The most recent Comment from Accountancy Age

Swept away on a tide of tax

Alex Hawkes — 2008-09-04T18:30:00.000Z

Alex Hawkes, Accountancy Age, Thursday 4 September 2008 at 18:30:00

The UK’s tax system is at a crucial turning point

Companies are exiting the country, saying they fear the government’s new initiatives on foreign profits. Meanwhile, the chancellor is being urged to impose a windfall tax on energy companies’ profits....

Stamp duty farce really isn't funny

Accountancy Age — 2008-08-14T17:39:00.000Z

Accountancy Age, Accountancy Age, Thursday 14 August 2008 at 17:39:00

The government’s plan to offer homebuyers a stamp duty holiday, if it can be called a plan, would rank as one of the most hapless pieces of tax policymaking of recent years

Regardless of its likely ineffectiveness, a proposal to exempt individuals from paying the duty was always likely to have very serious immediate effects on the market....

Tories must simply get real

Alex Hawkes — 2008-07-24T19:19:00.000Z

Alex Hawkes, Accountancy Age, Thursday 24 July 2008 at 19:19:00

I haven’t really known what to make of the Tories’ plans on tax simplification

Tax complexity is one of those tricky topics that I think nobody really knows how to solve, and I suspect there are good reasons for cynicism about the whole project....

Small players will seek their payback

Simon Briault — 2008-06-26T00:28:00.000Z

Simon Briault, Accountancy Age, Thursday 26 June 2008 at 00:28:00

In recent years, tax on small businesses has been rising while tax on large companies has been falling

It is very difficult to prove that multinationals threatening to move abroad to take advantage of lower headline tax rates is resulting in higher taxes for small businesses in the...

Corporation tax: keep it simple

Sarah Knight, ABI — 2008-06-05T23:34:00.000Z

Sarah Knight, ABI, Accountancy Age, Thursday 5 June 2008 at 23:34:00

Certainty in tax can help insure UK Plc's success

As an industry that pays the third highest amount of corporation tax of any business sector, insurers have a great interest in the level of corporate taxation....

Desire to 'compete' is wrong

Alex Hawkes — 2008-04-30T18:09:00.000Z

Alex Hawkes, Accountancy Age, Wednesday 30 April 2008 at 18:09:00

I am always a little wary when I hear people say that it is important for the UK to be ‘competitive’ on tax

The calls are coming thick and fast in the wake of drugmaker Shire’s decision to become tax resident in Ireland....

Tesco vs The Guardian: treading a fine line

Gavin Hinks — 2008-04-17T00:00:00.000Z

Gavin Hinks, Accountancy Age, Thursday 17 April 2008 at 00:00:00

Tax avoidance is not illegal

And yet Tesco’s libel writ against The Guardian for its allegations that the supermarket giant has avoided vast sums in corporation tax indicates that avoidance is now considered so unacceptable,...

Budget - No More Own Goals But No New Scoring Opportunities

Stephen Herring — 2008-03-28T00:00:00.000Z

Stephen Herring, Accountancy Age, Friday 28 March 2008 at 00:00:00

Chancellor has missed chance to simplify the tax system in his Budget

Everyone will understand Alastair Darling’s focus on avoiding new initiatives which inevitably carry with them the risk of backfiring such as his attempts in the PBR to simplify capital gains...

A tale of two (tax) stories

John Cullinane — 2008-03-07T00:00:00.000Z

John Cullinane, Accountancy Age, Friday 7 March 2008 at 00:00:00

The tumbrils were out for tax dodgers in the media last week

The tumbrils were out for tax dodgers in the media last week. But were all the victims of the terror the enemies of the people as claimed? The Revenue suspect...

The spy who taxed me

Accountancy age — 2008-02-28T00:00:00.000Z

Accountancy age, Accountancy Age, Thursday 28 February 2008 at 00:00:00

HM Revenue & Customs is beginning to make a habit of venturing into unchartered waters

Earlier this month it was the news that tax inspectors could soon be listening in to your business discussions via a bugging device officially sanctioned under new legislation....

Time for a comeback

Michael Izza — 2008-01-17T00:00:00.000Z

Michael Izza, Accountancy Age, Thursday 17 January 2008 at 00:00:00

Are job cuts at HMRC to blame for the efficiency slips? asks Michael Izza

Much has happened at HM Revenue & Customs since the two CDs containing the personal details of 25 million people were reported missing last November....

New Year: new tax rises?

Nicholas Neveling — 2008-01-10T00:00:00.000Z

Nicholas Neveling, Accountancy Age, Thursday 10 January 2008 at 00:00:00

Will 2008 see Alistair Darling forced to hike taxes? Bear with me, it is not quite as absurd as it seems.

If various economists, such as PricewaterhouseCoopers’ John Hawksworth, Global Insight’s Howard Archer and David Smith from Beacon Economic Forecasting are to be believed, the chancellor is going to have to...

On the money with Gavin Hinks

Gavin Hinks — 2007-10-25T00:00:00.000Z

Gavin Hinks, Accountancy Age, Thursday 25 October 2007 at 00:00:00

‘Personal nightmare.’ That’s the phrase used by Sir Mike Rake to describe the tax shelter debacle that nearly swamped KPMG a couple of years ago

Rake was international chairman at the time and instrumental in persuading the US authorities to issue a heavy fine rather than go for a criminal prosecution which had the potential...

A code of taxation is vital for accountants

Richard Murphy — 2007-10-18T00:00:00.000Z

Richard Murphy, Accountancy Age, Thursday 18 October 2007 at 00:00:00

Tax has become complicated: globalisation, money market liberalisation, ease of access to offshore increases in wealth, and the tax authorities’ quest to keep up with these trends have all contributed complexity to taxation

Tax has always been close to the accountant’s heart. Once it was simple, the only questions were how much tax was due and what might be legitimately done about it?...

EU takes spanish bull by horns

Nicholas Neveling — 2007-10-18T00:00:00.000Z

Nicholas Neveling, Accountancy Age, Thursday 18 October 2007 at 00:00:00

Over the past two years Spanish companies with an eye for a deal have been been able to stampede over the competition in takeover battles

Why? Well, the Spanish government has provided companies with a tasty tax break that has allows them to claim all the goodwill on foreign acquisitions back against tax over a...