 2016

Business | Efforts to tackle gender gap stepped up by financial services

Financial services firms have published their gender strategies showing ambitious targets to tackle the gender gap, as part of the government’s Women in Finance Charter which was introduced by the Treasury earlier this year

11 Oct 2016

Leadership & Management

Careers

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Business | Government launches inclusive economy unit

The government has announced a new ‘inclusive economy unit’ which it says will focus on ensuring private investment and business focus on the needs of all individuals, following on from prime minister Theresa May’s commitment to an economy ‘which works for everyone’

11 Oct 2016

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Tax | EU has ‘no problem’ with Ireland’s 12.5% corporation tax

The EU competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager has made it clear that there are no plans for the EU to call for Ireland to review its corporation tax policies, nor to extend its investigations into Google’s tax affairs

11 Oct 2016

10 Oct 2016

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Tax | Post-Brexit: what next for UK property tax?

Commercial property deals have been hit by Brexit while high end residential sales were already stalling due to tax changes, but the continual tax clampdown on buy-to-let investors is simply adding to a stalling market, warns Kersten Muller, partner, real estate at Grant Thornton UK LLP

10 Oct 2016

Finance | Brexit: valuation uncertainty for commercial property

Nick Talbot, CEO of International Valuation Standards Council (IVSC), considers the Brexit effect on the value of commercial property and the impact on accounting

10 Oct 2016

Finance

Accounting Standards

Financial Reporting

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Tax | Facebook challenged over £11.3m tax credit

There has been fresh outcry over the rate of tax Facebook pays in the UK, after its latest accounts showed the UK business as receiving a £11.3m tax credit only months after the US tech giant promised to increase its corporation tax payments, which totalled just £4,327 in 2014

10 Oct 2016

Business Tax

Tax Compliance

Technology

Image for hmrc considering tax status 100 bbc presenters

Tax | HMRC considering tax status of 100 BBC presenters

HMRC is investigating around 100 BBC presenters over claims they used personal service companies (PSCs) in a bid to reduce the amount of tax they paid when working as staff at the organisation, according to evidence presented to a First Tier Tribunal (FTT)

10 Oct 2016

Tax | HMRC adds category on penalties for offshore matters

A category has been added to HMRC’s factsheet on higher penalties for offshore matters, with the added section providing information on less extreme penalties given for territories that exchange information with the tax authority automatically

10 Oct 2016

Business | Government announces single financial advice body

The Treasury and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) are to go ahead with plans to develop a single public financial guidance body responsible for all debt advice, money and pensions guidance, rather than having two different bodies, one focused on pensions and the other on more general issues

10 Oct 2016

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Business | Deloitte CFO survey finds Brexit cost cutting

Brexit is the top business concern for chief financial officers (CFOs), who are planning on cost cutting and balance sheet retrenchment in response, according to research from Deloitte

10 Oct 2016

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Tax | Devolved Welsh income tax ‘pure folly’

Ahead of this afternoon’s second reading of the Wales bill in the House of Lords, Labour peer Peter Hain has launched an attack on proposals to devolve income tax powers to Wales without first holding a referendum

10 Oct 2016

| FRC resumes Deloitte Aero Inventory disciplinary hearing

This week sees the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) resume a disciplinary hearing of a formal complaint against Deloitte and one of its partners, John Clennett, relating to the auditing of Aero Inventory, the AIM-listed aeroplane parts manufacturer which went into administration in November 2009

10 Oct 2016

Auditing

Image for henderson diversified discusses transfer uk due tax changes

Tax | Henderson Diversified discusses transfer to UK due to tax changes

The Henderson Diversified Income Trust (HDIL) is considering leaving its offshore bases in Jersey and Luxembourg to relaunch in the UK and take advantage of the investment trust company tax regime

10 Oct 2016

Business | Restaurant owners jailed for cooking the books

A parish councillor and his brother have been jailed for stealing £64,000 in tax after lying to HMRC about takings at their co-owned restaurant

10 Oct 2016