Tax & Trust
The Recommendation by MPs for an Inquiry into Google's Tax Affairs is Good for Business
At a time when tech giants are too powerful by far, Google's creative interpretation of UK tax laws gives it an unfair advantage over smaller tech start-ups
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Squeezing the tax havens until their pips squeak
The sovereign debt crisis has now forced the issue into the open, as central treasuries grab every penny that they think is, or should be, due to them
Meet The Driving Forces Behind Hailo, the Black Cab App Killing the Minicab Trade
Hands up who’s fed up of struggling to find a black cab? You can put your hand down now — literally — thanks to Hailo, an app that uses smartphone technology to do the work for you
Exclusive: 'We are not attractive to the ethically challenged,' say BVI, trying to shed tax haven reputation
Mark Nayler meets the head honchos of the British Virgin Islands, reeling after the names of offshore account-holders were revealed, to talk about secrecy and misconceptions
Public outrage at the Cup Trust charity scandal doesn't mean there's been a crime
Here are the perfect conditions for a storm of outrage – international finance, eye-watering sums of money, insincere stated objectives, and a supposedly inept public body thrown in for good measure
Switzerland to annul bank secrecy, allow names to be released to US
The move is designed to ensure that Switzerland’s banking industry is not hit by a continued flow of fines
A little nudging goes a long way
A pilot study showed that three times more money goes to charity in people's wills when the lawyer writing the will prompts them
STEP: More money goes to charity if will-writers ask about it
A government-sponsored trial has shown that the proportion of testators who leave a gift to charity doubles from 5 to 10 per if the will-writer asks them if they wish to do so
FT: EU may introduce country-by-country reporting as soon as summer
At a summit on Wednesday, EU leaders ditched longstanding reservations about more intrusive reporting rules and broadly backed a shake-up that could see a law passed as soon as this summer
Unbillable Hours
Our specialists solve your HNW problems (gratis!)
Q
In this new anti-tax-avoidance era, when so many tax reliefs have been withdrawn, I've heard that investing in a Business Property Renovation Allowance scheme is one of the few remaining good opportunities for maxing your tax position. Is it true that you can get up to 100 per cent tax relief on the amount invested? And what exactly are these schemes? How do they work? What are the upsides? Downsides?
A
In this climate, it is a relief to see one potentially attractive tax allowance come through unscathed from recent criticism
Spear's Wire
- Philanthropists recognised in Queen's Birthday Honours
- Trying to import art to the UK to sell? It's just got more difficult
- LA Times: $100m of art seized from antiquities dealer
- Switzerland to annul bank secrecy, allow names to be released to US
- STEP: More money goes to charity if will-writers ask about it
